LDOC.

I just finished my first American "final" [yippee] so thought I would catch up with actually having a bit of a life... Somewhat. Blogging and skyping home, and helping friends to pack . . . :'(

It went okay I think, exams are yet one more thing which send my two countries flying apart... You go to class like usual, sit like usual, have your bags like usual, chat like usual until the teacher turns up... My friend Buddy and I studied together last night and then this morning, firing back and forward essay ideas and questions which was v productive! So we walked in this morning and I had to go buy a blue book with the help of the American, you have to buy them from the student stores, and they are these A5ish size little books with blue covers just like the ones you use in primary school. With ruled, wide lines! So strange. We sat the exam which was 3 hours but people took 50mins-2hr15 to do it...

LDOC = Last Day of Class, for those of you as confused as I was when people started saying this all the time!!

The last day of classes was last week, this week is exam week. I can't believe it!!

There were major celebrations on the LDOC, I had a paper due at midnight which sucked, so just studied, but I came out of the library at 2am and the frat houses were going wild... I'll miss the craziness of the Frats even though they are generally awful things.

Even studying is a collective effort at UNC though, which I love. The night after LDOC there was a group of about 50 streakers in the center of campus, they ran down the 8 floors of the library Imani, Nick and I were in, then out into the pitt and into the coffee shop, then into the other library. We followed them in there, where they proceeded to do back flips and everyone sang the school song. Then we all just went back to work. So. Strange. But such are the lives of American college students, I am coming to see. I love it. So much better than dull old revision alone!!

Tonight there's a flash rave outside the library, where for about 10 minutes the students just go crazy and dance around. Last time there was a DJ and people dancing on the roof...

It's also been rather exciting around here with Bin Laden's death, too. I was just studying in my room when Anna came running in to tell me... There were people setting off fireworks in the corridor, and everyone was running about going wild as spontaneous parties began on Franklin. People just dropped their work to go out and party for the death of someone who has caused such an incredible amount of damage and pain. It was quite a spectacular night to be in the States for. We watched Obama's speech on TV last night, too..

The weather's been perfect and I have enjoyed my last couple of weeks revising with friends and spending time in the hill, despite the horrendous work load. I just can't think about leaving right now!
I wrote my final article in the DTH, too. It was on the theatre group Lab! who I wrote the front page'r with, and their plans for the next academic year. Strange to think that all this will still be going on and I wont be here!

http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/blog/canvas/2011/04/lab_theatre_preps_for_next_year039s_seaon

xxx

Mountain Recluses.

Exam time. Paper time. Presentation time. Performance time. Project time. Stupid tasks when you really don't have the time to be doing stupid tasks and want to be writing, time. Last weeks of being an exchange student, time. 


It's heating up, all of a sudden. I have many many papers and things to do. The American system is kicking in with studded football boots on, and I'm feeling the blow.


After loosely planning my time around writing the many papers I have to do, I thought I was doing okay. Until I realised that on top of these papers, for every class, I'm supposed to be doing research projects, a drama performance, a community project proposal, exam revision and a poetry recital. With nothing but two long weekends in the middle of the deadlines, to prepare for it all. No month for easter to plan properly and write and think, just a headlong dive into this huge weedy pond before before the new shores of a new start and a new journey and  a new set of memories and a new lot of people to miss a new set of places, come into view. 


But, I have possibly the best location one could possibly ask for in order to tackle the dive and prepare for the pond... A house up in Blowing Rock, with my laptop, hundreds of books, and incredible views of Grandfather mountain. Now that, is why I love North Carolina. Just a couple of hours from the bubble town I live in, a few more from the beach, are the mountains. Despite the incredible tendency of the Americans to be satisfied with the one state they were born and brought up in, and have no desires to see much else (I always find mind boggling when I realise that this isn't just an inaccurate stereotype), I can partly understand their reasonings if they are from here. It does have, it seems, everything. Mountain, beach/coast, plains, rural, urban, trees, city...


I'm here with Jodie and her friend, Chip. It's his house. And the house its self is like a work of art, its just incredible. His 'mom' should have been an interior designer fo sho! It's foggy today, but hopefully tomorrow we'll have some fantastic views to do our work to. I'll put up some photos.   


The last few weeks of class are going ok, expectedly stressful but also sad. It's all coming to a close so quickly! I think I will miss the discussion side of the classes here, and the courses, I have really enjoyed the classes even though they take a lot of getting used to.... 


