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The junior year of my high school year my family and i went to Europe. We hit England, France, Switzerland, and Italy. But the funny thing was that when we were here (or there) all i was was a miserable teenage angst-struck girl who was sick of traveling with the extended parts of the family. I was in tears most of the time because I saw nothing that was to any part of my own desire. So, what did i do? I promised myself on a night tour of Rome that i would come back to Europe and do it right when i was older. What is crazy is that I had actually thought that Paris was not as good as i had always imagined it to be when i first came. But this last trip re-evaluated everything and made me realized that it was everything that i had dreamed of it to be before i came out the first time before my senior year.
It was a dream. It was pain au chocolats, bonjours, au revoirs, crepes, fondue, Parisennes, angelina's, chocolat, baguettes, D'orsay, and so much more. I loved everything about Paris. It was incredible because 5 years ago i was afraid to walk the streets alone and this past time i walked myself from the Eiffel tower to D'orsay to Academie Musique without a problem. I realized that it was then that things have changed dramatically for me. I've disconnected from my parents, i've become my own, and i love running around by myself. Of course, Cheryl and Adrienne made the experience all the better.. but I felt so at peace being in Paris and soaking in what it had to offer. It was the best feeling.
Now i'm done with exams and i can't wait to see what troubles i come up within the last weeks i have in the country i've so desperately fallen in love with. I'm all yours England.
But damn why does it have to be so far away?
Today, I went to dinner and sat with all the others in my hall. out of the 10 or so out of us only 3 others were still in exams. I'm so close but it seems just that much further away from reaching my goal of the end of exams. the funny thing is that i don't think that i want it to come either. I want it to end so quickly and have so many things to look forward to but that only means that my time here is coming to a close. what it ultimately means is that i'll be leaving here before i even know it.
So then what do i do?
I try to set myself up in this idea that since i'm here and i don't have much time i should just enjoy myself, studies or no studies included. But at the same time another side of me is telling me that i came here to study as well as have fun and should study as much as i can while i'm still awake. I keep convincing myself that i've worked hard enough for the day so i lay off for a bit and even manage to take naps. I don't want this to be over but I don't want to be in exams. I really just want to hang out, enjoy my company, and bake some more in the sun.
Is this too much to ask for?
I know that there are plenty of upsides of summer that many people enjoy. The sunshine, the ladies wearing skimpier clothing, the drinks in the sun, tans, sunglasses that you can actually wear appropriately, beaches, and the whole spectrum of glorious summer traits. But there is always a downside. Who am I kidding, its the one upside of winter that makes the downside of summer so down. Ok, enough ups and downs. But I can definitely say that the worst part of summer are the bugs.
Mosquitos and all those other pesky little mosquitos are the BANE of my existence during the summertime. Especially since I get terrible allergic reactions to bug bites, they are just not my slice of pie. And i don't know what it is, but within the last two/three days i've accumulated over 7 mosquito bites. And these are those cute little mosquito bites that get no bigger than a five pence coin (a dime for you Americans), but they grow and swell to the size of a baseball (cricket for you English). They get feverish and they turn into this intense bright red color. Unfortunately, of the 7 mosquito bites, 6 of them are dispersed on my legs, which means no shorts for quite awhile. what a drag! its hitting 77ºF tomorrow and i wanted to tan my legs...
Can it take any longer for the sunshine to finally come out and show itself? it took so long for the sun to show itself in England but it came out to the extent that i have burned! well it isn't a crazy tan but i won't lie, i see myself getting browner and the other girls here are red as tomatoes. Which means that the sun was hot enough to get the blood boiling in all respects
With exams all the way until the end of May, there is no doubt that not everyone is finished with their exams. The funny thing though is that people are coming out to Founder's quad as though exams have already finished and are enjoying a light alcoholic jug of Pimms to enjoy with it all. I have never seen all of Roho so happy with sunshine in their faces. I won't even deny the fact that i got my ounce of sunshine as well. Yesterday i went out with Cheryl from 10am until 4pm grasping every little UVA and UVB under my spf40'd skin. I unfortunately not knowing how sunny it was going to be wore a shirt that had a huge X on the back and there followed a beautiful jester pattern. It is so good to see my arms back to their normal color that i can almost forget my sallowness from the weeks before. We went again this morning at 10 to sit and study but by 2 o clock i had been drained of my energy or will power and punched drunk with love by the sun. By quarter past two, i was knocked out in my room until four. what a beautiful afternoon. summer you're the love of my life. x
Tomorrow's exam is quite possibly one of the most difficult exams I will encounter since the start of my exam period this past week. Unfortunately, while everyone else was complaining how in their last exam they couldn't fully complete their last question out of 3 to the extent that they wanted to, I won't be able to fully complete my last exam of the week out of three. Was relatively more prepared to get down to the exam for the last exam, but now i'm wondering if i am even going to be passing this class tomorrow. i suppose that only time will help me figure it out. i really don't care about whether the system is pluralist or competitive elitist. i don't care if people think that the PM is actually closer in personality to the President of the US. i just. don't. care.
Other than that, i've realized i don't like the rain any more. Back in California i used to appreciate rain as it was the only means making the dust settle, freshen the air, and get a free car wash. Here, all it is is miserable. I'm watching it fall between little teases of sunshine and its by far the worst thing ever. Its been raining for the last 3-4 weeks and its just been incessant. All i hear about from californians is the effect of sunshine being so hot and gross that they just want to stay inside their air conditioned rooms. hello, people. my room is still being heated 24/7 with the radiator that sits in the corner.
where are you sunshine? where?
