Thursday, 25 December 2008
Friday, 12 December 2008
Good night and Good Luck
Wow. Really, what else can I say? I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm going home in two days. This is the last time I will ever sit at this desk. The last 2 hours I will be in room B.2.07 in the National Assembly of Wales. The last time I will write a blog when I'm supposed to be doing something related to Alun Davies.
It has been an unbelievable journey. I could not be more thankful for my experiences here. Really - it's harder to leave here than it was to leave home.
My desk is clean. My hard drive is cleared off. I've printed things for my portfolio. I've left notes of explanation for tasks left unfinished. I've done all I can here. And now it's time to move on, back to my homeland, to build the rest of my life.
Looking back, I feel foolish to admit that I was so homesick. I feel foolish for crying on the phone to my mom because I wanted to come back to Ohio so badly. I feel silly for saying that I wanted to leave here. It's really starting to hit me now.
I've been having my pre-flight anxiety for the past day or so - worrying about the possibilities of troubles while travelling. I will say it again, SOMEONE needs to develop a teleporting mechanism. But, until that happens, I'm stuck travelling for 20 hours to get back to my wonderful home in Crestline, Ohio.
I feel like I should make a list of things I'm going to miss here. But I honestly cannot pick out specific things. I was asked what I'd miss the most last night, and my response when something like this:
"Everything."
I'm nervous to arrive back home. It's been three months since I've been on American soil and I'm scared to see how much it's changed since I've left. I've been living a fabulous life over here, not really worrying about much of anything, except for minor things involving job searching, paper writing and money spending. I'm afraid to go back to real life.
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for reading this blog. It has been a pleasure to share my life with you over the past few months and I'm so thankful for your readership. I would also like to thank all of the wonderful people that I've met here that have been such incredible friends and makeshift family members for the past few months. You have no idea how much I will miss you.
If you'd like to keep track of me and my thoughts, please visit my personal blog, which I will pick up again upon my return to the States. You can view it at http://kadimcd.blogspot.com/. I will be writing an online column for The Post during the winter, and you can view that at www.thepost.ohiou.edu.
I look forward to your further readership on both of these sites and wish you all luck in your endeavors. Thank you for being a part of mine.
As Mr. Edward R. Murrow signed off, I will do the same. Good night...and Good luck.
It has been an unbelievable journey. I could not be more thankful for my experiences here. Really - it's harder to leave here than it was to leave home.
My desk is clean. My hard drive is cleared off. I've printed things for my portfolio. I've left notes of explanation for tasks left unfinished. I've done all I can here. And now it's time to move on, back to my homeland, to build the rest of my life.
Looking back, I feel foolish to admit that I was so homesick. I feel foolish for crying on the phone to my mom because I wanted to come back to Ohio so badly. I feel silly for saying that I wanted to leave here. It's really starting to hit me now.
I've been having my pre-flight anxiety for the past day or so - worrying about the possibilities of troubles while travelling. I will say it again, SOMEONE needs to develop a teleporting mechanism. But, until that happens, I'm stuck travelling for 20 hours to get back to my wonderful home in Crestline, Ohio.
I feel like I should make a list of things I'm going to miss here. But I honestly cannot pick out specific things. I was asked what I'd miss the most last night, and my response when something like this:
"Everything."
I'm nervous to arrive back home. It's been three months since I've been on American soil and I'm scared to see how much it's changed since I've left. I've been living a fabulous life over here, not really worrying about much of anything, except for minor things involving job searching, paper writing and money spending. I'm afraid to go back to real life.
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for reading this blog. It has been a pleasure to share my life with you over the past few months and I'm so thankful for your readership. I would also like to thank all of the wonderful people that I've met here that have been such incredible friends and makeshift family members for the past few months. You have no idea how much I will miss you.
If you'd like to keep track of me and my thoughts, please visit my personal blog, which I will pick up again upon my return to the States. You can view it at http://kadimcd.blogspot.com/. I will be writing an online column for The Post during the winter, and you can view that at www.thepost.ohiou.edu.
I look forward to your further readership on both of these sites and wish you all luck in your endeavors. Thank you for being a part of mine.
As Mr. Edward R. Murrow signed off, I will do the same. Good night...and Good luck.
Friday, 5 December 2008
Kiss me, I'm Irish
Last weekend, after planning a few weeks in advance, I took a train over to Bristol to catch a short plane ride to Dublin, Ireland.
I spent the entire day Saturday cleaning the apartment and napping in preparation for my evening of travel. I left the apartment around 4:30pm to get down to the train station in time to get a cup of tea and relax a bit before getting on the train. I had completely forgotten that the Australian Rugby team was in town for the day, as well as about 50,000 fans. The train station was overflowing with drunken idiots chanting "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaales Waaaaaaaaaaaaales Waaaaaaaaaaales" and "Oggi Oggi Oggi! Oy Oy Oy!" as they stumbled to the queues marked with their destinations.
