Take me home, country roads...

Well, the day has finally came and went. I am officially back in America. I still can't believe my study abroad experience is over. I feel like it didn't even happen. When I see my friends for the first time, they all ask me to tell them stories and adventures, but honestly, I can't think of any off the top of my head. The whole experience was like one GIANT adventure. The only response I can give them is, "I had the time of my life. It was hands down the greatest experience I've ever had. And that's about it." It sounds lame and cliche to say, but it's true. I left London with no regrets, and that was one of my goals. So overall, I think my study abroad experience was a major success.

I promised I would discuss the departure party, so here it goes. It was a FABULOUS night. Everyone was dressed up and looking classy. There was awesome music, nice snacks, and amazing drinks. Overall, the vibe of the whole night was uplifting. Everyone was in such a great mood, despite the fact that we knew it was our last night together. I danced, I sang, I laughed, and I may have even cried by the end of the night. We all got free t-shirts as well. They are so funny! On the front, it says "I did it in London." Then, on the back it says, "CAPA Study Abroad Program Spring 2009"....and then it lists all of the other countries that you can study abroad in. I love the fact that our CAPA shirts are just a little bit dirty...haha. We ended our night at a dance club, but we didn't really stay there long. It was kind of beat. Oh well...

The next day (my final full day in London) we decided to all ride the London Eye. It was a great way to take in the city of London one final time. The weather was absolutely beautiful! It had to be the warmest and brightest day in London thus far. Everyone was laying in parks, strolling the streets, eating ice cream...it was just so sweet. The Eye was really cool. I took some amazing photos from the top. At night, we all went to our favorite pub and had one final pint together. We were all pretty tired, so we didn't last too long. We shared our favorite moments, laughed, and eventually cried. These people are a part of me now, so when leaving them, I felt like I was leaving that part of me with them. It was hard. Really hard.

Fortunately, the ache in my heart started to fade when I woke up the next morning realizing I was returning home. My REAL home. I was going to be seeing my family and friends for the first time in months. It felt so good. The flight was pretty smooth. Not too much turbulence. I just watched a couple films to pass the time. I can't explain the feeling of seeing my family after getting off of the plane. To my own surprise, I actually cried. I've never cried due to happiness before. It was strange. I was really exhausted, so we went home right away. And when I say we went home, I mean we went HOME, to my own bed, in my own house, with my own parents. The feeling couldn't get any better...

So I guess this means good-bye for now? It's been an amazing journey, and I hope by reading my blogs, you all felt like you were on the journey with me. I shared my best and my worst moments with you. I have to admit, my heart hurts a little writing this. Ending my blog means the experience is OFFICIALLY over. At least I have the memories. The memories I will NEVER forget. By ending this, I closing one chapter of my life. But where one chapter closes, another chapter begins. Here's to the next chapter in my life...may it be as good as the last...

Never was good at saying good-bye

I hate this. You know, I thought that by April 25th I would be READY to go home. In a way, I guess I am ready to see my family and friends, but it's just that I don't want to say good-bye to my new friends. It's weird. For some reason, it took us 12 weeks to finally fall into a groove with one another. We now have assigned roles in the group (the joker, the smart one, the nice one, etc.). It feels natural now being with them. Why did it take so long to reach this point? It's like we finally reach a natural state of friendship, and then we have to leave one another. I don't like it. I don't like it one bit.

Tonight is the departure party thrown by my school. We are all getting dressed up, there is a buffet, and afterwards we get free admission to a club. I AM STOKED. It is going to be loads of fun. I actually went out and bought a new dress for the occasion (I'll post a picture of it after tonight). I'm sleeping over my friend's flat again so I don't have to worry about catching the last tube home. I'm so excited. We're going to get dolled up together and everything. Wow, I sound like such a little girl...Oh well, I'm excited and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

What I'm NOT excited for is saying goodbye at the end of the night. Fortunately, I think a lot of us are going to be riding The Eye together tomorrow afternoon, so we can say our bye's then. We figured riding the Eye on our last day in London was a good way to take the city in ONE LAST TIME. It's such a tourist thing to do, but it just seems right. Speaking of tourists, it's really funny how angry I get at tourists in London now. THEY ARE EVERYWHERE, and they tend to stand in the most inconvenient places, such as right in front of the tube stop, or in front of an escalator. SO ANNOYING. It's funny how I get mad because technically I could be considered a tourist. But in reality, I considered myself a London citizen the past few months. I lived here, not vacationed here. I think that's why leaving is going to be so rough; I'm not leaving vacation to go back home. I'm leaving one home to go back to another...

