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

Stumble upon this. . .

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/27cnNh/weavesilk.com

http://weavesilk.com/?2o2g stumble upon mine to see how it's done... :)

Grandfather Mountain & the Blue Ridge Parkway.

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)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Journeys

Because he lived, next door a child
To see him coming often smiled,
And thought him her devoted friend
Who gladly gave her coins to spend.

Because he lived, a neighbor knew
A clump of tall delphiniums blue
And oriental poppies red
He'd given for a flower bed.

Because he lived, a man in need
Was grateful for a kindly deed
And ever after tried to be
As thoughtful and as fine as he.

Because he lived, ne'er great or proud

Or known to all the motley crowd,

A few there were whose tents were pitched

Near his who found their lives enriched.

Edgar A. Guest

After returning home for a few days I'm back in Chapel Hill, already. Once I got back it didn't really feel like I'd left, these two places just feel so utterly separate from one another that when I'm in one it is hard to imagine what is happening in the other. It was good to be home for a bit though.

I thought the words of this poem were lovely. . . 

For Sophie

When tomorrow starts without me,
And I'm not there to see,
If the sun should rise and find your eyes
all filled with tears for me,

I wish so much you wouldn't cry, the way you did today,
While thinking of the many things, we didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me,
As much as I love you,
and each time that you think of me,
I know you'll miss me too.

But when tomorrow starts without me,please try to understand,
That an angel came and called my name, and took me by the hand,
and said my place was ready,
In heaven far above,
And that I'd have to leave behind
All those I dearly love.

But as I turned to walk away, a tear fell from my eye
For all my life, I'd always thought, I didn't want to die.

I had so much to live for,
So much left yet to do,
It seemed almost impossible,
That I was leaving you.

I thought of all the yesterdays, the good ones and the bad,
I thought of all the love we shared, and all the fun we had

If I could re-live yesterday
Just even for a while,
I'd say good-bye and kiss you
And maybe see you smile.

But then I fully realised, that this could never be,
For emptiness and memories, would take the place of me.

And when I thought of worldly things,
I might miss come tomorrow,
I thought of you, and when I did,
My heart was filled with sorrow.

But when I walked through heaven's gates, I felt so much at home
When God looked down and smiled at me, from His great golden throne.

He said, "This is eternity,
And all I've promised you."
Today your life on earth is past,
But here life starts anew

I promise no tomorrow, but today will always last,
And since each day's the same way, there's no longing for the past.

You have been so faithful,
So trusting and so true.
Though there were times
You did some things
You knew you shouldn't do.

But you have been forgiven and now at last you're free.
So won't you come and take my hand, and share my life with me?

So when tomorrow starts without me,

Don't think we're far apart,

For every time you think of me,

I'm right here, in your heart.

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~