I looked for one marked for Bristol and quickly took my place behind a group of blabbering idiots. Some young gentlemen took their place in the queue right behind me and, after I realized they were wearing Australia scarves, I started chatting them up. They were both originally from Sydney and were now living in Bristol and were quite upset with the Australian loss, although it had been a very close game. They asked about my trip and told me they thought the train was going to Parkway instead of Temple Meads, which was a severe inconvenience for me considering I had to catch a bus from Temple Meads to get to the airport. I panicked and then was reassured once I boarded the train that I was headed for Temple Meads.
My train got in just after 6 and I quickly exited the train in hopes that I wouldn't have to stand in the absolute freezing cold for more than 5 minutes. Much to my joy, the airport link bus pulled up just a few minutes after I sat my bags down at the stop. I boarded the bus and nestled in to the cozy little seat. The bus driver weaved through the narrow streets of Bristol and after a half hour's worth of twists, turns and tiny pubs passing by, we reached the airport.
My flight was due to leave just after 9pm and I grabbed a chair in a deserted part of the terminal to listen to music and work on my research for my paper. After about an hour or so, I walked over to check the status on my flight, which, just my luck, had been delayed for about an hour. I waited with the rest of the passengers as the uncertainty kept growing and finally we were able to board the plane. The fog that had rolled in was so thick you could barely see the end of the wing, and naturally, I was terrified that we'd be flying in this condition.
Much to my surprise, the take off and the flight went rather smoothly and the landing only jolted my adrenaline when we broke through the fog just a couple hundred feet above the ground. We landed and I rushed through the terminal to catch my bus into the center of Dublin. I arrived at my hostel around midnight and checked in. The lobby was bright and filled with chatty guests, some of which were boozing around a small bar. I got the key for my room and headed up to get ready for bed. I walked in to meet a woman from Spain, who was sifting through her suitcase. She immediately extended her hand to shake mine and introduced herself as Eva. We talked about where we were from, how long we were in Dublin and what we planned to do before both of us started yawning and decided to call it a night.
I climbed into my small bottom bunk and nestled down under the comforter with a shoddy red duvet to cover it. I immediately got the creepy crawlies, which I typically get the first time I sleep in a hotel bed. I grabbed my iPod and flicked on some Norah Jones to relax me. It wasn't long (around 2 am) when two girls burst through the door of the room and began rummaging through their belongings, clearly a bit intoxicated. I woke up and offered them the flashlight on my phone to sift through their bags, mostly because I wanted them to shut up. About an hour and a half later, a couple came through the door, obviously just arriving on a bus. The guy made a ton of noise as he selected his bunk and violently dropped his bags and climbed up the ladder. The girl used the toilet and left the light on as she shook my bed to climb the ladder to the top bunk. I finally settled back in after it appeared the two were done making noise and all the beds in the room were filled. Much to my horror, loud guy began snoring. And not like, a cute little snore, a snore that literally echoed off the walls. I covered my head with my thin pillow and cranked Norah up a bit. Somehow, I fell asleep around 5:30am. Great. 3 hours of sleep.
I woke up at 8:30, washed my face, brushed my teeth, got dressed and headed down to the kitchen for the continental breakfast the website reviews had boasted so much about. There was one kind of cereal (Corn Flakes) and a couple loaves of bread with a toaster. I made some tea using one of the smallest tea bags I have ever seen and chatted with two Australian women, a German woman and a man from Denmark who told of his travels in Afghanistan. I left the group and caught a bus back out to the airport to pick up my DublinPass so I could gain entrance to all the attractions.
I looked at my GuideBook, and since it was Sunday, realized that I'd have to do a little walking around before I could go where I wanted. Normally, this would have bothered me, but the weather was so beautiful and the skies so clear that I didn't mind walking around the city for a couple hours.
This picture is taken just across the street from my hostel. It is the view of the O'Connell Street Bridge, one of the main bridges in Dublin.
Next, I walked past Temple College to find a small park surrounded by iron fences. I walked around and enjoyed the trees and bright green grass.
I kept walking and then noticed that it was just about 12:30 - the time they can start serving alcohol on Sundays. I grabbed my GuideBook and checked my route to the Guinness Factory. I began the trek across the small city to the one place where I wouldn't mind being a factory worker - the Guinness Factory.
On the way, I saw a really beautiful church with a gorgeous little courtyard in front of it. Much to my surprise, there was an old sign above the door that had my last name on it. I was pretty excited about it.
