Nearly the end…

WOW where did the year go???!
On Friday I had my final exam, and I just have presentation to do next week and then I’m finished!
Since my last blog post (it’s been a while) I’ve been really busy. Firstly, Mum and Dad came to visit me a few weeks ago, it was great spending time with them and fantastic to be able to show them the places I’ve talked about. Here are some photo from their visit…

Campus tour!

At the weekend we went out to the NC mountains – this is on top of Grandfather moutain (a mile above sea level!)
They also had an animal sanctuary with mountain lions and bears – they were really cute!

In the Duke Botanical Gardens

After that it was full on study/work mode as had lots of deadlines and exams coming up, it’s great to have them finally over with! Managed to see myself through with plenty of cookies from the dining hall! Went out over the weekend, strange being the final time I’ll go out in Chapel Hill. Also done lots of things I should have done throughout the year – like going to the Planetarium and  am going to the Ackland art museum later today.
Now I need to pack as I’m headed to New Orleans via Atlanta with some friends, before doing some travelling by myself which I am excited about. I will be back in England early June so hopefully see you then.
Lastly, thanks to you guys for reading my blog! Hope you’ve enjoyed reading it 🙂
Love Xxxxxxxxxx

Helloooo again!

It’s been a while since my last post! The time has really flown by since spring break, there’s been lots of work to do but also been taking advantage of all the things there is to do here at UNC as I don’t have long left now 😦 (3 weeks til last day of classes, then have exams!) Plus the weather has finally perked up and spring is sprung, the campus is looking lovely with all the blossom at the moment and the arboretum looks beautiful. It’s so nice to (finally!) see the sun shining and a Carolina blue sky! (Not very good for productivity tho!)
I’ve just got back from watching the broadway show Avenue Q (unfortunately not actually on broadway this time, but it was really funny, its done using puppets and all the songs are hilarious.) Yesterday I went to a music festival on campus with local bands, was nice to be able to sit outside in the evening. Last weekend I went to a Pow Wow, where local Native Americans came in their costumes which were amazing, lots of colours and feathers and dance. I’ve also seen our baseball team play, and went to an acapella concert, really going to miss that when I leave as they sing all the time around campus. (Something I’m not going to miss is that last week there were these crazy anti-abortion protestors on campus who put up really graphic images, plus won’t miss the ‘Pit Preacher’ who is basically an old man who comes onto campus every week and spews out offensive stuff whilst holding the Bible…welcome to America, free speech etc…) I will miss having a paper to read every day – The Daily Tar Heel 🙂 and I’ll definitely miss the dining hall!! Plus the people I’ve met, and the places we like going out to, I think my favourite is called Top of The Hill, it has an outside bit and you can see the whole of Franklin St from there.
Just have to make sure I make the most of the time I have left here 🙂 and Mum and Dad are coming to visit me this week and I really can’t wait to see them and show them around!
Lots of love Xxxxxxxxx

 

Spring break in NYC!

What a week! I’m sitting here writing this in the bus station in Raleigh, waiting for a lift back to Chapel Hill, and can’t believe it’s a week since I arrived in New York. I got in at 10am last Sat, and met Al later in the afternoon.  A big thank you to Jacki and Motz for letting us stay at their place for the week, they were wonderful and very generous hosts.
We had a crazy busy week with lots of sightseeing, lots of walking and it was lots and lots of fun. Here’s a few pictures from the week…

On Sunday we met up with Britt, a friend of Al’s from first year who is from Georgia and was in NY visiting friends for the weekend. We met her at Brooklyn flea market, and then got to explore Brooklyn, China Town and Little Italy (great pizza 🙂 ). We went to Central Park and took her to see Times Square too – so overwhelming with all the lights and so many people everywhere  – sums up NY!

Central Park with the Plaza hotel from Home Alone in the background

On Monday Al and I visited a synagogue in the morning and then got the Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty (she’s HUGE) and Ellis Island which was really interesting, then walked back via Wall Street.

Close up of the amazing stain glass window

Obligatory selfie with the Statue of Liberty

Ellis Island

On Tuesday we met with Jane and went to Top of the Rock…the best view in town (seeing as if you are on the Empire State Building you can’t actually see it!) Thank you for treating us and taking us to lunch Jane. Afterwards we went for a walk in Central Park as it was a beautiful day.

On Wednesday we went to the NY Public Library and the Met museum – which is HUGE with over 2 milion artifacts in so kept us busy !
We also got our first taste of ‘ hot’ yoga (i.e. doing yoga in a very hot room)as Jacki took us along with her! It was good fun, and me and Al ended up doing it over the next four days too! (Luckily no photos were taken of how we looked after the classes…)

Outside the library

A Gutenberg Bible from 1450s!

Guggenheim outside (we didn’t make it inside!)

