home at last...

I am home for those of you who weren't aware! I'm ill and still very sleepy, but hope to be good as new in a few days time.

Pics from Dublin to follow at a later date!

You must be joking...

Nope no joke folks...I'm definitely not coming home today. My flight has been canceled. Big surprise huh? I have really unfortunate luck when it comes to travel plans going as planned!! Anyway, they've put me up in a swanky hotel for the night in London, are buying my dinner and breakfast tomorrow, and I made a friend while waiting in the line at the airport for 2 hours. These are the positives I suppose that I keep trying to bring to the forefront of my mind.

However, the truth is I'd rather be in the air flying home right now than sitting in this hotel room, typing a blog, because I have a whole lotta hours to kill before my flight tomorrow, that I may or may not have a seat on! What a nightmare. I'm also very ill due to way too many days with no sufficient sleep and too much of a good time in Dublin, so I have very little voice and my head feels very heavy...

More on Dublin later, I'll just say that it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING (albeit incredibly super unbelievably expensive).

Hope to see you all soon. I'll keep you posted :)

IT'S ABSOLUTELY NOT GONNA FIT!!!!

So we leave for Dublin in the A.M. and I need to have all my things packed because I will only be here Tuesday night before flying home....and let me just tell you it's definitely, absolutely, no way, no how, never ever gonna all fit into my suitcases! I don't know how this freaking happened. I sent quite a bit of stuff home with my mom and sister in December and I really didn't think I'd bought much more since then, but apparently that's a lie because I can't cram anymore in. I now need to sort out what I don't mind leaving behind until my August return....

So enough complaining about that (although it would be nice if I could have three bags on the airplane instead of two...) and onto other news...

This week has been a rollercoaster in the best way. It's been really hard saying goodbye, as I said the last of my goodbyes to my co-workers today. I already said goodbye to one of my housemates, as he flew back to Dubai this morning. The rest of the gang will soon follow...

I'm absolutely exhausted, due to not having much sleep for the last few days, primarily due to going out and having too much fun and then having to get back up and do it all over again...life is hard huh?

Anyway, I will be home in 5 days...so crazy!! I can't wait to see all of you. It promises to be a whale of a time...

Ta for now.

XO

The time has almost come...

In Dublin's fair city, where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone
As she wheeled her wheel-barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive-O!
Alive, alive-O! alive, alive-O!
Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive-O!

She was a fish-monger,
but sure 'twas no wonder
For so were her father and mother before
And they each wheeled their barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive-O!
Alive, alive-O! alive, alive-O!
Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive-O!

She died of a fever,
and no one could save her
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone
But her ghost wheels her barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive-O!
Alive, alive-O! alive, alive-O!
Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive-O!

Well, Sarah, Addis, Rhian and I are gearing up for St. Patty's Day weekend in Dublin, Ireland and I thought you might enjoy an Irish tune!! We've booked a 4-day hostel tour, which includes ferry transport, coach travel, hostel accommodation, admission into the Guinness Brewhouse, and a variety of other activities, all leading up to the big parade on Monday!! I absolutely cannot wait. It should be an amazing time. The only downfall being that I'll be boarding a plane back to the US the day after our return from Dublin....

This week has kind of been an emotional rollercoaster, alternating from feeling really excited about returning home and seeing all of the people, places, things I've missed so much, and feeling extremely sad about saying goodbye to my friends, my job, and my home here. I feel unbelievably fortunate to have had such a great experience here in Wales and in traveling the rest of the UK and parts of Europe. I feel I've made the absolute most of it, and for that I can leave feeling really happy.

I also found out last week from Trevor & Katy that I may be getting a publication from my work here with them, which is incredibly exciting! This basically means that for all the work I've done here with them on the drugs/crime project, the authors for the publication to be written from their data will possibly/likely be listed as Bennett, Holloway & Beall. This really makes this experience even more exciting. I feel incredibly honored and have been so lucky to have had such wonderful people willing to teach me so much during my time here and letting me be a part of their projects/research.

The weekend last was definitely an exciting one! Beginning really on Saturday afternoon with Wales defeating Ireland in the Six Nations Rugby match. This means that they have one match to go to win the Grand Slam, which means they're undefeated!! We were in a Cardiff pub at 12:00p to share in the excitement! The shouting/singing/chanting was thunderous as they went on to overcome and defeat Ireland!!

