I have nothing to say....

I promised I would update my blog more frequently, even if I have nothing significant to write. This is one of those updates.

This weekend I met about a thousand international people at my friends Stephan and Peter's flat. They were having a party and for some reason my group of friends just seems to consist of people from everywhere. There were Americans, Bulgarians, Englishmen, some guy from Belgium, Canadians, and a German. The weird thing is that the German is also a CSV volunteer and we've been friends on Facebook since October but we'd never met! It was great fun and I saved money by not going on to town.

This weekend me, Charlotte, Annika and maybe Pili (she isn't sure yet) are going to Liverpool! I'm so excited. It's going to be a little difficult with Charlotte though... we don't have a lot of practice taking her out into the city or anything... but hopefully she is patient with us. We are going to the Beatles museum which is going to be AMAZING. I'll get some souvenirs... cheap ones probably... but souvenirs nonetheless.

Then, on Feb. 17 to the 21 I'm going to be in Amsterdam! It's probably the only trip to Europe I'll get to make while I'm here so I figure I should spend as much time as I can there. Plus I don't have to pay for any place to stay 'cuz I can stay with Sarah Kinney. We're both super excited about it and since she just got there last week she's been telling me all about it. There are canals everywhere and prostitutes in windows. It's going to be crazy but I am really excited.  It's not often that you get to trek around Europe with one of your best friends. Don't worry I will bring my camera and take plenty of pictures!

That's all that's new with me, I hope everyone is doing well :)

Shopping and a flat chat.

Since I have a little bit of extra money from being home (thanks guys :)) I decided that it would be smart of me to buy some clothes. I actually really needed them too, I wasn't just wasting my money. So I went online and luckily there are alllllll sorts of sales right now with stores getting rid of their winter stuff! I got quite a lot of clothes for not very much money and I'm pretty satisfied with the results. I came out of my room wearing some new stuff and Cathrine said "Ooooh you're turning into a European girl!" That's a good thing at this point because I always feel like I'm sticking out when I'm walking through campus. Plus now I have a few things that are nicer instead of just wearing sweatshirts and jeans everyday...

Last night all of us flatmates were sitting in the kitchen talking about everything from 9/11 to racism to the schooling we got when we were growing up. It was really great. Some of the stuff was kind of shocking though, the way we see things in history differently and the things that we're taught growing up. Cathrine (Norway) said that they don't even have the terms "black" and "white" for people... they just don't have any words for the differences in race. She also said that she can't believe that some kids in the US get spanked when they are little and she told a story about how her mom grabbed her arm once and she was terrified. She said she can remember every vivid detail about it. There are lots of little things like that that I really hadn't thought about before... even though I very rarely ever got spanked either it never seemed like that big of a deal if someone did.

We talked for a long time about our school systems. I told them that we had the option to take another language when we're in 10th grade. Cathrine said that in Norway they start English classes in 2nd grade and Franchi and Annie (English) said they can take languages starting in 7th. I kind of wish that the US was this way too... and maybe it is some places but definitely not at Valley. Sarah and I also talked about how immigration is a huge hot-button issue in the states right now and everyone else was shocked at some of the things that Americans believe like saying we should build fences to keep people out and things like that. There is so much that we talked about that there is no way I'm going to be able to cover it all here so I will end this here and leave you with a picture of all of my flatemates (plus Stephan, minus me).

Stephan (USA/France), Cathrine (Norway), Annie (England/France),
Franchie (England), Sarah (Maine, USA)

Charlotte's 20th birthday meal!

   We all went out for a late Celebration of Charlotte's birthday and here are a few pics from the event!

Pili, Leah, Me, Charl, Annika, Lucy, Josie and Fiona!

Leah and Josie attacking Charlotte

I don't know why I'm so surprised in this picture...

Charl thought our waiter was hot and wanted a picture...

Pili, Leah and me!

Getting back into the groove...