On Thursday we went to Grand Central Station which is way too nice to be a train station! Jacki gave us a tour of her very swish office and treated us to lunch at the Oyster bar in the station, which was delicious. Later we visited the Natural History Museum (though it took us over an hour and a half to get there on the subway…we ended up in the Bronx at one point…we did not manage to master the subway by the end of the week, the Tube is so much easier!)

Grand Central Station

In the Oyster Bar

Very excited that there were lots of dinosaurs in the museum…

…meanwhile Al gets very excited at the Princess castle in the Disney store, basically we are just big kids

Then in the evening  we got to see Chicago on Broadway – it was fantastic!

On Friday we had a more chilled day, went into town in the afternoon to do some shopping 🙂 We found an amazing pastry shop!

YUM!

And on Saturday we had to leave :(. It was such a blast, massive thanks to Al for coming over to see me and getting me the camera so I could record the week!
Now I’m heading back to Chapel Hill for my final half semester!

Times Square a week ago…take me back!

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One more day (and exam)…

…until Spring Break! Wahooooooooooooo! Can’t believe I’m going to New York tomorrow! Eeeeeeeeeee!
Plus it means this semester is half way through, crazy how quickly the time has flown! Since last time there has been a few more 21st birthdays, and so have gone to more previously unexplored bars! Last Sunday I watched the Oscars, which was entertaining, watching the speeches. And without getting over emotional myself…they had a tribute to The Wizard of Oz (it’s 75!) which made me feel nostalgic for home! Truly no place like home…but also can’t believe I am getting to go to NY – I’ve always dreamed (somewhere over the rainbow…) of going there and now I am getting to!
We also had a day off class because it rained (apparently it was ‘freezing’ rain! Will prepare me for NY which I think is pretty chilly right now.)

This evening I met up with a girl named Claire, who I am related to through my Uncle Trevor. She studies at NC State Univeristy in Raleigh. It was great to meet her, as we first chatted on facebook last semester and she was lovely.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh I’m actually going to The Big Apple….New York here I come!
Nighty night Xxxxxx

BEAT DOOOOOK!

Helloooo,
Since last time the crazy weather has continued with more snow meaning two and a half days off school, and a tornado warning on Friday!
Last weekend I got to see the basketball team play against Pittsburgh. The atmosphere in the Dean Dome was amazing, and it was a really good game (so I’m told anyway, never having seen one before I didn’t have anything to compare it to!) Then I went round my friend’s house, and she cooked us crepes (she is French) which were soooo good!

They gave out free T-shirts in the UNC colours to stripe the stadium

Cheerleaders…GO TAR HEELS!!!

YUMMMMMMMM

This week on Tuesday I went out for a friend’s 21st, it’s really nice being able to celebrate with people and getting to go into bars I couldn’t go into less than a month ago! We ended up doing karaoke…and on Wednesday I woke up with no voice!
On Thursday we played basketball against our arch rivals, Duke University. It is the biggest rivalry in college basketball, by far, and in fact probably in the whole history of sport anywhere as people here absolutely detest Duke! It was particuarly hyped up because the match was originally scheduled for when it was snowing…although we maintain they could have travelled the 8 miles to get to UNC. I went out to watch the game at a bar…it was totally tense…and the game was really close too…but we won! Then it really kicked off…everyone ran to Franklin Street and started cheering/chanting/lighting bonfires/singing/climbing lamposts…it was craaazy, around 10 000 people out on the streets celebrating our victory… I’ve never seen anything like it !

Our mascot is Rameses and Duke’s is the blue devil

BEAT DOOOK!

WE WOOOOOOOOOON!!

This weekend I vistied the Duke University campus. It was a lovely sunny day, and their campus is really beautiful. All the buildings are done in an old style. It costs $60 000 to go there PER YEAR…I swear you could smell money!

Duke

Duke library

Not that far from home!..

Duke Botanical gardens

I also got to see two great films – 12 years a slave and Gravity this weekend. I’ve just been to yoga and am now in the dining hall but need to head off to the library soon!
Lots of love Xxxxxx

‘I believe in America…’

Hello !
It’s snowing here today, and apparently may be more snow on the way later this week!  On 29/1 classes were cancelled because of the snow, there really wasn’t that much of it – people in New York must find it hilarious that the governor of NC actually declared a state of emergency!  Campus looked lovely in the snow…

Snowy old well

Bell tower on South Campus

My new house

It’s crazy how quickly the weather can change and how much the temperature fluctuates day to day…one day snow, the next day this! Hopefully more days like this when spring finally arrives!