From Cardiff we returned to Pontypridd at about 6:00p to set out on a pub crawl of Pontypridd and Treforest, which is where I live and where we normally go out on the weekends, and seeing as it was my last Saturday in Ponty, we thought we'd celebrate by hitting up all the worthwhile pubs (skipping over the danceclubs...thank goodness!). Needless to say it was a highly entertaining night of complete silliness ending with a slumber party at mine! What a laugh indeed!! Photos from this madness have been added to the bottom of the album and can be found HERE.


Sunday night I went over to my co-worker Harriet's home for dinner (tea). All of our gang from work was there, with their respective partners, minus Trevor. We had an amazing meal, a champagne toast to say farewell to me, and several hours of playing SingStar on PlayStation2. For those who don't know what that game is, it's like a karaoke battle. It was horribly embarrassing!! Although highly amusing! We found out that Katy is quite the rapper and Neil should be a country superstar...and I need to learn some R&B songs apparently, because I was absolutely clueless; however, I did do a rather impressive job with the ultimate stalker song, Every Breath You Take. Again, horribly embarrassing!

Anyway, this week I'm just trying to finish my last two projects at work and clearing of my desk, as well as packing up all my stuff, which I think might actually fit into my suitcases, minus a few casualties that will be left behind. We'll see how it goes! I'm hoping to have it all packed by the time we leave for Dublin on Saturday morning. Tomorrow night I'm going out with the girlies (and probably Addis, since he seems to be one of the girlies!) for dinner and drinks, saying my goodbyes to most of them I would assume. Thursday is my farewell luncheon with work. We're going for one last Indian curry. This should be a tear jerker... Then Thursday night we have a BSC talk in Cardiff and are hitting the town afterward for a final farewell night out! This really will be goodbye to my co-workers, minus my final few hours of work with Trevor & Katy on Friday.

So this journey is just about over and I guess a new one is ready to begin. I just wish I knew what the new one had in store for me. I guess I'll find out in a couple weeks time when that magic acceptance letter comes from UMSL, or when I win the lottery and decide to travel the world for the rest of my life...

Take care.
Can't wait to see you all, really!
XO

...the only thing that's left to do is live.

So I apologize that it's been awhile...I have been SOOO busy! I'm getting ready to say goodbye to another home and more people that I care for greatly, and it's starting to become a reality. So the only thing that's left for me to really do here is enjoy every last second! The good news for you all is that I'll be home before you know it and it'll feel like nothing ever changed!

Let's recap the last couple weeks, starting with The Smashing Pumpkins shows...


I arrived in Manchester on Friday at a fairly decent time, checked into my hostel, did a little shopping around the Northern Quarter for the last time (how sad!) and got some coffee before heading to the Rock Show!! Let me just say MEN Arena is very strange and the main entrance is through the train station. I was expecting this massive arena with tons of people standing in line to go in, all super excited about seeing one of the greatest bands EVER! This, however, was not the case...

I got into the arena and headed down to my seat after the first band left the stage. They were mediocre, as are most bands that open for the Pumpkins. So then the wait was on. The floor started filling up more and more. Seats around me began filling up, although I was quite surprised at how many empty ones there were. So let me just tell you I got a seat because I didn't want to be squished into the crowd on the floor, but my seat was six rows up from the floor on the right side of the stage. I didn't buy that seat to sit in it. I wanted to sing and dance and meet all the cool fans around me...

Well let me tell you that was not the case, making the fact that Travis wasn't with me even more sad (I've never seen the Pumpkins without him...)! So the show began with Porcelina, a beautiful, sad, exciting, explosively powerful song, which barely got the audience revved up as you can see here:



Needless to say the crowd was BORING! Therefore the show was not as great as it could have been. No one around me was standing or even really singing along! How lame!! So the band played for 2 hours and 20 minutes and did not come out and do an encore, which I completely attribute to the crowd's lack of enthusiasm. It was a great show, but could have been even greater.

So Friday night I was to meet up with Craig, but he had been ill that day and was in bed before I was out of the show, so I was totally bummed to not see him again before departing back to the US, but we'll have August I presume! This probably worked out for the best, as I needed to sleep a little before catching a 5am train to London.

So why was I catching a 5am train you may ask? I'd really like to know the answer as well! No just kidding! I got up at 4am to catch this 5am train to be in London at Oxford Street Zavvi (a record store) at 9am in order to get a wristband to come back that afternoon and meet Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlain, who would be doing an autograph session of their new EP.