I finally made it to the Guinness Factory and learned much about the construction of the world-famous beer. I could smell the barley and the hops almost a mile away from the brewery and picked up my pace as I imagined myself enjoying that complimentary pint on the top floor in Gravity Bar, a bar 7 stories up with a view that overlooks the entire city of Dublin. Lukily, it was GORGEOUS outside, so I could see for miles - even out to the mountains.
My next stop was the Jameson Distillery. Since most of the other attractions closed early on Sunday, I decided to make it my drinking day. I arrived at the Old Jameson Distillery being a little terrified of the complimentary whiskey I'd receive at the end of the tour - I'm not much for whiskey and I was nervous that I'd throw up or something in front of a bunch of people.
When we began the tour, our guide asked for 4 women and 4 men to be 'official whiskey taste testers' at the end of the tour. Being a good OU girl, I quickly raised my hand and was selected to sample a type of Scotch, some Jack Daniels, and of course, Jameson.
We took the tour and I learned a lot about the distilling process of Jameson and also the aging process of whiskeys. It was really interesting. When we arrived to the bar, there were 8 chairs set up at a table with three shots on a placemat in front of them. We all grabbed our chairs - I sat next to an American boy, Ariel, originally from Texas, who was visiting Dublin for the weekend from Holland, where he'd been studying for his law degree for a few months. We finished the whiskey testing (I ended up mixing my Jameson with some Coke) and our tour guide presented us with 'diplomas' that claimed we are official whiskey taste testers.
Ariel was staying at a hostel near mine and said he'd walk back with me since we were in a sketchy area of Dublin. We decided to stop off at "Ireland's Oldest Pub, The Brazen Head, established in 1198" and have a Guinness and some dinner. I had quite possibly the LARGEST serving of fish and chips I have ever had in my life.
He walked me back to my hostel and we decided to meet up at The Porter House, a microbrewery in Temple Bar, for a few beers later. Much to our surprise, they were showing American football and the two of us, so relieved to see it, knocked back a few pints of the microbrewery's specialties and enjoyed wonderful conversation.
I headed back to the hostel around midnight and went right to sleep. I woke only a few times during the night and got up around 9:30 the next morning. I set off for the Kilmainham Gaol, an old prison on the outskirts of Dublin, and took a lovely and informative tour.
The prison was so fabulous. Such an interesting place to visit and see the architecture and history stemming from a long time of Irish rebellions.
After the Gaol, I headed back into the center and went to the Dublin Castle and then through City Hall before heading to Henry Street to get some food and do some shopping. I grabbed a cup of tea at a coffeeshop inside of a bookstore and watched as Obama selected Hillary as his Secretary of State.
I caught a bus to the airport around 5:30 and waited for my plane. I made it back to Cardiff around midnight and went right to bed after such a long and exhausting weekend.
Next weekend, Jen England, a friend from school, will be arriving to London to take an Art History class through OU. I'll be going to London to get her and also see Toby one last time before leaving the country. Will update soon!!
Hope all is well!
I spent the entire day Saturday cleaning the apartment and napping in preparation for my evening of travel. I left the apartment around 4:30pm to get down to the train station in time to get a cup of tea and relax a bit before getting on the train. I had completely forgotten that the Australian Rugby team was in town for the day, as well as about 50,000 fans. The train station was overflowing with drunken idiots chanting "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaales Waaaaaaaaaaaaales Waaaaaaaaaaales" and "Oggi Oggi Oggi! Oy Oy Oy!" as they stumbled to the queues marked with their destinations.
I looked for one marked for Bristol and quickly took my place behind a group of blabbering idiots. Some young gentlemen took their place in the queue right behind me and, after I realized they were wearing Australia scarves, I started chatting them up. They were both originally from Sydney and were now living in Bristol and were quite upset with the Australian loss, although it had been a very close game. They asked about my trip and told me they thought the train was going to Parkway instead of Temple Meads, which was a severe inconvenience for me considering I had to catch a bus from Temple Meads to get to the airport. I panicked and then was reassured once I boarded the train that I was headed for Temple Meads.
My train got in just after 6 and I quickly exited the train in hopes that I wouldn't have to stand in the absolute freezing cold for more than 5 minutes. Much to my joy, the airport link bus pulled up just a few minutes after I sat my bags down at the stop. I boarded the bus and nestled in to the cozy little seat. The bus driver weaved through the narrow streets of Bristol and after a half hour's worth of twists, turns and tiny pubs passing by, we reached the airport.
My flight was due to leave just after 9pm and I grabbed a chair in a deserted part of the terminal to listen to music and work on my research for my paper. After about an hour or so, I walked over to check the status on my flight, which, just my luck, had been delayed for about an hour. I waited with the rest of the passengers as the uncertainty kept growing and finally we were able to board the plane. The fog that had rolled in was so thick you could barely see the end of the wing, and naturally, I was terrified that we'd be flying in this condition.