Last weekend I saw The Spectacular Now at the cinema and went to a friend’s birthday party, plus went thrift shopping for the first time in Chapel Hill. On Sunday it was all about the Superbowl! I almost understand the rules of American football now…but the adverts and halftime performance, plus all the food are what it is all about!
This week was my birthday wahooo – I had such a great time celebrating and feel really lucky that I got to spend my 21st in the states. YAY to legal drinking again, and obviously took full advantage by going out 5 nights in a row…though before I started drinking during the day I went to an american high school as one of the courses I am taking over here is about teaching chemistry so we are observing lessons. It felt like I was in a film…was tempted to start singing High School Musical songs as I strolled passed the lockers….
Here are a few photos from the birthday celebrations…

This week I also went to see Rumors, a Tony-award winning Broadway play, a dance show and went to see The Godfather (hence the title of this blog post, it’s the first line of the film) ! And it’s such a good film.
That’s all for now folks…currently in labs so should probs go check on my experiment…
Xxxxxxxxxxx

Raleigh!

Helloooo, or I should say G’day, happy Australia Day!
First off here’s a photo of me with a butterfly on my head from when I went to the science museum which had a butterfly house, with the August family.

Also I forgot to mention last time that my first meal back in Carolina was having breakfast with them – I had gritz so I knew I was definitely back in the South! Since I got back in dorms I have been enjoying all the newfood (puddings!) on the menu!
Last Tues I went to country night with the new international students, and their reaction was exactly the same as mine was first time round. Don’t think I will ever get used to the sight of people grinding to country music!

We all went crazy when they played Shania Twain seeing as that is the only country song we know…

Last weekend I visited Raleigh, which is the state capital of North Carolina. We visited the NC history museum which was so interesting (I really feel so ignorant about American history but feel I know slightly more now!), and also the natural history museum which had lots of cool displays/animals. We ate at a delicious waffle house, and the owner was Hungarian but was married to a woman from Leeds, and had just come back from visiting her family over there. The world is really so small these days!

Raleigh is named after Sir Walter Raleigh

NC flag, plus stars and stripes.

State capitol building

No guns allowed in the Raleigh convention center apparently

YUM!

Monday was Martin Luther King Day, which meant a day off classes. I went to a local baptist church where the NAACP were having a rally, they had choirs and different speakers talking about civil rights and the ‘Moral Monday’ protests which are happening in NC today, as a reaction to lots of new, unfair laws the state have been implementing.
This week I saw the Disney film Frozen at the cinema which was great, and very appropriate, as on some days this week the high temp was -3! And it snowed for the first time since I got here, though it didn’t settle. Hopefully will warm up soon…
On Friday I went out to a 2000s night at a club which was fun, (the invite said that the 90s was sooooooo 20 years ago hahaha!), though at one point I was rather enthusiastically dancing next to the speaker and managed to stop the music playing…luckily it got fixed quickly! Last night I saw Don Jon at the cinema, and then the Australian students had a party to celebrate Australia day which is today (Sunday) but was technically on the same day as in Sydney they are 16hrs ahead!  (I don’t understand…I can manage 5 hours ahead!)
Hope you are all a lot warmer back home, lots of love
xXxXxXxXX

Back to the states…to a polar vortex and a tornado!

Hellooo, after a wonderful Christmas at home I’ve made it back to University of North Carolina! I got three flights back to Raleigh, going via Reykjavik and Toronto. North America was experiencing a ‘polar vortex’ – in Toronto it was -20C and we had to walk outside to catch the plane, thought I might freeze to death before I got back to Carolina! Flying in and out got a lovely view of snowy Toronto. Carolina was just outside the polar vortex region but temperatures were still very cold for this time of year (minus single digits). Luckily it has warmed up since then…and on Saturday 11th there was a tornado in Chapel Hill! I heard a car go by with a megaphone calling something but I was still in bed (it was around midday…) and I just thought it was something to do with a basketball game…although maybe the sirens going off all over campus should have been a warning! I was in bed and was half asleep I think but I remember it suddenly got really windy and there was torrential rain. I heard from people outside that just before a tornado comes it gets really warm, and afterwards very cold. I also later learnt that everyone is supposed to go to the basement of the building…so I know for next time!
When I flew back my dorms didn’t open for a couple of nights so I stayed with the August family from Chapel  Hill, the same family I had Xmas dinner with before the hols. They have two kids aged 18mnths and 3yrs, so after a good night’s kip on Friday night on Saturday we went to a local science museum, and went out to a Peruvian restaurant for dinner. After stocking up at the supermarket I got back to my dorms on Sunday. I spent the next couple of days redoing my room as my roommate has moved into her sorority house across the road meaning I now have the room to myself and I have to admit its quite nice having my own space..means you don’t have to get dressed in the dark for one thing! I also had to sort out my work from last semester, ready for new classes to start on Weds. I am taking four classes plus doing some undergraduate research which I should find out more about today.
Last week the student organisation that is for international students put on several events, including a meet and greet at a local bar, a speed friending event and a pizza party, where I got to meet lots of lovely new exchange students. On Friday I went out to a frat party – it was fun to see what the new internationals thought about it! – and on Saturday to a birthday party. Last night my halls put on a winter formal. They had decorated the parlor downstairs with fairy lights and it looked really pretty. Lots of the girls were wearing their prom dresses which were amazing! I also got to catch up with my old roommate which was lovely.
It’s crazy how quickly the time has flown by since I arrived and everyone keeps saying that spring semester goes so much faster than fall!
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thanksgiving!! and Happy New Year!