Well, my blogs will be winding down soon, like my study abroad experience is. But I'll be sure to write a couple more about the departure party, saying bye to friends, and my trip home. Until then....

Greenwich, laying in the park, a hot sun....my best weekend.

So this past weekend, I basically had the BEST WEEKEND EVER! I didn't do anything too exciting or vigorous, but I think that's why I enjoyed it. Friday, Matt and I went to the Temple Church (from the DaVinci Code), took pictures, and then just walked around London for a little bit. Friday night, I slept over my friend Susanna's flat so that we could all stay out late and not worry about catching the last tube home. We went to a pub called Waxy O'Conners. It's the place we went to on my birthday. AMAZING time. My friend Brittany and I fell in love with the bartender, and I'm pretty sure he knew it. He had dimples like you've never seen before...Alas, we had an awesome time at the pub. Lots of friends, lots of laughs, and lots of memories were made....

Saturday ended up being the best day of the weekend. We all woke up at a pretty decent time and took a boat ride down the Thames to Greenwich. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. No jackets necessary, which is rare for London. Of course the first thing we did when getting to Greenwich was stand over the Prime Meridian. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is the line that splits the eastern and western hemispheres. It also has the most precise clock in the world. So that was really cool. We then walked through a park with lots of beautiful pink flowers, children laughing, and boys playing football. Since it was so beautiful out, we all decided to lay in the park and enjoy the weather. BEST MOMENT EVER. Our friend Bentley put his ipod on, and we just all laying in a circle on our backs and watched the sky. Sounds corny, but it was truly the best moment ever. For the first time, we all relaxed and soaked in the fact that this was it: we had one week left in London together....These are moments we won't have again for a very long time, and maybe never again. To mark this occasion, Bentley played "Come sail away" by Styx. Hilarious but touching. At night, we all just went to a pub and shared a few drinks to kick off our last week together. Sentimental things were said, but I'm sure more cute moments will be had on Thursday at our departure party. It will be bittersweet to say the least....

So that was my best weekend. I have to say, last week, I was ready to pack and leave. Now, after this glorious weekend with friends I love so much, I'm really sad to leave. I truly had the time of my life, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that to end...

PS: here's a little tid bit that one of our CAPA directors sent all of us in an email. You may find it as funny as I did:

#21 Brit Bit – You know you’ve lived in London too long when...
You don’t even bother looking out of the window when you get up in the morning to check what the day is like. You know it is overcast.
You believe that Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are all good nights for drinking. Sunday day is also entirely reasonable.
You can’t remember what ‘customer service’ means.
You start to accept queuing as a way of life.
You are on to your 6th umbrella and your second overcoat.
You consider eye contact an act of overt aggression.
The UK west of Heathrow is still theoretical to you.
You're suspicious of strangers who are actually nice to you.
Your idea of personal space is no one actually physically standing on you.
You think Hyde Park is "nature".

You know you’re gonna miss it...

You know what, Debbie? I think I really am....

Where was I during the G20 protest????

So as you all probably heard, London held the G20 summit this year, which sparked many protests in the London city. Protestors were announcing that they were going to be attacking bankers and any corporate people. Now, recall to where I said my internship was: AIG. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I was RIGHT in the heart of the G20 protests, where any normal person was told to avoid.

I walked into work earlier that week, and noticed that everyone was wearing street clothes (jeans, hoodies, sneakers, etc.) So I asked my supervisor what's up, and she said for safety reasons, we were allowed (and advised) to wear street clothes to work so that we blended in with the public. They were scared that we would get targeted when going to work if we wore our normal business attire. While this kind of excited me because I got to dress down for the week, another part of me grew scared....Was I going to get hurt this week????

So Wednesday was what I like to call JUDGEMENT DAY. Many of my friends told me to avoid going to work because it was the main day of protests, and police were saying things could get extremely dangerous. And besides, the protests were going to be happening basically right outside my office. However, being the nosey and curious girl I am, I decided I would go and check things out. It was so weird! My street was completely blocked off except for like a million police officers patrolling. Then, as I'm about to turn the corner to go to my building, I LITERALLY walk RIGHT into a march of abou 60 anarchists, all dressed in black, screaming, and ready to start trouble. I just kind of kept my head down and pushed my way through. While they did not do anything harmful around me, they ended up destroying property and several banks. I ended up being sent home early because my boss feared things could get worse. Luckily, things remained pretty calm the rest of the day. Only one man died, and that was due to a heart attack.

So basically, I come to London to find a once in a lifetime experience/adventure, and I end up being right in the middle of a landmark event....kind of cool, huh?

Let's flashback to Ireland...