So I get to London (and I'm exhausted), but I make it over the record store bang on 9am. They were to hand out 300 wristbands...and I was #288. Whew! Just in time!! So I headed off in search of some much needed coffee, before heading to my friends' hostel to drop of my stuff, as they were letting me crash in their room that night for no charge (completely awesome and sweet of them!). So after dropping off my stuff and enjoying a nice (surprisingly sunny!) morning in London I headed back to Zavvi to await the arrival of the bald man himself...

At the record store, we were all herded into this fairly tiny gaming room, used for promoting Wii's and Playstations, etc. None of which were turned on, therefore providing no entertainment, nor was there any music playing (which was a bummer because out in the store area was Smashing Pumpkins playing all day!!), and finally there was no air conditioning happening. Did I mention that 300 people were crammed into this room?? Needless to say we were all boiling!

This process took forever, the guys were a little late showing up and we had to line up in numerical order, so obviously I was towards the end! I didn't even have a book with me to help pass the time! Anyway, enough complaining for now....I finally got lined up, did manage to make a couple friends around me in the line and had fun comparing notes on past shows with them. We finally get up close to the table, where they were only letting you have one thing signed and we rushing you through rather quickly, skipping over any likely chit chat. So I snapped a few pics (a couple you can see here and the rest are up in the album!) and proceeded to head over the booklet from the EP to the security guy in charge. He then hands it to Billy Corgan, who at this point hadn't looked up. He then looks up and I made a comment about being from Kansas City and asking him when he was going to come play a show for us there...and his response was, "We don't have enough fans there anymore." So I was like, "Are you serious??" and then asked them to come back to the Granada, promising just as much fun and excitement as last time, and he replies, "We don't do that kind of thing anymore," meaning they don't play small shows...

So that was my conversation with the man himself. The guy behind me in line told me it was at least good that I got some conversation going! Seriously! I guess, but I should have kept my mouth shut, because hearing Billy say that they don't play small shows anymore and all I can look forward to are arena shows and festivals is less than thrilling.

On the bright side of this, Jimmy Chamberlain is an absolute delight!! He saved the day and told me how great it was to hear my voice. I forever love and adore him...

So after meeting up with my friends who I was staying with that night for some food and drinks, I headed off to the London show at the O2 Arena. Now this is more what I was talking about! Massive arena, bright lights, Smashing Pumpkins scrolling around the cylindrical billboards...it was magical! Too bad my seat for this show was pretty crappy! I got a little wobbly from being up so high. It was absolutely terrifying, but I was on the left side of the stage and still had an alright view. I just really wanted to be down with the excitement. You could feel it at this show much more than in Manchester and the place was virtually packed. They played even longer (nearly 3 hours) and did come out for a one song encore. There was more playful banter and laughs during this show, which made it even better and Billy Corgan managed to score a few Brownie points back throughout the show, which was a plus after the record store experience! Here's a short video clip from the London show:



All in all, the shows were really great, it was just kind of a roller coaster of a weekend. Concluding on Sunday with more travel woes...my luck really is just terrible sometimes!

So I got up Sunday morning, after another night of not much sleep, due to the craziness of the hostel atmosphere (in a totally good way though)! I needed to catch a 9am train back to Cardiff in order to make it in time for my friend Rhian's birthday lunch, set for 12:30pm. So I hop on the tube after leaving the hostel at 7:30am and arrive in Victoria station to find that the District & Circle lines are delayed due to a track obstruction! Great! So I climb out of the underground and head for the buses. So after waiting for the bus, I'm finally on my way to Paddington Station, arriving just before 9am, rushing into the station, looking up at the board, only to discover that my 9am train had been cancelled!

Seriously?!?! I don't have time for this this morning!! So I stand in line at information (a very long line of people complaining I'm sure), and I hear a guy ahead of me get told that the next train to Cardiff was not for over an hour and there were no alternative options that would be any faster, so I step out of line, preparing to hang out in the station until the next train, thereby missing Rhian's birthday lunch... Then my luck changed!

The announcer came on and said that the 9am service to Cardiff had been re-instated and would be departing from Platform 8, so there was a mad rush towards the platform as the train was due to depart in 3 minutes! I made it onto the train, which then left a little late due to the confusion, and they announced that the train had been originally cancelled due to crew members phoning in sick! Seriously?! Why is that our problem?? Get some better employees, or find someone else to run the service! Due to this I wasn't actually asked for my ticket though, as there was no personnel to do so...