During my year here I've been studying extensively on 18th century British history. And when i mean extensively, i mean i can tell you about their trade, their growth in provincial towns, literature, and even sexuality. Glorious Revolutions, Reformation Acts, East India Company, Lady Montague, Emma Donaghue, ... etc. The people during this time period were powerful thinkers, had new ideas, romanticized over love, and did nothing with their spare time except read if you were apart of the genteel or the elite. Women were considered sexual beings who needed to have sex in order to balance their wet and cold fluids. Men were throwing away inhibitions and sodomizing with each other in St. James Park. Masquerades were huge, hair was even bigger, and shopping became a habit. London was the place to be in all of the world unless you needed some rest and relaxation then Bath and Tunsbridge Wells provided your pampering needs. Times were good, if you had the money.
Unfortunately, i have an exam on all of this useless information tomorrow afternoon and i'm not quite sure if i'm just about ready for all it. I want to say that I will be able to tackle this exam tomorrow but i must keep studying to figure it all out.
Just because I'm in England doesn't mean that tea has been my staple drink of choice. But, i can't deny the joy that i've found in drinking tea with a little bit of milk. What especially made me fall in love with English tea was when I went to Hampton Court Palace with Debbie and had English tea with scones, clotted cream (don't ask me what this is), and jam. WOW. Sounds really stupidly simply but the scones were perfectly baked and the clotted cream and jam made the whole situation creamy and fruity at the same time. I guess the closest thing i can relate it to is when we eat cream cheese with strawberry jam. yum.
So Whittards is a pleasant tea store chain that dominates all of London and other towns. They have the strangest sounding teas as well as all your conventional teas. The best thing though is that their line of green teas is incredible. Having bought a line of peach green tea and mango green tea, regular green tea sounds so boring! But of course i still love my rooted green tea with brown rice. Whittards also has these great powdered teas that Christine has fallen in love with that are sweet but still have the essence of tea behind it all. Mulled wine still one of my favorites. Some legit tea from Whittards is the way to go.
For those of you who know me pretty well know that i have certain tv shows that i cannot live without. Those being Project Runway, Grey's Anatomy, and many shows on Food Network. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), when I came to England I was left without a telly and any real connection with the television industry. But eventually, though i had wept for weeks from the pure absence of the blur of the tv, i was struck with "luck" when the writers went on strike. With that, the American TV industry was full stop, with a few exceptions, and I didn't have weekly tastings to look forward to. Then I stepped into Skins.
People always say that American TV shows have been blowing up the scene, especially with shows like Lost, 24, Prison Break, House, Grey's... etc. But Skins brought me back from the grandeur of adult shows back to teenage shows. MTV has definitely disappeared from me since i've been here so it was definitely bizzare watching a show that didn't involve people who were younger than 25. Skins is your typical teenage show. You've got your jock, the hottie, the druggie, the anorexic, the dork, the gay guy, the wangsta, the stalker, and the talent who all have serious family and internal issues. But even though people don't believe that this show is all that great, i love it. Just because it throws me back to teenage angst shows that we used to watch back when Dawson's Creek, Roswell, One Tree Hill, and Popular. Except, England does it right when they don't displace all the cursing, drugs, and sex. Well season 2 is over, and that may be the end of the journey for the show. Well played.
No, I'm not talking about that great surfer brand that accommodates for all them gorgeously fit blonde haired surfers of California but in fact i'm talking about the chain of pubs that exist in London and probably other parts of England. Unfortunately, I can only claim to have seen them in London alone. Last night I ventured out with Bruna, Ms. Thang, Sara, and Natalie to the Picadilly Circus O'Neils, promising a good time. Let me first clarify that I'm exceedingly wary of places like O'Neils because it attracts the greats of America and more American students to come together and dance to covers of American music. And to my great surprise, there was no surprise.
We were greeted by an obtrusively large bouncer who hackled at us for being Americans via looking at our IDs. We make it to the top floor, aside from the toilets, to the Music Room, blasted by the slightly techno slightly not music, small dance floor and smaller stage. I order myself a lager top (beer topped with some Sprite) and wash down my negativity. What a good time I had! Lo and behold the places gets packed by midnight and the band goes on and plays their own versions of Foo Fighters, A-Ha, Cee-lo, Sum 41, Greenday, Queen and so on. We all have a great time dancing with the other crazy Americans, avoid the creepy Spanish creeper who grabs my hand when i'm throwing up my gang signs, talk with old balding men, and deplete at the sight of scruffy boys. But it gets better, the night ends with curry fries. oh, yes.
The junior year of my high school year my family and i went to Europe. We hit England, France, Switzerland, and Italy. But the funny thing was that when we were here (or there) all i was was a miserable teenage angst-struck girl who was sick of traveling with the extended parts of the family. I was in tears most of the time because I saw nothing that was to any part of my own desire. So, what did i do? I promised myself on a night tour of Rome that i would come back to Europe and do it right when i was older. What is crazy is that I had actually thought that Paris was not as good as i had always imagined it to be when i first came. But this last trip re-evaluated everything and made me realized that it was everything that i had dreamed of it to be before i came out the first time before my senior year.