Hey you crazy kids! Sorry for the major absence, but my computer unfortunately broke after my Ireland trip, so I was unable to blog. I have some free time, so let me fill you in on some odds and ends...

So Ireland...my native land. I just KNEW that I would fall in love with the country. However, I did not know the series of unfortunate events that would fall upon me during my trip. While I was angry when they happened, I can't help but laugh at them now. I guess that's something my new friends taught me while studying abroad; there's no reason to get upset about things when you can just get a laugh out of it. It's all part of the study abroad experience...

Alright, so when I bought my plane ticket, I somehow got charged for priority seating, which only means I get to board the plane before anyone else. It was going to be a hassle and expensive to fix, so I just kept it. So at the airport, I'm going through security, and my bag is pulled aside. Turns out, one of my liquids fell out of its baggy, and so they had to tear my bag apart looking for terrorist objects. In the meantime, they threw out my hairspray. After packing my bag (while the rest of my friends scream TERRORIST at me), we all head to board the plane. My friends decide to yet again make fun of me by calling me THE RICH AMERICAN WHO BOARDS PLANES BEFORE THE COMMON FOLK. It was all laughs, and then I get to the gate. The lady doesn't let me on. Turns out, no one stamped by boarding pass. HOW DID I GET THAT FAR WITHOUT SOMEONE NOTICING?!?!? I had to hold up the line while she called her supervisor, who then informed her that I was in the clear to board. EMBARRASSING. So we get to Ireland and everything is all fine and dandy. Life is good. I got to see my friend Ashley from Ursinus which was AWESOME. I REALLY missed her. On Saturday, we went to Dublin. Dublin was alright, but I prefer the countryside of Ireland. We toured the Guinness factory and basically saw the whole city. THEN...I try to find a necklace. Now, the boys wanted to kill me at this point. They wanted to leave, but I wouldn't unless I found a necklace that my Dad said he'd pay for my birthday present. So I finally find a necklace I like, and as the guy is putting it in the box, the charm falls off, hits his shoe, and bounces to God only knows where. I DIDN'T GET TO BUY THAT NECKLACE. FIGURES. Luckily, I ended up buying a prettier necklace in Galway (where my friend Ashley is studying). Here is the BEST part of our luck: on Saturday night, we went to this nightclub. We're dancing, singing, and having the time of our lives, when all of a sudden.......THE SECOND FLOOR COLLAPSES ON US!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it! The roof just...COLLAPSED!!! Fortunately, none of my friends were hurt. We just kind of grabbed our things and ran out. When we got back, my friends just laughed and said that the roof only collapses when Helen Ann is in the building...I'm beginning to think they're right.

This is a very abridged version of my Ireland trip, but my mishaps are what MADE the trip for me. My friends said I should write them down and turn them into a book, because adventures like this only happen in an alternate reality. We still laugh about it until this day....

Wales and my 21st Birthday!!

Hi everybody! I realize it's been awhile since I've written, but I've been really busy the past 2 weeks. I don't think I've written about Wales, so let's start there, shall we?

Now, I have to be honest. I was not EXTREMELY excited to go to Wales. I mean, I was happy that I was going, but not as excited as going to Paris and Amsterdam. Maybe because I knew I was staying in the UK? I'm not entirely sure. The important part of this story is that I was WRONG. Wales was absolutely AMAZING! I could not have been more far off in judging...
The first place we went to was a Roman Amphitheater. So cool! We stood in the middle and took photographs where soooo many years ago, Gladiators fought. Our bus then took us to

Caerphilly Castle (pictured above.) I probably had the most fun there because my two friends and I (also pictured above) ran around the castle screaming 'we are under attack!!!" and "someone throw me a bow and arrow!" We got PLENTY of weird stares by other tourists, but who cares? We had the time of our lives...The next day we went to the Big Pit Coal Mine. AMAZING. We got to suit up in full out coal mining gear, and go down at least 700 feet into the mine. At one point we turned our lights off on our helmets and stood in the dark. SCARIEST THING EVER! I almost ran away, but then I realized, "Where would I go?" Anyways, it was an amazing experience. Something I'll always remember, much like my entire trip abroad. We finished our trip at Tintern Abby. It was really neat seeing it up close and personal because I've read Wordsworth's poem like, A THOUSAND times in all of my literature courses.

So that was basically my weekend in Wales in a nutshell. I also will take this time to announce that I TURNED 21 ON ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!! It was an awesome birthday. My friends bought me a cake and we all hit up an Irish pub. INSANE. I just wish my family had been there...this was the first birthday I did not get to see them at all. Thanks to all of you who sent cards and/or skyped me on my birthday. I TRULY appreciate it. It made my birthday all the more special. Thank you and I love you.