Anyway, I arrive into Cardiff and run to the platform to catch a train to Trefforest, jumping on board as the doors were closing. At this point, it looks like I'll be slightly late, but can still make it if I just meet the gang at the restaurant...but oh no it can't ever be this easy! I get as far as Radyr (about 5 stops from Cardiff Central and still quite far from my final destination in Pontypridd) and the train stops and we're all instructed to deboard and reboard a rail replacement bus, due to work on the tracks. So there's a bus sitting in the parking lot, presumably waiting for us. Wrong!! The driver informs us that he's on break and won't be leaving until closer to 2:00pm.

So about 15 minutes later, another bus pulls into the lot and lets off a whole group of people to board the train back towards Cardiff, so we're all thinking this must be our bus.... Wrong again! This driver tells us he's pulling into the back of the parking lot for a scheduled hour long break. Nice, real nice. So we've got two buses, not going anywhere, it's 1:00pm and I'm certain to miss Rhian's birthday lunch at this point, and did I mention it's freezing outside?? Well not actually below zero, but cold nonetheless! So the first bus driver finally agrees to let us sit and wait on the bus, as it was at least warmer. So we wait and wait and wait. No other bus comes for us. Another train arrives and more people get off waiting for a bus that isn't there.

Finally at almost 2pm, after waiting for well over an hour, the bus we're on is finished with "break time" and we depart the dreadful parking lot. Just in case it was unclear, the point is I got up early for nothing and still managed to miss Rhian's birthday lunch! Unbelievable!!

So I realize this post is now incredibly long and you've probably skipped over half of it :) but I'm going to carry on because I will probably only post another quick one before leaving and then a final one to say whether or not I've been accepted to the PhD program!!

The following weekend Rhian, Sarah and I roadtripped it to Leicester for their friend Eiry's birthday. The highlights included Sarah totally crashing into a parked car in the parking lot at the rest stop (thankfully no damage!), Rhian waking everyone up screaming in the middle of the night due to Sarah tapping her on the arm to get her to stop snoring, and the hour long traffic jam on the way home that was filled with one of the funniest radio broadcasts ever, which had us all in hysterics (not helping the fact that we all needed a wee and were dead stopped in this traffic jam)!!


Last week, I went to a folk music night with some others from the University, which was an especially fantastic night! The music was terrific and there was such a wide variety of instruments, from harps to flutes, and bongos to harmonicas to violins. There was something for everyone and it was really awesome to hear truly British (Scottish, Irish, Welsh) folk music, as well as more popular music!

So that's pretty much the highlights from the last few weeks. I have a whole lot planned between now and exactly two weeks from now when I'll be on my flight back to the US. I really am looking forward to seeing everyone and catching up about all things that have happened while I've been away. This week I'm planning a "practice pack" to see what I need to get rid of and what needs to stay here until I return in August to retrieve it. This could be quite a challenge!! I also am going back to Rhian's gran's for tea (dinner) one last time! As well as trying to plan some sort of goodbye get-together for the weekend, as it's my last weekend in Ponty, due to our Dublin trip the following weekend...

Next week is equally packed and I'll try to get in another post all about it before I head to Dublin!

In other news, I have not heard anything on the PhD program yet, so still keep your fingers crossed. Also, if anyone has any last minute small souvenir requests please let me know and I'll do my best to try and cram them into my suitcases somewhere!! The album is now up-to-date, including pics from The Smashing Pumpkins weekend, Leicester weekend, Rhian's birthday night out, and some other random miscellaneous pics from our silliness...and can be found HERE!

See you all soon and could you make sure it's warm when I get home??

"Have you ever heard the words I'm singing in these songs?"

"Stand Inside Your Love"

You and me, Meant to be

Immutable, Impossible

It's destiny

Pure lunacy

Incalculable, Insufferable

But for the last time

You're everything that I want and ask for

You're all that I'd dreamed

Who wouldn't be the one you love

Who wouldn't stand inside your love

Protected and the lover of

A pure soul and beautiful you

Don't understand

Don't feel me now

I will breathe, for the both of us

Travel the world, Traverse the skies

Your home is here

Within my heart

And for the first time, I feel as though I am reborn

In my mind, recast as child and mystic sage

Who wouldn't be the one you love

Who wouldn't stand inside your love

And for the first time, I'm telling you how much I need and bleed for

Your every move and waking sound

In my time I'll wrap my wire around your heart and your mind

You're mine forever now

Who wouldn't be the one you love and live for

Who wouldn't stand inside your love and die for

Who wouldn't be the one you love

Just a little taste for all of you of what's to come over the weekend!! That's right folks, tomorrow morning I'm leaving for Manchester for a weekend filled with THE SMASHING PUMPKINS! So this post is just a V-day tribute to the bald man himself! It's gonna be amazing! More upon my return! I absolutely can't wait!