So it’s been a while since my last post! I had such a great thanksgiving, which I spent with my friend Maddie. On Wednesday we drove to Charlotte and spent the night at hers, before driving to her Grandad’s house on Thursday (Thanksgiving day.) Her Grandad has a beautiful lakehouse in the mountains, and scenery was absolutely beautiful. Maddie’s aunt and uncle (who is British) and her cousins were also there.  Betty, Maddie’s gran, was in charge of cooking the dinner…whilst we went out on the lake in a boat which I got to drive!
The food was DELICIOUS…stuffing, sweet potato mash, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, plus turkey which they had deep fried (the entire turkey!) outside! Needless to say I ate rather a lot…it was soooo good!
On Friday we went to see the new lake house her Grandad has bought, as he is selling the one we were staying in.  The new house was a lot larger and sits on a much larger lake. The drive there was great because we went along the Cherokee Trail road which runs through the mountains and was really scenic. We also had Bojangles…though I was still stuffed from the day before!
After we got back to uni on Saturday I had to knuckle down and study for my exams.I had four in all, and they started at 8am! During my first exam the lecturer went out half way through and came back with Krispy Kreme donuts for everyone! So my last couple of weeks in Chapel Hill were filled with studying/exams, though I also went to a cookie decorating party and also round a family’s with my roommate for a Christmas dinner. My last exam was on Friday…and I was so happy to be finally free! I went to the supermarket, Harris Teeter, to stock up on American food, though when I got back realised my suitcase was smaller than I had remembered so was full entirely of food! That evening I went to a party with international friends, which was good fun…but also sad as had to say goodbye to people at UNC only for the semester.
When I arrived back in England on Sunday 16th Mum and Dad came to meet me at the airport, wearing Christmas jumpers 🙂 it was so great to see them. I then went into London, where I met Al, Wig and my cousins for Christmas drinks…was lovely to catch up and be in a pub, which they don’t have over in the states and where I could legally buy alcohol! I then went back to Nottingham with Al  for a couple of nights, before heading to Sheffield to catch up with my uni friends.Once I was back in the UK I began to feel Christmassy going to the Christmas markets, seeing reindeer at the union, having a Xmas dinner with the orchestra I was in in Sheffield and cooking a Christmas dinner with my flatmates 🙂 On Friday morning I headed back down South, and when I got off the coach my home friends were there to greet me 🙂 Since I’ve been home the time has flown by, and I’ve had such a lovely time catching up and spending time with family and friends. I’m heading back on Friday 3rd so am just relaxing for these next few days before semester kicks off again next week…and am excited about returning and wonder what it will have in store! Who knows what 2014 will bring?! Happy new year everyone! 🙂 xxxxxxxxxxxx

Mmmmmmmmmmmm egg nog…

Mmmmmm egg nog is delicious…looking up recipes so I can make it back home ! Also perfect for dunking cookies into! Making studying for this test slightly less painful…though clearly studying has stopped for now so I’ll tell you what I’ve been up to (minus the college work!)
Over the past fortnight I have been to see different student performances around campus. Last weekend I went to see Sweeney Todd The Musical (some interesting takes on a London accent…), and a gospel choir concert (so joyful). This weekend I went to a ukelele ensemble concert (also ridiculously happy people), an acapella concert, a glee club concert (my mentor and roommate were both in it), a production of The Importance of Being Earnest (some hilarious posh English accents…) and this evening went to see Legally Blonde The Musical, which was amazing! I’m definitely around a lot of talented people here – there’s a grand piano downstairs in my halls (!) and people are always playing it which is nice to have some background music to study to! Yesterday Christmas carols were being played which was getting me in the festive spirit…and I’m excited for this week as it’s Thanksgiving. I’m off to stay with a friend for the holiday, can’t wait to have the traditional American experience! Had a fun time last night out at this ‘champagne party’ at a frat house…they were handing out free bottles of champagne, and they were opening so many bottles and spraying them everywhere so got drenched, plus the frat boys were running around in just there pants…it was pretty crazy…! And another American experience I guess!
Things will definitely be crazy but in a different way after I get back from Thanksgiving as its two weeks of final exams and then back home for Christmas! But before then…

As far as I can tell this pretty much sums up this celebration!

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
P.S In answer to a question posed by my dear friend Susie over skype the other day…yes looks like I will be needing two chairs on the plane on the way home!