Much to my surprise, the take off and the flight went rather smoothly and the landing only jolted my adrenaline when we broke through the fog just a couple hundred feet above the ground. We landed and I rushed through the terminal to catch my bus into the center of Dublin. I arrived at my hostel around midnight and checked in. The lobby was bright and filled with chatty guests, some of which were boozing around a small bar. I got the key for my room and headed up to get ready for bed. I walked in to meet a woman from Spain, who was sifting through her suitcase. She immediately extended her hand to shake mine and introduced herself as Eva. We talked about where we were from, how long we were in Dublin and what we planned to do before both of us started yawning and decided to call it a night.
I climbed into my small bottom bunk and nestled down under the comforter with a shoddy red duvet to cover it. I immediately got the creepy crawlies, which I typically get the first time I sleep in a hotel bed. I grabbed my iPod and flicked on some Norah Jones to relax me. It wasn't long (around 2 am) when two girls burst through the door of the room and began rummaging through their belongings, clearly a bit intoxicated. I woke up and offered them the flashlight on my phone to sift through their bags, mostly because I wanted them to shut up. About an hour and a half later, a couple came through the door, obviously just arriving on a bus. The guy made a ton of noise as he selected his bunk and violently dropped his bags and climbed up the ladder. The girl used the toilet and left the light on as she shook my bed to climb the ladder to the top bunk. I finally settled back in after it appeared the two were done making noise and all the beds in the room were filled. Much to my horror, loud guy began snoring. And not like, a cute little snore, a snore that literally echoed off the walls. I covered my head with my thin pillow and cranked Norah up a bit. Somehow, I fell asleep around 5:30am. Great. 3 hours of sleep.
I woke up at 8:30, washed my face, brushed my teeth, got dressed and headed down to the kitchen for the continental breakfast the website reviews had boasted so much about. There was one kind of cereal (Corn Flakes) and a couple loaves of bread with a toaster. I made some tea using one of the smallest tea bags I have ever seen and chatted with two Australian women, a German woman and a man from Denmark who told of his travels in Afghanistan. I left the group and caught a bus back out to the airport to pick up my DublinPass so I could gain entrance to all the attractions.
I looked at my GuideBook, and since it was Sunday, realized that I'd have to do a little walking around before I could go where I wanted. Normally, this would have bothered me, but the weather was so beautiful and the skies so clear that I didn't mind walking around the city for a couple hours.
This picture is taken just across the street from my hostel. It is the view of the O'Connell Street Bridge, one of the main bridges in Dublin.
Next, I walked past Temple College to find a small park surrounded by iron fences. I walked around and enjoyed the trees and bright green grass.I kept walking and then noticed that it was just about 12:30 - the time they can start serving alcohol on Sundays. I grabbed my GuideBook and checked my route to the Guinness Factory. I began the trek across the small city to the one place where I wouldn't mind being a factory worker - the Guinness Factory.
On the way, I saw a really beautiful church with a gorgeous little courtyard in front of it. Much to my surprise, there was an old sign above the door that had my last name on it. I was pretty excited about it.
I finally made it to the Guinness Factory and learned much about the construction of the world-famous beer. I could smell the barley and the hops almost a mile away from the brewery and picked up my pace as I imagined myself enjoying that complimentary pint on the top floor in Gravity Bar, a bar 7 stories up with a view that overlooks the entire city of Dublin. Lukily, it was GORGEOUS outside, so I could see for miles - even out to the mountains.
My next stop was the Jameson Distillery. Since most of the other attractions closed early on Sunday, I decided to make it my drinking day. I arrived at the Old Jameson Distillery being a little terrified of the complimentary whiskey I'd receive at the end of the tour - I'm not much for whiskey and I was nervous that I'd throw up or something in front of a bunch of people.
When we began the tour, our guide asked for 4 women and 4 men to be 'official whiskey taste testers' at the end of the tour. Being a good OU girl, I quickly raised my hand and was selected to sample a type of Scotch, some Jack Daniels, and of course, Jameson.
We took the tour and I learned a lot about the distilling process of Jameson and also the aging process of whiskeys. It was really interesting. When we arrived to the bar, there were 8 chairs set up at a table with three shots on a placemat in front of them. We all grabbed our chairs - I sat next to an American boy, Ariel, originally from Texas, who was visiting Dublin for the weekend from Holland, where he'd been studying for his law degree for a few months. We finished the whiskey testing (I ended up mixing my Jameson with some Coke) and our tour guide presented us with 'diplomas' that claimed we are official whiskey taste testers.