8 pints, 6 sunny days and 4 shows...

So last weekend in Manchester was absolutely amazing! I got in late Saturday afternoon and Craig met me at the train station. We dropped off my stuff at Jen's place and the three of us went to canal street for some drinks and to catch up!

Craig and I then headed to the Academy 1 for a night of punk rock awesomeness! We got into the venue just in time to see The Briggs. It was so strange to see them in such a large venue, complete with a full on light show! So unfortunate that they were on first and only got a 30 minute set. They totally rocked it though and the crowd seemed really into them! Here's a video from the show (the sound quality's not great on the recording...it was much better live!!)...



The Mad Caddies then took the stage and Craig and I slowly made our way over to the bar to get some drinks. Well the set up was absolutely inconvenient to the crowd and the queue was like 8 people deep to get even close to the bar. So we decided we'd get two each and we headed to opposite ends of the bar to have a better shot, agreeing to wave a hand if we got up to the bar...

Well this was good in theory, but once we split up I totally couldn't see Craig anymore! Therefore, we both made it up to the bar at approximately the same time and each ordered 4 pints...2 each right? So we meet back up towards the back of the venue, each of us with 4 pints in our hands, with nowhere to set them and no way to even really drink them! I couldn't even get my wallet back in my purse! We were then laughing uncontrollably at our amusing situation! I then started checking the crowd for anyone old enough to drink without any drinks! Thanks to my entrepreneurial skills we were able to sell some drinks for the same price we bought them for and saved someone else the hassle of getting through the line! What a mess!

The rest of the show was really good, although the sound wasn't the greatest for The Dropkick Murphy's, which was kind of a bummer! We had an absolute blast though!

Sunday we actually managed to set out just after noon. We headed to Space, possibly my favorite pub in Manchester. It was gorgeous and sunny and such a nice day to sit outside, a total tease for spring/summer! So we grabbed some lunch and some cider and spent the afternoon soaking up the sunshine...which is such a rarity here in Britain!

Today was actually the 6th sunny day in a row! It's been absolutely incredible and definitely helps motivate more productive days! I know it won't last, so I don't feel too bad if I'm jinxing it; however, it would be nice if it lasted through the upcoming weekend too!

Anyway, Sunday night we set out with some of Craig's mates (Neil, Darren and Darren's entourage of women) to go see MxPx at the Academy 3 (much much smaller than the Academy 1). I'm not the biggest MxPx fan, but we had fun nonetheless! Heading to Big Hands (yep, you guessed it...another pub) after the show, where we were joined by the band members! It was another really cool night!

It was great to geek out about music all weekend with Craig and we had a massive swap of some of our favorite albums as well! Getting really sad that Friday will be the last time I see Craig for quite a while! I don't want to start saying goodbye to people! Who will indulge me with non-stop Jonah love when I get home??

Anyway, another post about the upcoming weekend shortly! I'm so excited I can hardly wait! Four shows in one week, capping it off with the best for last! This is sure to be the greatest Valentine weekend EVER!

So on that note, Happy Hallmark Holiday to all of you!
See you soon!
xo

SUPER TUESDAY!

Alright folks, tomorrow's the day...GET OUT AND VOTE! If anything this vote is more important than actual election day! Let's get ourselves a candidate who inspires hope and CHANGE! I think Obama's our man, but you're allowed to have you're own opinions...

To purchase the song featured in this video, go to www.jonahmatranga.com. All proceeds go towards helping Obama's campaign!

Oggy, oggy, oggy! Oi, Oi, Oi!

ENGLAND: 19 vs. WALES: 26

Remember the crappy pop music?

Been meaning to give you a sampling of what you might hear in a nightclub on this side of the pond...I'm not saying it's all terrible, just not my thing, so no offense if you like it! The funniest thing about it for me I guess is the sheer number of guys that are out there dancing to this crap! They'd get all the ladies in the USA, cause I don't think as many guys actually get out there and dance at home! Anyway, I'll be glad when my dancing days are once again over...

UK DANCE MIX #1

Oh, I also put some polls up in the left column! Come on you know you wanna respond!

Enjoy the weekend! I'm off to watch some rugby tomorrow afternoon...Wales vs. England! It should prove to quite an experience! GO WALES!