Ok, well I'm off to finish some more homework and things before bed. I have a long day of work ahead of me tomorrow. Oh! I thought I should add that I've received an A on every paper I've handed in so far this semester! Mom and Dad - BE PROUD! LoL. Ok. I'll update you all soon about my newest adventures I've yet to have...

I'd like an order of Sheep stomach and guts. And why not a side of dry blood for desert?

Hello everybody! So I just got back from visiting my friend Mat (Ursinus Alumni) in Scotland. AMAZING times. Let's start with Tuesday, shall we?

Matt and I boarded our train from Kings Cross at about 10:30am. I never realized how long 5 hours was until I was forced to sit still for that long on a train. Luckily, I bought another Twilight book, so I had my fantasies about handsome vampires to keep me occupied. I also attempted to sleep on the train considering the week ahead of me was going to be jam packed with events. Finally, at about 3:00pm, we arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland. Mat was waiting for us at the station. We were all so excited. For the first time in awhile, we each had a touch of America. A touch of Ursinus College. A touch of HOME.

We had to walk to his flat, which I thought wouldn't be too bad. I've been doing nothing but walking the past few months, so I thought my legs were rock solid. Unfortunately, my London legs were not prepared for Scotland. London is mostly flat land. Scotland? Scotland is NOTHING but hills. If you know me at all, or even my mother for that matter because I'm sure I get it from her, you will understand that I OVERPACK FOR EVERYTHING! So put this image in your heads: Helen Ann lugging a very large suitcase uphill in the rain. Yes, you are allowed to laugh. I still do. Mat's flat was very nice. He has 3 roommates: 1 boy from Iran and his girlfriend, and another boy from Scotland. They were all super nice, and treated us as if we were friends already.

Wednesday, Matt and I woke up at the break of dawn to catch a bus tour of Scotland. The bus left at 8am and did not return back to Edinburgh until 8pm. Do the math. It was a 12 hour tour!! We saw EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING that was in Scotland. My favorite part of the tour was the Highlands. I've never seen anything like it in my entire life. The snow covered mountains were absolutely breath-taking. We even got to step off the bus and take pictures outside in the snow! I also saw some Harry Potter filming sites and Sean Connery's house. The history of the people of Scotland was also fascinating.

The tour ended with a boat ride of Loch Ness. I had my camera on at all times, just waiting to catch a glimpse of the Loch Ness Monster, also known as Nessie. Alas, there was no Nessie...this time. But the boat ride through the most beautiful lake and mountainside was well worth it anyway!

Thursday, we went to Edinburgh Castle. It was really cool, but honestly, I'm getting castled out. Those are words that I never thought I'd say, but it's true. LOL. Since I've been in Europe, I've seen COUNTLESS castles and churches. They are all beginning to look the same to me. However, I also decided that my future husband is going to build me a castle to live in. It's official. He has no other option.

Friday, we said goodbye to Mat and his flatmates. It was bittersweet; a part of me wanted to get back to London to relax, but the other part of me did not want to lose the comfort of home that Mat brought to us. On the train ride home (another 5 hours), Matt and I both agreed that we felt a little homesick for the first time in awhile. If that's how I felt after leaving Mat, I don't even know what I'd feel like if my parents came to visit and left again....

To wrap things up, today I took a Beatles tour around England. It was so cool!!! I got to see sites where A Hard Day's Night and Help were filmed. I also saw different apartments that the members of the band lived in, where some of them were married, and where they wrote certain songs. My favorite part of the tour was Abbey Road. I got to see Abbey Road studios, where most of their albums were recorded. Last but not least, I saw the crossing from the Abbey Road album. It was hilarious watching everyone (including myself) attempting to mimic the picture while crossing the street. There are no traffic lights around there, so you just have to pray that the cars stop for you. They were not happy drivers, but they dealt with us crazy Beatles fans...

Well, I'm off to go do some homework now. I'll update you all later!

Oh!!! I guess I should explain the title of this blog. Well, my first meal in Scotland was QUITE interesting. I was asked to sample Haggis, which did not taste TOO bad. I then found out that it was sheep stomach, intestines, liver, and all that gutsy jazz. I then sampled Black Pudding, a favorite desert of the Scotish. EW EW EW. It tasted HORRIFIC. I then asked what was in it. DRY BLOOD. I kid you not. I ate DRY BLOOD from a sheep. EW EW EW. I'm sick thinking about it now....

I said I was up to trying new things when studying abroad. I did not mean becoming a vampire...