Ariel was staying at a hostel near mine and said he'd walk back with me since we were in a sketchy area of Dublin. We decided to stop off at "Ireland's Oldest Pub, The Brazen Head, established in 1198" and have a Guinness and some dinner. I had quite possibly the LARGEST serving of fish and chips I have ever had in my life.
He walked me back to my hostel and we decided to meet up at The Porter House, a microbrewery in Temple Bar, for a few beers later. Much to our surprise, they were showing American football and the two of us, so relieved to see it, knocked back a few pints of the microbrewery's specialties and enjoyed wonderful conversation.
I headed back to the hostel around midnight and went right to sleep. I woke only a few times during the night and got up around 9:30 the next morning. I set off for the Kilmainham Gaol, an old prison on the outskirts of Dublin, and took a lovely and informative tour.
The prison was so fabulous. Such an interesting place to visit and see the architecture and history stemming from a long time of Irish rebellions.
After the Gaol, I headed back into the center and went to the Dublin Castle and then through City Hall before heading to Henry Street to get some food and do some shopping. I grabbed a cup of tea at a coffeeshop inside of a bookstore and watched as Obama selected Hillary as his Secretary of State.
I caught a bus to the airport around 5:30 and waited for my plane. I made it back to Cardiff around midnight and went right to bed after such a long and exhausting weekend.
Next weekend, Jen England, a friend from school, will be arriving to London to take an Art History class through OU. I'll be going to London to get her and also see Toby one last time before leaving the country. Will update soon!!
Hope all is well!
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Please vote for me!!!
Hey everyone! Please go to http://www.thedailyshuffle.com/profiles/blogs/capture-campus-life-entry-2, join the blog, and leave a comment on my photo! If I get the most comments, I get $100! Would be nice to have that when I get home!!
THANKS!!!
THANKS!!!
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Thanks for the memories, United Kingdom
November 27, 2008 - the fourth Thursday of November - 3 more days left in November - less than a month left until Christmas - Oh! And it's Thanksgiving!
My, my has time flown by. I can't believe it's Thanksgiving. Yes, the time has traveled quickly, but I more or less can't believe it's Thanksgiving because I'm typing this from my desk at work.
Last night, I spent my evening peeling, coring, and slicing apples for my first attempt at a purely made-from-scratch and made from my own recipe apple crisp. I spent just over 2 1/2 hours on this dish. It has been quite an adventure for me since signing up to bring dessert to the Intern Thanksgiving celebration. Assuming I'd be able to find a can of pumpkin puree' at the local market, I volunteered to make a homemade pumpkin pie for the celebration. After searching markets in Cardiff, Swansea and even London, I was left pumpkinless.
I spoke with my mom last night, boasting my success on an absolutely incredible apple crisp. I could hear the disappointment in her voice as she uttered, 'I miss you,' and hung up the phone.
Thanksgiving is, as it is in most familes, one of the largest and most important holidays. Everyone is typically around on Thanksgiving. For the most part, cousins that are married are with our family for Thanksgiving and are with their spouse's family for Christmas. This is the holiday that we all get together, eat in the early afternoon and spend the rest of the evening in a food coma, watching movies, playing games and drawing names for the Christmas secret Santa exchange. It's the holiday where my cousin takes out the good dinnerware and we eat in the dining room instead of at the kitchen table. It's the holiday where we go to bed early that night so we can get up early to help the retail world move into the black on Black Friday.
Although I'd rather be spending this holiday with my family and friends in good old Ohio, this isn't the last place I'd want to be. The shared feeling of homesickness is present in all of us, at least for today. I'm rather excited to eat turkey...even if it wasn't prepared by a relative.
So what am I thankful for? I'm thankful for the opportunities I've been given here; the things I've seen; the places I've visited; the friendships I've made; the friendships I've maintained; the family that I have and love; and this meal I'm just a few short hours away from eating.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I hope your day is truly blessed!
My, my has time flown by. I can't believe it's Thanksgiving. Yes, the time has traveled quickly, but I more or less can't believe it's Thanksgiving because I'm typing this from my desk at work.
Last night, I spent my evening peeling, coring, and slicing apples for my first attempt at a purely made-from-scratch and made from my own recipe apple crisp. I spent just over 2 1/2 hours on this dish. It has been quite an adventure for me since signing up to bring dessert to the Intern Thanksgiving celebration. Assuming I'd be able to find a can of pumpkin puree' at the local market, I volunteered to make a homemade pumpkin pie for the celebration. After searching markets in Cardiff, Swansea and even London, I was left pumpkinless.
I spoke with my mom last night, boasting my success on an absolutely incredible apple crisp. I could hear the disappointment in her voice as she uttered, 'I miss you,' and hung up the phone.