Do not pass go, do not collect $200...

So I've been a little unmotivated to post lately. Sorry for that...I think some extra posting comments would help boost this motivation! Hint, hint.

So I thought I'd back track quite some time in this one and tell you about my "travel woes" as my mom eloquently put it! I've decided not to do any more Italy posts after all...it feels like it was so long ago now...so I apologize, but my lengthy picture captions will have to suffice. I'll now elaborate on my trip home from Italy though for those who have not heard the story firsthand...

So after my last day in Naples, and my fab new Italian haircut, I met back up with Jared and Karly, my Australian travel companions, for one last time! We intended to go to the "real" home of Naples pizza. So we headed off with my pack, as I was boarding a night train back to Milan. Well the pizza place must have been quite popular (and from what I hear apparently worth the wait!)...as we were still waiting to get in when it came time for me to catch my train. Given the scary and incredibly dodgy nature of the area around the train station, Jared and Karly offered to escort me there, for which I was/am greatly thankful. I then ate sub-par pizza in the train station and set off to find my train platform on the departure board, which was very difficult to understand. So I asked some Italian policemen what the board was meaning and they couldn't understand anything I was saying. I eventually found the platform and boarded my train...

You see I chose an overnight train due to saving a night's accommodations and to get a good night's sleep...you know in a sleeper car with an actual bed. I could have gone via a quicker day train; however, the Eurail guide clearly stated this train was to have both types of sleeper cars and that I was ensured a good night's rest. This was a boldfaced LIE! I arrived at my carriage and found seats, not beds, although they did slightly recline. Not only were there seats, but also a family of five in the carriage. A mother and her four children...one of whom was about two and very tired (ie. very fussy). How frustrating!! Needless to say my "good night's sleep" was anything but.

So I arrive in Milan in the morning, still extremely tired, and hop on a bus out to the airport. I was there several hours early and therefore tried to exchange my flight to fly earlier to Nottingham, which would have put me much closer to my final destination in Manchester to spend the weekend with Craig. Should have been simple, right? WRONG! They told me it would cost about 300 Euros to change my flight...definitely not an option, so I opted to stick with my original flight to Bristol and hop the train to Manchester as planned. So I spent my last hours in Italy indulging in all the things I'd grown to love...paninis, coffee, chocolate, gelato. I earned all of these treats after that incredibly grueling hike up Mt. Vesuvius!!

So fine, moving on, I board my plane, which was the emptiest flight I've probably ever been on. Only about 20 or 30 of us I'd say. We took off a bit early even, so I'm thinking great, I can catch an earlier train! WRONG again! We get to the point where we should be descending and the pilot comes over the intercom saying there's snow in Bristol and they're in the process of clearing the runway, so we're just going to fly around until we get the go ahead. After about 30 minutes of "flying around" they finally decide we won't be landing in Bristol, but Cardiff instead. Well, as soon as we touched down in Cardiff I knew there was no chance of making it to Manchester in time to meet Craig for our fun night of karaoke, and boy was I right in making this assumption...

Upon landing in Cardiff, we sat in the plane on the runway for about an hour. They couldn't decide if they were going to refuel and fly us to Bristol (which is utterly ridiculous, seeing as it's only about 45 minutes by train) or take us via bus. At this point I didn't even want to go to Bristol, seeing as my weekend was shot and I live 20 minutes from Cardiff!! So I asked a flight attendant if we were going to be allowed to stay in Cardiff, to which he replied, "No, the airline has an obligation to get you to Bristol because that is what the itinerary states." Okay, well that's fine, but I don't want to go to Bristol!! Eventually this decision was overturned, as half the plane wanted to reman in Cardiff.

So we deboard the plane and head into customs. We were the only passengers waiting to pass through and I was second in line for the non-EU passports. So I step up to the podium, hand the immigration officer my passport and landing card, and he asks me to please take a seat to his left in this little waiting area. So I waited and I waited and I waited...

The entire plane of people got through customs and someone from the airport came over to tell me that the shuttle for Bristol would be leaving in 10 minutes time. I informed him I would be staying in Cardiff and they could go on ... thank goodness for those people this was the case!

