CA - DC - NC - UK.

The Beach-Boys loved it, so did we, but the time came to leave California State behind and make our last long flight together. To DC!

DC

Chilly DC was no longer chilly! We stayed with my friends who I saw back in January, and met up with the ever-insane Imani. Oh how I will miss this little bubble of cheer in my life... We went around DC in the lovely sunshine instead of trudging around in the snow, saw the Jefferson Memorial and went on paddle boats.

As it was close to my birthday, my friend bought me my very first ice-cream cake. Apparently these are common birthday occurrences in the states but I had never heard of them and was pleasantly surprised with its appearance this year!!! --> Looking like a normal cake, with candles on like a regular cake, cut like any old vanilla sponge, it was an odd experience to eat a cold piece, but oh-so good.

It was nice to go back once more. Central DC just has this amazingly clean, official feel to it. As the home of the capitol and the president, I suppose it should. And I suppose it was fitting that we parted our ways as a travelling threesome in Obama's own state of residence.

NC, returning home at last.
So, I made the final trip back to the south alone, contemplating the whirlwind of a month we had just had and the incredible past half of a year....

My good friend from Alabama picked me up from the megabus station and I returned to Chapel Hill once more.

It was weird to see the campus so bare, yet there was still life on it. So many students do summer school over here that the working campus never really sleeps. Its not just tours and official looking people wandering around, its students stuck in May-mesters or first/second session summer semesters... The school system is just so flexible here that if you want to improve your grade, do classes so you can study abroad, retake a failed class or just simply boost your credits so you have less to take next year, its all possible during the summer months.

Last sights of the campus

I had various errands to do, saw a couple of friends, and then went to stay with another friend Melissa for my very LAST night in the states. Staying with her family was lovely, her parents area lot like mine and being in a family-home environment again made me really excited to be seeing my own parents...

Melissa's brother quizzed me on what TV I watched, (apparently he asked Melissa what she was going to do with me... you know, as Brits are so weird and hard to entertain..!! haha), and he was impressed that I love top gear and said I live near Richard Hammond! win there.We took a trip to the beautiful Duke gardens (sorry UNC), in the most humid weather I have EVER experienced in my life. The heat got up in my last month or so in the hill but blimey this was just something else. It wasn't noticeable in the house as it is so well air-conditioned but I was dripping before we'd even got to the car. Wonderful. The week after I left was set to be around 100 degrees... I don't know HOW people live in that, Melissa said she just stays inside. Wise I should think.

So a couple of lovely, chilled few days before coming home. I had my last bski's (AMAZING wrap store on Franklin that I don't think I've ever mentioned, but its awesome), my last visit to Sugarland with my friend Ryan, my last american movie night, and last walk around the campus... for now.

Then it was all homeward bound from there....

Chilly Washington

A very late update! The snow of DC seems far away now but we had such a wonderful weekend.

And comical from the off.

 We left on the Friday evening, a hair-raising journey by one of the girls’ mentors as we got a bit lost and nearly missed the coach! I was let out late from class so also got back later than expected, & I have never laughed and been so scared in a car. At one point crossing into a gas station she shouted to the incoming vehicle: ‘please don’t hit me’ whilst veering across the lane and stopping to run and ask directions from a lady who couldn’t speak English and didn’t know her right from left. Then the car wouldn’t start as she’d stopped it funnily so we ended up pushing it. [note: everyone here has HUGE cars, even students!] We made it somehow, though.

We got to DC and went out to China town, and the whole place was covered in snow and very chilly! Such a contrast to Chapel Hill. The taxi man who drove us to the hotel managed to fit all of us in his taxi. Somehow. I jokingly suggested I sit in the boot and so he just went, 'ok', and started patting down the bags for me! So all 7 of us piled into the one car... My mentor, Imani, came with us too which was amazing as she lives in Maryland and spends her holidays wandering round the museums on the Mall, so she’s an expert! We could have paid for her guidance. . .

Saturday we were at the Smithsonian castle for 8.30 (suprising, I know). There’s a model of the whole mall in there so we chose the things we were going to do, and mapped our day out a bit. Then Imani took us round lots of the sights: WW2 memorial, Korean & Vietnam War memorials, the Jefferson, Lincoln Memorial – v. grand, and the reflecting pool was frozen! And then of course, the Whitehouse. – Pictures with Obama came later on, too ;) We did the American history museum, the natural history, (not as good as London, wasn’t as cool or realistic. I felt like there were just plastic things all over the place), but the history museum was awesome. Got to see the original star spangled banner, Dorothy’s shoes from the Wizard of Oz film, and the original Muppets! So many interesting things in there.. and went through a couple of the art museums. We packed in a lot, before heading out for dinner.