Thanksgiving is, as it is in most familes, one of the largest and most important holidays. Everyone is typically around on Thanksgiving. For the most part, cousins that are married are with our family for Thanksgiving and are with their spouse's family for Christmas. This is the holiday that we all get together, eat in the early afternoon and spend the rest of the evening in a food coma, watching movies, playing games and drawing names for the Christmas secret Santa exchange. It's the holiday where my cousin takes out the good dinnerware and we eat in the dining room instead of at the kitchen table. It's the holiday where we go to bed early that night so we can get up early to help the retail world move into the black on Black Friday.
Although I'd rather be spending this holiday with my family and friends in good old Ohio, this isn't the last place I'd want to be. The shared feeling of homesickness is present in all of us, at least for today. I'm rather excited to eat turkey...even if it wasn't prepared by a relative.
So what am I thankful for? I'm thankful for the opportunities I've been given here; the things I've seen; the places I've visited; the friendships I've made; the friendships I've maintained; the family that I have and love; and this meal I'm just a few short hours away from eating.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I hope your day is truly blessed!
Monday, 24 November 2008
It's amazing how much the weather changes things
This past weekend, I went back to London. After my trip prior, I vowed not to waste my time returning to London, as I was appalled by the wind and rain that ruined two pairs of shoes and left me feeling cold and dirty.
However, Marie, a friend from high school who is studying in Italy, flew out to London with some mates from her program for the weekend. Obviously, I was not going to miss out on seeing her in a foreign city and I quickly searched train timetables and started a countdown on my Facebook status.
I woke up early on Saturday morning and dashed to the Cardiff train station to make the 8:25 train that would bring me into Paddington around 10:30. I was set to meet Marie and her friends in Piccadilly Circus at 11 and caught the Bakerloo line just in time to meet them outside of the station. We grabbed some coffee since they've been deprived in Italy and headed off toward Buckingham Palace.
We walked through Green Park and saw some of the largest pelicans I have ever seen.
We eventually made it to Buckingham, and because the skies were clear and the weather was delightful, I could see Big Ben peaking up through the trees.
We walked back past the park and headed towards Westminster Abbey and Parliament to get a better, more close up shot of Big Ben. The skies were so blue and beautiful that Ben's toffee color contrasted beautifully.
The sun set while we were on the train heading for the St. John's Wood Underground stop to walk the short walk to the legendary Abbey Road crosswalk where The Beatles crossed to get to their Abbey Road recording studio. We stopped traffic to walk in Paul's bare footsteps and smiled as we imagined George, Ringo, John and Paul walking back and forth every day.
I made plans to meet up with Toby, a friend from camp, later in the evening so we made the trek back toward King's Cross to meet him for a drink. We crossed the footbridge near the London Eye to take some photos of the River Thames and the London sky in the dark.
We met up with Toby around 8:15 for drinks at a little pub in Covent Gardens. I met his girlfriend Alexa and we all giggled and chatted about the beautiful weather in London that day. I had to leave just after 9pm to catch the Tube back to Paddington to make the last train back to Cardiff at 10. Proved to be one of the best daytrips I've taken while I've been here and I'm so glad that I was able to have a good taste of London, rather than a rainy and windy one.
Sunday, Dianne and I woke up early to catch a train to Swansea for the day. We'd heard much about the beauty of the beaches there and wanted to experience them firsthand. Praying hard for bearable weather, we grabbed the slow train to Swansea and made it there just after 12. Swansea's train station was about a 15 minute walk from the city centre so we headed down to the centre to look for the bus station. We grabbed a bus to Mumbles, the birthplace of Catherine Zeta Jones and were taken aback by the beauty of the coastline.
The water was choppy and chilly and the smell of saltwater danced through the air. I smiled as I realized that this was the same ocean that touched the States. It excited me to think that this was the final angle I needed to see the Atlantic from.
The wind picked up and a dark cloud came over the top of the mountains. Dianne and I ducked into a waterfront cafe' and grabbed a tea and some cake while the short rainstorm passed over the area. We walked back outside to find a rainbow diving into the water.
We kept walking toward a pier we saw off in the distance and found a small, secluded beach set at the end of a giant cliff. The waves crashed onto the sand and water sprayed, stinging my windburnt face just a bit.
We noticed several paths heading up to the top of the cliff. We climbed to the top, unsure of what we'd see to the other side. We looked out over the ocean and looked down on another beach.
We climbed down to go look around at the beach. The view was breathtaking. I was standing in a Utopia. My own little slice of Heaven on Earth. The chilly wind blowing through my hair, the icy water splashing onto my shoes. A perfect world of blue skies, turquoise water and deafening wind. I closed my eyes and breathed deep, filling my lungs with the pure, cold air. I snapped back to reality as Dianne stumbled on some stones a few feet away.