So the immigration officer finally calls me back up to the podium and proceeds to interrogate me, asking me what I'm doing there, who I'm staying with, what does she do, how do I know her, how much money I have, how do I access money, where does it come from, why am I traveling for so long, etc, etc., etc. It was seriously unbelievable. And can we keep in mind I was operating on very little sleep due to that incredible night train journey I'd had?? So given my situation is a bit unique and probably doesn't make the slightest bit of sense to most people, seeing as I'm not technically studying here nor am I technically working here, and therefore require no visa, this whole process was quite a challenge. I was then asked again to take a seat, while the man went to contact Adele, my housemate. So I'm in tears, hoping that she verifies my account of what I'm doing here to their liking, and wishing I'd landed in Nottingham or Bristol! The female officer then took me over to get my bag, where all of my stuff was then dragged out and strewn across a large table. The man then comes back and relays that he was unable to reach my housemate. I asked him what the problem was, and told him I didn't understand why I was being put through all of this, when the questions upon my original arrival were minimal to say the least. He said he hadn't decided whether he was going to let me back into the country or not. So I very easily could have been on a flight back to the US that night, with most of my belongings remaining in my house here!

Fortunately, Adele rang back, thinking something had gone terribly wrong with my flight and that I was injured or dead. She then verified my account of things, which the man seemed shocked about. The woman officer then told me that they weren't implying I was some kind of criminal (which is sure how it felt!) and I told her I certainly hoped not, seeing as that's my chosen area of study! I was finally let go and I have never ever been so happy to see my little twin bed!!

The end of an incredibly wonderful vacation was an absolute nightmare!

So quickly in other news...the PhD application deadline is Friday and I'm calling tomorrow to ensure all of my things have arrived. So cross your fingers they let me in and want to give me money!

I will definitely arrive back in the US on March 19th! I'll be staying the night in St. Louis before heading back to KC on Thursday March 20th. There will be a homecoming BBQ at my mom's house on Friday, March 21st, to which those of you who are close and able to come are obviously more than welcome to attend. I hope to be getting invites out shortly. I will look forward to catching up with everyone either then or in the weeks following!

I'm getting very sad to be leaving my new home, friends and workplace. I have about a zillion things to get done and another zillion things planned between now and then. I'll keep posting as they happen! I might try a video post, then I can prove to the skeptics that I really don't have an accent! I might have a slightly changed vocabulary, but no real evidence of an accent.

So that's all for now, I must go to sleep!

Take care and I'll look forward to seeing you all soon (yep, I can really say soon now!)...

xo

Le ferie in Italia...

So I thought I was escaping the cold rain to head towards warm sunshine...but this is what I saw when I arrived in Italy...



So much for warm sunshine! Luckily I was heading farther south and the weather got warmer and sunnier the farther I went...

I'll be posting further blogs about my adventures in Italy, but as some were requesting a new posting and the photos, this will have to do for now! The album can be found HERE, and includes detailed captions, which have taken me ages to complete, as I took nearly 500 photos in the week I was away! So hopefully the captions help to show you what I did and what I learned while I was away.

Without getting into the stories and adventures, I will say I had an amazing time and met the most amazing people! I had extreme difficulty with the language at times and then came back to Britain wanting to speak Italian to everyone (just little bits I picked up while away!). Also in regards to my last post, I forgot (although I don't know how that's even possible!) to mention how much I would miss the COFFEE! It was absolutely the most amazing, best coffee I've ever had in my entire life...even better than Pho Grand coffee for those of you that know how amazing it is!

So, sorry this has taken me so long to post! The last week or so has been extremely busy. Thank you to all of you who sent birthday cards, greetings, wishes, gifts, etc.! They were all very much appreciated and made my birthday one of the best I can remember!

More to come soon! However, this will have to do for now...

Oh, quickly...in other news, I have changed the slideshow to represent the second album of my little adventure, my camera is still broken (so thank you to Tony and Elizabeth for sending me a nice little disposable one for my birthday!), and I'm almost finished with the application process for the PhD program at UMSL. Final documents will be sent out by Friday! So cross your fingers and I'll keep you posted...I should find out by April!

Less than two months to go now and I'm starting to feel very sad...

Cìao Italia...

Well, I catch a train to head back to Milan in just a bit...I'm super sad to be leaving Italy (I fly out tomorrow). I've had the most amazing time...

Things I'll miss most:

Fellow hostellers
Sights/smells/sounds
Art/architecture like none I've ever seen before
Pizza
Pasta
Cheese
Wine
Gelato
...and anything else related to Italian dining

I'll post more when I return home on Sunday, after the weekend in Manchester! So many stories to tell.