Since I've gotten back it's been a little difficult to get back into my routine with Charlotte but now, the fourth day, I think I've got it down again. Charl has been stressing out a lot about her homework -- she had four papers due this week -- so I've needed to comfort and reassure her a lot. She's turned three in so far though and tomorrow morning we'll turn in the last so she'll finally be able to relax.

Over break was Charl's 20th birthday so tomorrow we're going out to dinner with her. It's Me, Annika, Pili, Charl, Leah and a bunch of Charlotte's other friends that I haven't met yet. I'm pretty excited about it and I know that Charlotte is too.

We got a new flatmate! She's an American too... from Maine. Her name is Sarah and we all get along with her really well so far but, then again, we've only known her a week. Hopefully it stays that way. She's in our flat because Canadian Alex left during xmas break and didn't come back because she had been so homesick.All the flatmates are going out tomorrow so I'll probably join them after Charl's birthday dinner.

Pili (Colombian volunteer in our flat) has been sick for a couple months. She has some weird stomach ailment that makes her sick every time she eats so today she came into my room and said that if it doesn't get better within the month she's going to go back to Colombia. That means I'd be getting another new flatmate and a new volunteer to help with Charl! That would be crazy.

I'll post some pictures of tomorrow's dinner and night out after the madness occurs!

Back in the UK

Well, as most of you know, I went home for Christmas and New Years (after about 3 rescheduled flights and two nights "sleeping" in airports). Well I'm now BACK in the United Kingdom and, thanks to my sleeping schedule being eight hours off, I am wide awake at 3 38 AM. So here I am, writing on my Blog because I was told quite a few times to "write on your blog more!" when I was home. Since I haven't written for a while, I will start back in December...

LONDON
Before I left for break Peter, Cathrine, Alex and I went to London on the 10th through the 12th. It was great again. For any Harry Potter fans out there, Peter and I were staying in a hostel that was right next to King's Cross and we actually went to platform 9 3/4... see?

I was QUITE excited about that little excursion. We also went shopping at Oxford Square which turned out to be quite an adventure since it was only a couple weeks before xmas. Then on one of the nights we went to a really legitimate English pub that was full of locals and it was an experience to say the least. Let me preface this story by saying that there was no dancefloor in this pub. It was basically like Tombstones or something... but in England. So we're sitting up in our chairs at a table by the window and this middle-aged, nerdy guy wearing those double-bridge glasses and sweatpants gets up and starts doing the most hilarious dance I've ever seen. It wasn't even really like a dance, it was more like he just pointed his fingers around in a strategic fashion. Well, to top it off, the woman he came in with also starts dancing with him. The woman is a big (bigger than him by quite a bit) black woman with a sequined shirt on. It was great. The best thing about it was though, everyone in the pub starts joining in! No was just laughing at them, it was just a big party that everyone wanted to be a part of! That was a good night.

We also went to Covent Gardens... which is basically just a big touristy area. Here are some photos from that. (Note: I realize this picture of me molesting a statue is inappropriate. It wasn't my choice, he forced me to do it!)

AFTER LONDON
Now then. Once I got back to Lancaster, I immediately contracted a deadly virus called influenza. I also had a nice case of tonsillitis. I, however, refused to go to the doctor for a good three days until I could no longer swallow without wanting to rip my windpipe clean out of my body. When I went, they got me in and gave me some antibiotics yadda yadda and was told to sleep because I had a fever. So, I did. Luckily, Annika is good enough to have covered my shifts. I owe her big time.

Sunday rolls around and I'm feeling pretty good but not quite tip-top yet. Annika and I left on Sunday for the Manchester Airport because my flight was at 6 15 AM the next morning and hers was something like 9 AM. We slept in the aiport. Actually, I slept in the airport and Annika watched our stuff because she was scared she was going to get robbed. Monday morning I check in and everything around 4, say goodbye, and go to my gate. Lo and behold my flight is cancelled. I spent the next SIX AND A HALF hours in line to try and reschedule my flight. By about 1 30, I find out the next flight to Seattle that I can get on isn't until Thursday so, since I had no other option, I booked it.