***
The trips this weekend made me realize how much I'm going to miss it here. The beauty. The purity. The culture. The life.
However, Marie, a friend from high school who is studying in Italy, flew out to London with some mates from her program for the weekend. Obviously, I was not going to miss out on seeing her in a foreign city and I quickly searched train timetables and started a countdown on my Facebook status.
I woke up early on Saturday morning and dashed to the Cardiff train station to make the 8:25 train that would bring me into Paddington around 10:30. I was set to meet Marie and her friends in Piccadilly Circus at 11 and caught the Bakerloo line just in time to meet them outside of the station. We grabbed some coffee since they've been deprived in Italy and headed off toward Buckingham Palace.
We walked through Green Park and saw some of the largest pelicans I have ever seen.
We eventually made it to Buckingham, and because the skies were clear and the weather was delightful, I could see Big Ben peaking up through the trees.
We walked back past the park and headed towards Westminster Abbey and Parliament to get a better, more close up shot of Big Ben. The skies were so blue and beautiful that Ben's toffee color contrasted beautifully.
The sun set while we were on the train heading for the St. John's Wood Underground stop to walk the short walk to the legendary Abbey Road crosswalk where The Beatles crossed to get to their Abbey Road recording studio. We stopped traffic to walk in Paul's bare footsteps and smiled as we imagined George, Ringo, John and Paul walking back and forth every day.
I made plans to meet up with Toby, a friend from camp, later in the evening so we made the trek back toward King's Cross to meet him for a drink. We crossed the footbridge near the London Eye to take some photos of the River Thames and the London sky in the dark.We met up with Toby around 8:15 for drinks at a little pub in Covent Gardens. I met his girlfriend Alexa and we all giggled and chatted about the beautiful weather in London that day. I had to leave just after 9pm to catch the Tube back to Paddington to make the last train back to Cardiff at 10. Proved to be one of the best daytrips I've taken while I've been here and I'm so glad that I was able to have a good taste of London, rather than a rainy and windy one.
Sunday, Dianne and I woke up early to catch a train to Swansea for the day. We'd heard much about the beauty of the beaches there and wanted to experience them firsthand. Praying hard for bearable weather, we grabbed the slow train to Swansea and made it there just after 12. Swansea's train station was about a 15 minute walk from the city centre so we headed down to the centre to look for the bus station. We grabbed a bus to Mumbles, the birthplace of Catherine Zeta Jones and were taken aback by the beauty of the coastline.
The water was choppy and chilly and the smell of saltwater danced through the air. I smiled as I realized that this was the same ocean that touched the States. It excited me to think that this was the final angle I needed to see the Atlantic from.
The wind picked up and a dark cloud came over the top of the mountains. Dianne and I ducked into a waterfront cafe' and grabbed a tea and some cake while the short rainstorm passed over the area. We walked back outside to find a rainbow diving into the water.
We kept walking toward a pier we saw off in the distance and found a small, secluded beach set at the end of a giant cliff. The waves crashed onto the sand and water sprayed, stinging my windburnt face just a bit.
We noticed several paths heading up to the top of the cliff. We climbed to the top, unsure of what we'd see to the other side. We looked out over the ocean and looked down on another beach.
We climbed down to go look around at the beach. The view was breathtaking. I was standing in a Utopia. My own little slice of Heaven on Earth. The chilly wind blowing through my hair, the icy water splashing onto my shoes. A perfect world of blue skies, turquoise water and deafening wind. I closed my eyes and breathed deep, filling my lungs with the pure, cold air. I snapped back to reality as Dianne stumbled on some stones a few feet away.***
The trips this weekend made me realize how much I'm going to miss it here. The beauty. The purity. The culture. The life.
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Why I love being a Bobcat...
Here I am, on the home stretch. I've come to realize a few things since my last post. Yes, I really am going to miss it here. Plain and simple. I'm going to miss my friends, my job, my apartment. I'm going to miss the tea, the Welsh cakes and the quick and (basically) easy travel. But oh how much I can't wait to get back to Athens.
I spent much of my day today rekindling some of my favorite YouTube videos through the use of My Favorites on my own YouTube account. I found the video shot from a dorm on South Green during a ridiculous lightning storm my sophomore year. I can remember watching the same lightning storm with Kelsey and Rachel out the window of our Scott Quad triple and seeing the electric bolt hit just a few hundred feet from our window. We nearly peed our pants.
I came across some videos of the OZONE doing chants at basketball games. And my personal favorite, I came across one I remember happening during MillFest last year - some idiot riding a razor scooter down the road and flipping into a blow up pool.
