Hello all! It has been quite some time since my last post, so here's a quick rundown of things that have been going on here for me!
1) I went to Bath!! On Saturday, Jan. 28 the group of American exchange students were taken on a day trip to Bath. We got to see the Roman baths and then explore the city, and it was beautiful! Thankfully the weather was good, a bit chilly, but not raining! I've already been to Bath (last year for a spring break day trip) so it was nice knowing/remembering the general area where things were. Unfortunately the Jane Austen Center was closed, but my roommate and I might go back to see it!
2) I finished my paper!! It's not really a big deal, but it was definitely a struggle to get back into the swing of things after such a long break. We had to write a 2500 word essay (which our grade is 100% based on) for our British Politics and Culture pre-sessional class. This is the class we took the 2 weeks before real classes started, it had only Americans in it, and it was super interesting! I learned a lot about, well, British politics and culture. But jeeze...I forget how much I dislike writing papers (hence the business college). My paper was on heritage cinema, which I'm sure anyone who knows me well would know that I love stuff like that! Heritage cinema includes Emma (the Gwyneth Paltrow one) and Sense and Sensibility, so some nights I did my 'research' by watching those movies :)
3) Classes have started!!! This semester I'm only taking 3 classes, but they all transfer back as something I need at Iowa State, so I don't feel too bad about slacking for a bit :) I'm taking a statistics class, a management class, and a class on early American history. So far I'm enjoying them all and they seem decently easy. The only class I don't have with American students is my statistics class, and the other 2 classes are full of Iowa State people, which is super nice! Go Cyclones! :)
4) I have some exciting trips coming up! This weekend (Feb. 8-10) I get to visit my wonderful cousin Shelby in London, and I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!! We have been looking forward to spending time together in London for quite a while, and now it's happening! It will be so amazing :) :) Next week (Wed.-Sun.) Abby and I are planning on joining other guys from ISU to go to Berlin for a long weekend...that will be a great trip! They're planning on going to a concentration camp, which I am super looking forward to. Abby and I are basically just along for the ride, and I'm so grateful the boys are letting us join them! Come the end of February I'll be heading to Dublin for a sightseeing trip with my roommates (Jess and Brittany) and Abby. We will be going for St. Patrick's Day as well, but we're planning on it being crazy, and we're not really expecting to see many sights while there. In March Shelby and I are planning an adventure weekend on the coast of Wales....this is still in the works, but I'll update once it happens :) Then I'll be heading to Dublin again for St. Patrick's Day, and after that I'll be in Spain for a few days! After the short Spain trip, my 3 week spring break begins--it has yet to be finalized, but Abby and are I planning on traveling to numerous countries via train. Planning these trips makes me realize how quickly the time will go here, but I will try not to think about that yet! I'm surprising not ready to think about home right now!
So, my life is finally getting into a semi-normal schedule and we're getting more acclimated to everything here all the time. There are a few weird things, though, that I'll point out before I get ready for my day...
---They sell pancakes, pre-made, in the store. Like, they're in plastic packaging in the bread aisle...how odd!
---Pandora doesn't work here (I guess it's only a US thing?), so Spotify is the next best option...and some of the ads on Spotify are in Welsh! That is always a surprise!
---Macaroni & cheese comes in a can...I have yet to try it, but I'm really wanting some shells & cheese, so that might have to be tried sometime! I've heard it's not horrible, but definitely not like home.
---They don't have measuring cups here!!! How am I supposed to make anything?!? I love recipes, and eye-balling probably wouldn't work well for me. I'm expecting some measuring cups in a package from home soon :)
---Here is a list of some of the food they haven't had here: scotcheroos, puppy chow, apples & peanut butter. Us girls were eating apples & peanut butter one evening with dinner and made our roommates try it...they were pleasantly surprised!
Send me some hugs! I'm missing those lately...and animals, but you can't really send those. You can't send hugs either, but I'll get the good vibes I think :)
Hi, Kinzie,sounds like you are enjoying yourself. Wales is a beautiful country and there is a lot of history everwhere. They dont have the same goodies we have but they have some good goodies, check out the biscuits, what we call cookies, aisle at the store. Also the chocolate is better there, not as many additives so it more pure chocolate. Continue to have fun and enjoy your experiences
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