My medieval lecturer, [the little retired very funny lecturer from West Virginia], had a clipping from the New York times last week, it was an advert for the new film: "Camelot"

The caption below the picture of two young attractive actors clasping each other was: "Swords. Sex. Sorcery. As sexy as it is adventurous"


He was chuckling about the advert in comparison to the texts we are studying, before casually adding: "That's what they put on my course description."


That man has the whole class giggling every week.


We had our last arts desk meeting this week for the DTH! Quite sad, really. There are only a couple more papers left, but I'm going to write just as it will be my last ever article. It's not as pressured as the rest of the year, I don't think. Not that many people have the time to scrutinise the paper at this point of the year!

I had a bit of a disastrous week with the DTH before going away. My story was really hard to write on, primarily as noone would call me back, again. But this time I couldn't scrape by with 2 sources because I only had one source. And that was the girl who had written the play... See my problem? She was lovely, as most people usually have been, and seemed excited to be in the paper, so I felt bad that this only went on the blog. But out of the 5 sources she gave me, none replied to my emails. And even after extending the story a day into the next paper, still noone would speak to me. I didn't have any numbers to call, either. It was supposed to be a profile of 2 people, who I was told knew each other, but Lori said she didn't even know the name of the other guy's piece, so... the Q&A went on the blog though, so some of my efforts weren't wasted.
http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/blog/canvas/2011/04/a_qampa_with_lori_baldwin

Imani and I 

I also forgot to say before spring break (long time ago now...), that I ticked off one more of the quintessential American experiences that had been missing from my list: A baseball game. I went along with my mentor, and as soon as I walked into the stadium I was thrown into American movie-land once again. The games are quite long but the sun was out and we got hot dogs and stayed a while.


Anyway, back to the mountains, and the papers, 
Hope y'all are doing okay, and those at Kings are coming along well with essays! (boo)
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Carolina News.
Sadness in Sport. 

So, we're out. 

We smashed through into the Sweet Sixteen, even made it to the Elite 8, but Sunday saw the Tarheels out of the game...

We did, however, beat Duke. 

I was so so hoping that we'd get to rush Franklin if we won. I hear that it just goes crazy, I've actually seen pictures from the last time we won... people start fires, get very drunk, dance around in the street, sing...people throw mattresses out of windows. I feel it would have been a carolina experience to have remembered. humph. I think if we get into the championships next year there will be a lot of excited englishies flying back over to NC..... we wish .....

The Weather

With true pathetic fallacy, the Carolina Sun has really let us down this week...Its gone from the 80's to full blown English-style windy rainy big puddles sopping wet days. And unfortunately, as an exchange student, I have no rain boots. (wellies to the English folk). So I get wet walking everywhere I walk; it's been the sort of rain that the wind blows all over you even if you have a brolly or a waterproof jacket, where your toes get wet even if you avoid every single puddle or stream of water on the way to class...

Sunshine, please return.

DTH
This week I wrote about a dutch dance company: The Nederlands Dans Theatre. They came to UNC to perform, and the Dutch ambassador came to watch. It was a pretty cool thing to cover, except for my editor sent my shell (the outline of my story and the contacts) to someone else, so I had to do it all in a mad panic. That's fine really, I didn't mind, but at that point no-one would talk to me or return my calls. I prefer to e-mail people and set up interview dates, because then you know people are free and will want to talk. The 2 men I spoke to on Monday told me they were busy and would call me back. One said 20 minutes. This was 3pm. He called me at 6ish literally as I was leaving my room to go over to the office and write. The other one didn't call me back.And didn't answer his phone again. Another lady just had an answer phone. Another replied to my email the next day.. Another did reply in time but said she was the wrong person to talk to. The lady she suggested me to speak to was Julie Walters. SO exciting. Except for it wasn't that Julie Walters. I was still excited when she called me said her name... Anyway, that lady didn't have much to do with the UNC performance, she had seen the dance theatre years ago, used to dance with one of the old choreographers, and now works at Duke.
So, it was a bit hectic. But hey, another one in the paper :)
http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2011/03/dutch_dance_group_to_perform_at_memorial_hall

All Homo's go to Hell.