I then decided to search videos tagged with Ohio University to kind of keep up with what some of my fellow students have been up to while I've been gone. I came across many videos from this year's Halloween celebration (as expected) and I came across videos of the event my friends couldn't stop talking about - the Oaktoberfest 2008 street fires.
Now let me preface this by saying that my friends are not a bunch of arsonists and are not responsible for these fires - they just happen to live on the street. While some may find my friends to be rather irresponsible and stupid, I find them quite interesting. I can't say what I would have done had I been present for these fires, but I will say I wouldn't have reacted in the same way as a couple of idiots, caught on video, did by trying to jump through the 8 foot high flames. Please do not assume these morons are my friends and please do not assume I would ever be THIS stupid.
Aside from those videos of my fellow students being complete and total idiots, I discovered a couple that had been put together to mock the NBA's "Where Amazing Happens" commercials. I will not tell a lie, a tear came to my eye. As a near-graduation senior, I can't help but be sentimental about EVERYTHING that I've experienced while at Ohio University.
I can remember trying to make the choice between Ohio University and Ohio State University. I had already made plans to be a Buckeye - and then the acceptance letter from Scripps came in the mail. I took it as a sign from God that I was going to graduate a Bobcat. And to be completely honest, I thank God every day for that letter. Had it come a day later, the title of this blog would be 'Why I love being a Buckeye...' and I'd talk mostly about jumping into Mirror Lake, football and staying so close with high school friends.
I am so proud to be a Bobcat for all of the above reasons. I'm proud to call people who cheat death through their alcohol consumption, crazy antics and drunken shenanigans my best friends, acquaintances and classmates. I'm proud of everything Athens has to offer and everything that Athens doesn't have to offer. If I walk into an interview later on down the road and they say, 'Oh, you went to OU. That's quite the party school.' I'll say, 'Yes. Yes it is,' and keep my head held high. I will NEVER be ashamed to be a Bobcat and I'll never let anyone from the outside try to degrade my intelligence and dedication because I learned how to handle my booze while I was in school.
I have made the best friends, the greatest connections and had the best time - all thanks to Ohio University.
I spent much of my day today rekindling some of my favorite YouTube videos through the use of My Favorites on my own YouTube account. I found the video shot from a dorm on South Green during a ridiculous lightning storm my sophomore year. I can remember watching the same lightning storm with Kelsey and Rachel out the window of our Scott Quad triple and seeing the electric bolt hit just a few hundred feet from our window. We nearly peed our pants.
I came across some videos of the OZONE doing chants at basketball games. And my personal favorite, I came across one I remember happening during MillFest last year - some idiot riding a razor scooter down the road and flipping into a blow up pool.
I then decided to search videos tagged with Ohio University to kind of keep up with what some of my fellow students have been up to while I've been gone. I came across many videos from this year's Halloween celebration (as expected) and I came across videos of the event my friends couldn't stop talking about - the Oaktoberfest 2008 street fires.
Now let me preface this by saying that my friends are not a bunch of arsonists and are not responsible for these fires - they just happen to live on the street. While some may find my friends to be rather irresponsible and stupid, I find them quite interesting. I can't say what I would have done had I been present for these fires, but I will say I wouldn't have reacted in the same way as a couple of idiots, caught on video, did by trying to jump through the 8 foot high flames. Please do not assume these morons are my friends and please do not assume I would ever be THIS stupid.
Aside from those videos of my fellow students being complete and total idiots, I discovered a couple that had been put together to mock the NBA's "Where Amazing Happens" commercials. I will not tell a lie, a tear came to my eye. As a near-graduation senior, I can't help but be sentimental about EVERYTHING that I've experienced while at Ohio University.
I can remember trying to make the choice between Ohio University and Ohio State University. I had already made plans to be a Buckeye - and then the acceptance letter from Scripps came in the mail. I took it as a sign from God that I was going to graduate a Bobcat. And to be completely honest, I thank God every day for that letter. Had it come a day later, the title of this blog would be 'Why I love being a Buckeye...' and I'd talk mostly about jumping into Mirror Lake, football and staying so close with high school friends.
I am so proud to be a Bobcat for all of the above reasons. I'm proud to call people who cheat death through their alcohol consumption, crazy antics and drunken shenanigans my best friends, acquaintances and classmates. I'm proud of everything Athens has to offer and everything that Athens doesn't have to offer. If I walk into an interview later on down the road and they say, 'Oh, you went to OU. That's quite the party school.' I'll say, 'Yes. Yes it is,' and keep my head held high. I will NEVER be ashamed to be a Bobcat and I'll never let anyone from the outside try to degrade my intelligence and dedication because I learned how to handle my booze while I was in school.
I have made the best friends, the greatest connections and had the best time - all thanks to Ohio University.
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