Luckily Charlotte's family is great and they live rather close to Manchester in a town called Oldham. I went there and stayed the next couple days. Annika's flight got delayed and delayed and delayed and as soon as I left for Oldham she texted me and said her flight was just cancelled. I told her to come to Charlotte's house but she said "I booked a flight to Dusseldorf  tomorrow morning." Annika, is not from Dusseldorf. She is from Frankfurt. So I said "Is that near where you live?" And she said "I think it's somewhere on the east side of Germany." Annika did get home the next day... it was an extra train ride, but probably worth the work... and she also managed to stay awake for ANOTHER night in the Manchester airport to ensure that she wouldn't be robbed.

GETTING HOME
This is where my saga really begins. I went back to Manchester on Thursday morning early... I think I got up at 2 AM and left Oldham at 3 AM in a taxi. I got there, checked in and went to the gate. I soon realize that on a list of ALL flights leaving Manchester, mine is the only one delayed. Apparently there were mechanical problems on our plane. My flight was supposed to leave at 6 15 AM and by the time they were boarding it was about 10. I knew I had missed my connecting flight from Paris to Seattle (it's cheaper to go through Paris) and so I asked the info desk about it. She said "You can go to Paris if you want and they might be able to get you on another flight today or you might have to wait there a few days." This was not what I wanted to hear... I don't have the money to go to Paris and hang out for a few days. I go to a payphone and call mom... it's about 2 AM in the states. I'm bawling my head off saying that I'm not going to get to come home for Christmas and on top of it, lack of sleep and stress had made me sick again. Once I get off the phone and I'm about to head back to Lancaster for the next three weeks, I decide, screw it, I'm going to Paris and I'll sleep in the airport if I have to.

I get to Paris finally after nearly having a panic attack on the plane. I wait in line to see if there are any flights going to Seattle and she says, in her French accent, "I"m sorry ma'am the next flight to Seattle is Thursday." That means THREE nights in the Paris airport. I was pretty desperate so I said "Is there a flight to ANYWHERE in the US and then a connecting flight to Seattle maybe?" She looks again and ta-da! A flight to Georgia and a flight to Seattle an hour after I arrive there. She said "you're on a waiting list, you might not get on," so I hurried to the gate (the plane left in an hour) and waited at the help desk so I could claim any seats that were open. Once I got on the flight I was so ecstatic I can't even explain it. We boarded the plane (me and a bunch of huge, loud southern women) and ended up sitting on the plane... on the ground... for the next five hours due to snow/ice/lack-of-de-icer and general unpreparedness. Throughout that time the captain kept announcing "another fifteen minutes" and everyone was super restless. I had about a hundred French kids sitting behind me who kept KICKING MY SEAT. I was on edge to say the least.

Eventually I got to Georgia and called mom. She was pretty anxious I think because it had been about 15 hours since I called her and I should have called after around 10. Obviously I had missed my connecting flight to Seattle, but luckily they had already rebooked me for a flight the next morning at 8 20 AM. I was starving, it was about 2 AM, but all I had was pounds and the money exchange place wasn't open. So, I plopped down on the linoleum with my backpack as a pillow and slept for two or three hours. When I woke up I was soaking wet and, for some reason, my first thought was that it was pee and someone had peed on me. Namely, a bum. Eventually I figured out I had a water bottle in my backpack that spilled, but there were a couple minutes there where I was in quite a panic. After a couple weird incidents in the airport with an oldish African guy and a pastor in the bathroom, I boarded my flight to Seattle. Six hours later, I landed. It was unreal. I go to the baggage claim and see mom and Travis there and it was the most relief I've ever felt in my life! I almost thought I was going to start crying but I held myself together and pretty soon I was on my way home.

Well, that's the saga of my trip home. I don't wanna write any more on here right now because this is a craaazy long post. I'll try and keep this updated a bit more often from now on. Also, to my family, I hope you guys take this trip into account and realize how badly I wanted to see you guys!