Yep, Gary's been back. I stopped by the quad for a little while yesterday, to hear him giving his views on gay sex and doing some demonstrations that to be quite honest made me feel a little uncomfortable, standing in the middle of campus and all. He also gave a spiel about who is going to heaven, (only the pure and Godly people), and had the audacity to point to a black girl watching and tell her she wouldn't get to heaven. "Why?"someone asked.

"Because she's black".

Just like that.

Plain and simple.

Just because.

Where has he been the past 50 years of his life whilst people have dies for the color of thier skin, children bullied, harassed, children like Emmett Till mutated beyond recognition. Since the 1950's we have come a long way regarding racism and civil rights, I know America has made huge leaps -- but why does religion excuse people like this to go around still saying things like this? Why, through everything that causes conflict in the world, does someone believe that their reading of the bible makes them superior to those around them. How can people bring themselves to a student campus and openly discriminate against the students because they are not all white... Why is it acceptable for someone to walk into a campus and tell one girl that she is unable to be holy, the descendant of Cain, or not going to heaven...? Luckily she took it better than I think I would have done. I suppose we grow up in a culture with an extreme sense of the politics of language, ever fearing the mark of speaking out of turn, or "politically incorrect". If someone came to the strand campus at kings and started saying such things, I feel like they'd be removed, for sure.

Here, its a history that people still engage with, a scary amount of people who invest their beliefs in such discriminatory ideologies, a place where I might honestly be wary to travel in certain areas alone if the colour of my skin were different...

~

Planning 

 So, as much as I hate to admit, I've been here a long time. 

The time has passed where I can say i'm 'new' and still acclimatising to southern culture; 

I can truly say I'm a Tarheel;

I know what grits are;

I've eaten a philly cheese steak; 

I know my Washington from my DC, my Houston from my Austin, my Miami from my Malibu...

What is exciting about the end of semester though, is the prospect of what comes next. TRAVELLING. woo. I have got a couple of friends who I'm sticking with, and then we'll meet up with some others on the way if we bump into them... So far we're utilising one of the only decent forms of transport in the whole of the US -- Amtrack. Going south from here, possibly to Alabama, to New Orleans, Texas, up to Denver, Salt Lake City, San Fransisco, down California to L.A. and then flying to DC and back down to Chapel Hill for a dollar in the megabus -- by that time I think i'll need all the $1 rides I can get.... 

I am starting to get so excited. Its a bit like coming out here, that I don't think it will really hit until we leave...

~x~

Front Page News!

http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2011/03/studentwritten_play_premieres_tonight

Is this real life?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs

So that is what David asked his uncle.

You know, he has a point. Since moving here I often wonder the same thing, as my head is daily filled with the southern accent, as I put shorts on to go to class and walk home smelling the smells of a Greek summer evening, walk into a baseball game, past students in my hall's pool between classes, watch friends go off to cheer lead... It all sometimes feels a bit unreal.

My parents came to visit this week which was so so lovely. Having them here made me feel a bit more like I was on an extended holiday, as it was their holiday. Talking to them about home, and uni, and summer jobs, and holidays, and housing plans, etc., -- all the "real" stuff to sort out back in the U.K, made me feel all that bit closer to the reality of coming home.

AHH.

Noo, I'm not ready yet! I miss my friends heaps, and there are many times I wish I could just transport them here, particularly when they're going through tough times. But then I sit with some of my friends here, and it really panics me that there might not be many more times I'll sit and study with ___X___, or have ice cream with ___Y___. I do not like change, as I said when I left home.

The week's been really nice though, and made me miss home a little less having a touch of it here! I forget how much fun I have with my parents.

We took a trip at the weekend too which was cool. To Wilmington. Its a coastal town, with beaches -- Saturday was about 80 degrees so that was niiiiiiice -- and seafood. And downtown has a harbour and shops markets etc.And you can see across the harbour a huge WW2 battle ship.

We also tested lots of Chapel Hill restaurants - Mama Dips = amazing down home southern food for anyone who finds themselves here! (Margaret in particular have you been??) I took them to Topo (top of the hill) on St Patricks day, and mum had a suitably green beer! And we went to the Mediterranian that Andrew took Nick and I to on our first night, I haven't been there since and forgot how amazing the food was there, shall have to make the most of that before leaving!

It was just really relaxed, and lovely to go to class in the morning, then meet them on Franklin for lunch and spend the afternoons with them... They actually explored more than I have so far, so showed me some cool places! Students just don't have the time to stop, and stare...