Sunday we split up a bit, people had different interests but a couple of us went and walked along embassy row, which was really intriguing. Some of the embassy’s are SO grand looking and some are tiny. Tested our flag knowledge too… I found the Greek one and took a photo for my Granny :) We walked to Georgetown after which is a really pretty old place, with nice shops. They have a famous cupcake shop too. It has its own TV show! [only in the US…] I also met up with the friends for lunch! They took me out to a restaurant on the harbor, and we had a seafood buffet. Perfection in a bucket.  And I tried my first Oyster! Ooh er. Was so good to catch up with them, and I may go back and stay with them on my travels after uni… we’ll see. They gave us all a lift after too which was really kind.  We went to a place called Mongolian grill, in Bethesda. An experience in its self. You choose yourself a bowl of stir fry vegetables and meat  sauces toppings etc, then give your bowl to the cooks and they cook it for you in front of you! Was pretty good fun. And the guy gave us a free chocolate brownie/ice cream thing to share after – ohh the perks of being international!

An interesting journey home too… We got back to Durham at 3am to find that the uni taxi company wouldn’t pick us up. Great. It was FREEzing and at that point all you want to do is go to bed… The one taxi cab there couldn’t fit us all in his car [they’re not like the DC drivers here… ;) ] And he was just having an argument with his boss on the phone, when I saw blue and red flashing lights.. So Jane and I ran over and asked the lovely police men if they could give us the number of a taxi firm, and the guy just went “ haap in…”. So we all got a lift home from the 'cops'! The guy got on his speaker phone saying “We’re just assisting some stranded citizens back to their homes…” What an adventure.

So a vunderbar weekend.

It felt so good to be back in the city too. And to the Londoner's out there, DC even has its own Cockfosters:  Foggy Bottom.

Oh metro designers…  

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DC for the weekend?

So, we decided last weekend we were going to Washington, and the weekend has come upon us so quickly I can't believe it. I need time to massively slow down now, the first week went really slowly but the last two have whizzed by! Still, only week 3.


eeeeeeeeeeeeeee Washington tomorrow. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Mon pere et moi last time we went to DC, I'm hopefully seeing some of my parents friends they met out in Kuwait there too which will be SO awesome!


Everyone's organising spring break too. So stressful but also exciting. I feel so Americannn.


Every day still feels like I'm walking a film set.
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Monday [sky] blues

For a Monday, today's going pretty well!

I had a 9am this morning which wasn't too pretty, but then went to the library and had a productive morning until my class at 1. We had a reading quiz on Oedipus the King, and watched the film adaptation of Angels in America. Niiice class. Then I bobbed into the DTH offices on the way home to see if they'd put up the hiring lists and guess what.. I got onto the Arts desk!!! yippee. Very excited but also a tad nervous..

The weekend wasn't hugely eventful, I went with some of the study abroad's to a kickboxing class on Friday and ohmy, it kicked our 'butts'!! I woke up on Saturday with the ability to feel every muscle in my back but and legs. Not good. Suppose that shows we worked hard..? Running on Saturday was p.a.i.n.f.u.l!! The kickboxing woman was cool though, so enthusiastic, I felt like we were in a pump it up DVD or something haha. We also decided to go to DC this weekend. Jane called me up and was like, you in? So yah, we booked a coach up there for a sneaky $20! So cheap. I'm VERY excitedd hehe.

Also we sat next to a potential next miss America at dinner last night! She is Caroline's little, (a sorority thing, basically like her little sister as when she joined they were assigned to one another. So you have bigs, littles, grandbigs. Twins. Don't ask). She's won her town title, and is going for Miss Carolina in the summer. So who knows, if she gets through that she could be promoting world peace this time next year.. And still be eating 4 sticks of celery with a small pot of dip for her dinner.
Each unto their own.

Later Ginger is taking me along to her sorority house for dinner! Quite exciting. They all have their own chefs but i'm not sure how it works.. or how many of the girls will be there.. so nice of her to ask us though. I'm off to an e.a.s.e coffee meeting thingy at a place called Cariboo soon, so shall go get ready methinks. My mentor is coming too which'll be cool. She's so crazy. 

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Ooh I have also decided to add an addition to my posts, being one phrase of Britishness or a crazy Americanism which has cropped up in the day. They happen so often and I know i'll just forget them otherwise!
  So, right now the one that crops to mind is Caroline after dinner yesterday. She was asking about DC and said who y'all going to Washington then? Took me a few seconds to realise what she'd said... before answering how many of us were going.
  Oh and I love the way they say 'swole' over here, especially with the southern accent. Meaning fit basically. I think its something Evan invented just so he can go on about how much of a muscles-man he is haha.
  A girl was visiting Danielle from Jersey over the weekend (yes, as in Jersey shore), and she said down there they say things are 'ill'. Like some people might say something was 'sick'. or Cool. -- Huh?
  Last night I was talking to Melissa who lives opposite me, and I said that Freud's Oedipus complex theory came "yonks" after Sophocles' play. Took her a few seconds to burst out laughing... ohh dear.