I'll leave you with this though:

Yesterday I climbed to the top of Mt. Vesuvius (pictured above...and possibly one of the coolest things I've EVER done) and today I had my hair cut/styled by three Italian men...and it looks/feels amazing! It was a brave move on my part, as no one in the salon spoke any English!

Cìao!

Buongiorno!

Just a quick little post to give everyone a laugh....and because I only have a few minutes internet time!

Last night, I ordered pasta....and I definitely ate "polpa," tentacles and all! For those without an Italian phrasebook, "polpa" means octopus. Apparently I had ordered spaghetti with octopus in it...

More when I'm back in Wales!

Ciao!

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

A very happy new year to everyone! May 2008 bring nothing but the best...

I'm still recovering from the last week or so. Trying to regroup before I leave for Italy on Friday! I feel incredibly disorganized at the moment and have about a zillion things to do! I don't intend to take my laptop with me, so I may be unavailable for a bit. I promise to be in touch when I get back home.

Thank you to everyone who sent a Christmas card via post! It's been great getting them all in the mail.

I had a lovely time with my mom and sister. They were delayed a day, which cut into our tour time, but it all worked out okay! Upon their arrival, we caught a train to Bath, where we indulged in relaxation at the Thermae Bath Spa!! It was unbelievable and should be available to anyone getting off of an international flight! We never slept so well.

The next morning we headed to Stonehenge, Woodhenge, Avebury, Lacock Village and Castle Combe. It was cold, but not rainy thank goodness! We had an amazing lunch in St. George's Inn (est. 1361) in Lacock Village. We got some great photos and going in the off season has advantages, like there being no one else around!

Upon returning from our all day coach tour, we caught a train to Wales to hole up at my house for the holidays. We had a nice quiet Christmas with good food and some laughs! The main laugh, which was not funny at all at the time, was during our walk to the local grocery shop. We needed milk and I really thought they'd still be open. It was pouring rain, but it's really not too far to walk, so we set out. Along the way there was a massive puddle on the side of the road, which a car drove through, sending a huge splash our way. We were completely soaked and extremely cold! It really does happen like in the movies, I swear it!

Boxing Day we made our way into town, where few shops were actually open. So, we decided to see a play at the Muni Arts Theatre...Jack and the Beanstalk, and man did it go on forever. By the second act Jack still hadn't even gotten his beans! I guess it was better than sitting in the house, but I could've really done without.

Very early the next day we caught our train to Edinburgh. After a long delay in Crewe, we finally arrived late afternoon. We checked into our hotel, which was stunning. The room was huge and I finally got to sleep in a double bed! Yay! (I'll be so happy to get home to my queen size bed!) Anyway, we set off for the Winter Carnival and shopping on Princes Street, sipped some mulled wine and bought a few souvenirs.

The next morning we set off on a coach tour of the Scottish Highlands, seeing Sterling Castle and the Wallace Nat'l Monument from afar, and visiting Loch Ness, Fort Augustus, Glencoe Fort William, Pitlochry and some other small villages. The highlands are breathtaking. It was a really cool experience and we were lucky to have a very funny tour guide. We sipped Scottish whiskey, found out what the heck haggis is, and attempted to catch a glimpse of Nessie (the Loch Ness monster). The only downfall about Scotland was the lack of daylight. Being so close to the north pole, the winter days are only from about 9a until 3p. We constantly felt like we were in the dark!

Saturday morning we then headed back to London. Taking in an open top bus tour (Brr!) to get a glimpse of all the sights. Unfortunately that's about all we had time for! Later on we did get some shopping in Picadilly Circus, where my mother was astonished at having to pay to use the toilet! It cost one quid, which is equivalent to about $2! We enjoyed Chinese food in China Town before heading back to the hotel for some much needed rest!

Sunday I saw them off at the airport and headed back to Wales. It was a great week and it was wonderful to be able to share part of this with them.

Our photos have been added to my album, which can be found HERE.

My new year was a fun one. I went out with the girls for a night of pub hopping. Ringing in the new year at a house party before heading back to the pubs. Hopefully everyone else enjoyed a happy one as well!

In other news, I'm currently in the process of getting my stuff together for application to the PhD program at UMSL. I've also had another run of bad camera luck, as my new camera doesn't seem to be doing anything at the moment. Back to the old one for now I guess, and therefore limited night/indoor photos. I'm totally bummed about this and hope to have this resolved quickly.

Also for those that don't know...I'll be celebrating my 25th birthday in a couple weeks! So have some birthday cake for me and we'll have a bash when I get home!