Well, now that I am settled in, finally getting on my assessments, which are papers. Not really a lot of busy work, just show up to class, participate and research for your essay. Pretty much it. It is easier in a way, as the task(s) is much more straightforward, but it also tests your discipline to be on top of everything. I would give myself a decent grade on that, but could do a lot better.

Got to go see my godfather again, and also explore the east of England as well. Nice to have mini-“holidays” in the midst of being 6,000 miles from home. Getting the train here is quite an experience, as you are rushing from one station to the other, sometimes almost a quarter mile away, in less than a couple of minutes. Haven’t missed on yet though and proceeded to each destination relatively on time. Wish those back in the US were half as efficient.

Finally figured out why the soft drinks seem so dull over here. Carbonation. The only relevant explanation.

Am going to see Poland in November. Also going to see the death camps. Since so many in the world believe the Holocaust is a myth, and others are unsure, I thought I would go see firsthand to tell them how stupid this notion is. A big reason why I am a history major. For if we even forget ever so slightly, we are doomed not so much to repeat the past, but to allow falsehoods to destroy our future.

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Inside a Church of Ireland cathedral in Belfast. This is commemorating the war dead of the UK.

A flag protest in front of City Hall in Belfast. The “Unionists” (pro-UK and Protestant) want the British flag to fly at all times, rather than on special holidays. The current policy is designed not to upset the “Nationalists” (pro-Ireland and Catholic).

Cossack, a half Shire, half Clydesdale. Part of a heavy horse rescue, he is the independent one. He has his stall opened almost everyday and is allowed to roam on all the paths and fields and he goes back into his stall whenever he wants. Very smart and very obedient.

Not much happening this week other than classes. Still figuring out how to jumble together seminars, tutorials and lectures all into one. It is far more confusing than back home, but it does offer more specialized learning for specific tasks. If only it could be more organized and less of a puzzle.

Didn’t do much other than that, as about the time I recovered from being sick, I got sick again and have been sticking close to campus most of the time. I am too tired to do much, as my American football practice pointed out, when I was coughing and thoroughly exhausted. Still, have met a few ‘mates’ and have a group from England to pal around with. Got to watch NFL games for the first time since I left home. That was a big plus.

No pictures this week, not much to take pictures of and nothing really interesting to photograph. Hopefully I will be traveling more soon and find some dandies.

Been finally getting my feet under me. Figured out how to get to town and find some places to eat and shop for essentials. Getting done with ‘freshers’ week, in which they acclimate the new students with orientations and different activities that are either fun or very clinical. This is a big party time, with our school pub (on campus no less) being a place of frivolity till past 2 am.

Decided since I had no school, I was going to see my godfather in Northern Ireland. He considers himself an Ulsterman, as this is the region he is from in Ireland. The North is still under UK control, but before this, the men of Ulster were the fiercest warriors and also had much of their heritage come from Scotland in the past and the more recent past as well. I am very fortunate he is a history buff, as he showed me around Belfast and some of the sights around it.

We went to Mount Stewart, where the Londonderry estate is. They were some of the richest and most well respected noble families in Ireland and had many titles back in England as well. Many paintings and other artifacts from the local area and from the Far East are there. It has a beautiful garden and a wide expanse. Also, for those of you who know about the Congress of Vienna, this estate houses all the chairs of the dignitaries who were heavily involved and has their respective coats of arms on each chair. Also went to see other locales, including where the Northern Irish government used to hold Parliament and just beautiful sights of Ulster. Can’t wait to go back!

Stormont, former home of Northern Irish Parliament, still has some functions for ministers

Some of the chairs at the Congress of Vienna, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Queen’s University, where my godfather graduated from.

It was a long ride back to the U.S. but I made it! It is nice to be back and see my horses and friends here, but I am missing my friends and the culture back in the U.K. One thing I am not missing from the U.K. is the food, in exception to Nandos! I could use a little Nandos in my life here in the U.S.

The main difference in the two arrivals was having familiar faces to see. It was so nice after a hectic 24 hours of traveling to arrive in the Portland Airport with my parents and boyfriend awaiting my arrival.  On the other hand, when I arrived in the U.K. I had no idea who to look for, or what to expect. Not one of the experiences were better than the other, they were just very different. Arriving in the U.S I new what to expect, and I knew what I had to look forward to, but arriving in London I only had the pictures and stories to live off of. The feeling I had in the two airports were almost completely opposite, the only similarity was the feeling of excitement. In the U.S. I had a feeling of relieve. I had successfully completed my five weeks abroad, and made it safely back home. Excitement followed the feeling of relieve because I was able to see my family!  Arriving in London was more of a stressed/excitement feeling. I was excited to see what the next five weeks held for me, but what if it wasn’t what I expected, or what if I didn’t meet any people that I clicked with.

Luckily everything worked out better than I could have ever expected. I have made life long friends, and life long memories. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything!

Can my time in London really be over? Sadly it is… I can hardly believe I have been here for over a month. I am not ready to head back to the U.S. I am not ready to leave this beautiful city, or the wonderful people I have met here.

My host culture has been better than I could have ever expected. Most of the locals I met were willing to talk with me, and share information on things I should see and do. I was not expecting the locals to be as open and friendly as they were due to the fact they are probably seeing Americans on a regular basis. Just like everywhere there were definitely people that wanted nothing to do with us, but I would say over all the locals completely added to my experience.

I have never felt so many different emotions at one time. I am looking forward to going home to my parents and horses, but I am not ready to leave the life I have been living here in London. I wish I had a few weeks left to fit in all the things I have not yet been able to do due to my busy schedule. I am sad to be leaving my friends here, but I am also excited to see my friends back in the U.S. and tell them about my adventures.

These are some of my favorite people on our last weekend in London. We did a pub crawl In Camden. I highly recommend taking part in something like this. Camden turned out to be a really cool area. There were a lot of fun pubs as well as restaurants. Camden seems to have a younger local feel to it.