Sad to see them go home today :(

Ooh also v. ecxiting news, my story for the DTH is going on the front page tomorrow! So exciting. I have written quite a few now, the weekly articles add up. Here are a few links to the ones that went on the website, if anyone's interested!

I wrote about 2 art galleries:
http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/blog/canvas/2011/02/stone_center_exhibit_explores_race_through_magical_realism
http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/blog/canvas/2011/02/artery
Ginger came with me to these which was nice, -- Art History Major, she came in use!!

And a crazy play:
http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2011/02/unc_performing_arts_students_to_present_99_ways_to_fk_a_swan

And most recently a new film series that's coming out in the cinema here:
http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/blog/canvas/2011/03/cold_warthemed_films_promises_classics

This was reaaally cool. I had to interview the writer who was rehearsing another play in Chicago, and I had to do a joint conference interview with 4 people over the phone, and the director gave me 2 free tickets to go see the play! So nice. It was quite an interesting play, too, I enjoyed it. They had a really cool space to use, as it was all on the stage part of a stage, and the actors came through the audience, like a catwalk.

Eek, kind of nervous about the article tomorrow, but it's exciting all the same.

Anyway watch the above clip if you have 2 minutes, it just generally made me chuckle, a lot.
-- In contrast to Rebecca Black's "Friday", this is one video I am glad I helped go viral.

Love to everyone, miss you all at home 

x X x

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.

The Game.

GO TARHEELS! 
So, we ventured to our first game of the season yesterday. Wow wow wow. I have never seen anything like it, and it's hard to believe that this is a college team playing in the middle of a campus. There were fans there from everywhere, and the stadium is HUGE. We got tickets just before and headed on down in all our blue gear, face paints galore :) There were real-life cheerleaders, the pom-pom ones. (Apparently they're not 'proper' & a bit embarrassing according to one of my hall mates Lindsay. She's a competition cheerleader -- bring-it-on-style!). They paraded their award winning gymnasts, had massive advertisements and videos of famous players giving little cheesy emotional speeches about NC during the game, crowd chants, flags... And to top it off, the tarheels won! What a night.

We had an E.A.S.E get-to-know-you event tonight in the music block. Pretty good fun! They were telling us about more events they're organising, and signing up for sports etc. We're going to make a tennis team I think, and do volleyball or something. And touch ball?!? We did international'y activities to find out more about the other exchanges, filling out one of those 'find someone who can....' forms. I filled the 'find someone who is shorter than 5ft3', category hehe. Some of us played this ninja game on the stage too which was so silly, the guys who run E.A.S.E are just so chilled out and fun. Then a couple of us went to jack sprat, a bar/café, afterwards, and that was the most English people I have been with for a very long time it seems! There were 5 of us and 2 Aussies. Felt quite nice to speak to someone with the English accent again, and for someone to actually nod in comprehension instead of utter confusion and stifled laughter when I tell them I'm from Bourton on the water, Gloucestershire!


OOH, and yesterday I attended a DTH meeting.. 
The first day I came here I saw the newspaper boxes around campus and picked one up from outside my halls, noticing it was a student-run one. And it was made out to look like the Mail, called: The Daily Tarheel. It looked pretty good and we had a flick through. Then I went on their website and oh, my, its impressive. Seriously puts Kings to shame!! I asked Nick's mentor about it last weekend and he was telling me a bit about it, its a DAILY newspaper (!!) and apparently the editors of it come out of school and basically straight into a job with the NYT or something. Its rather prestigious. 


So they had a meeting about joining and I took an application form, you have to go in for like a whole day not just submit random articles for it like you can for ROAR, but you can leave for classes etc and just come back whenever, your story must just be in for the next day's edition. Pretty neat. When I walked into the offices I was a little awestruck. They have their own HQ really near to my halls, and it looks like a professional magazine offices of something when you walk in. With plaques spelling: The Daily Tarheel posted on the wall and framed editions of the paper underneath. AH.


First essay due in tomorrow, I hope its ok : / Its really short. REALLY short, like a page. I have to 'turn in' 3 of these one page'rs overall and they make up 10% of one class' grade. So I'm not too worried, and its my first one also, but it would still be nice to do ok on it!


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[[If your interested here's the URL for the paper's website: http://www.dailytarheel.com/ ]]