And the countdown begins!

Hello! I am so excited to talk at you. It's been a while (as usual)!

And again, as usual, these past couple of weeks has been pretty eventful. Classes are starting to wrap up because ... dun dun dun ... I only have one more week of school left! WHOA! I'm trying to work up enough steam to seriously sit down and study. And let me tell you, it's not going so well!

I registered a couple of nights ago for next semester's classes. I had a fabulous registration time although Claremont McKenna's psychology department had to make things a little difficult. I still ended up with a pretty cool set of classes. I can already tell I am going to be pretty busy, especially compared to this semester. I guess that's what the Scripps Off-Campus Study Office meant when they told us about the possibility of experiencing culture shock when we come home.

I went on my last international trip last weekend. I stayed with another fabulous Scrippsie in Edinburgh, Scotland. Let me just start off by telling you how much I LOVE that city. A lot. I was hooked within minutes of arriving there. I got there pretty early Friday morning, and since LeeAnn had class until 11, I had a few hours to do whatever. I actually had a lot of work to do, so I went to the Elephant House Cafe where J.K. Rowling  wrote Harry Potter!!!!!! I originally didn't want to go there because I thought it would be really touristy but it wasn't at all. I was actually the only person there for a while. Granted, it was 8:30AM, but still. Sitting in a cafe seems like a pretty ordinary thing to do, but it was actually a pretty amazing experience. I was able to find the cafe all by myself, and since I had to walk from where the airport shuttle dropped us off, I was obviously able to see some of the city. It's absolutely amazing. ALL of the buildings are so OLD (and so pretty!) - it's awe-inspiring. And then to sit in the same cafe as J.K. Rowling and be writing a fabulous piece of literature (well, not really, it was just an essay), it was just a really cool feeling. And to top it all off, Edinburgh just exudes Harry Potterness. It's like the modern-day, city version of Hogwarts and definitely forever cemented in my 10 Favorite Places list. LeeAnn and I went to a museum, a cafe that had beautiful peach tea, did more homework, went to a pub for dinner, and then went to another pub and had yummy mulled wine. We went to the town of St. Andrews on Saturday and saw the cathedral ruins, went to a couple of cute craft fairs, had famous ice cream (Carmel Coffee flavored - YUM!), and ended the day at a used bookstore. Absolutely wonderful.

I'm glad I went to Scotland and saw LeeAnn, but I'm also glad I don't have any more international trips planned. I didn't realize how exhausting these weekend trips would be! I do have a fieldtrip with my archaeology class (we're going to County Roscommon to look at ditches and mounds that were once moats and walls with maybe a few castles and churches thrown in) this Saturday, and then a trip to Northern Ireland with Butler next weekend. And that will be the end of my You-went-where?! trips. I guess my stay in Galway would count as one of those trips too.

It's funny - after next week (my last week of classes), I have Study Week, then two weeks of finals, and then I come home! It's almost unbelievable. I can't believe how fast my time here has gone by. Though I will admit that ever since the beginning of November I've been pretty ready to come home. To be fair, I think that it has a lot to do with my impending finals. As Timon says to Simba, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going!". But even without finals, a semester abroad is just the right amount of time. I can't even imagine how I would be feeling right now if I had decided to stay for a whole year. I can't wait to just be with my family and friends. There's something to be said about physical proximity and knowing that my mom or sisters or friends are in the next room or right down the hall. Ahhhh, I'm so excited to come home!

I haven't posted pictures in a while so here are a few snapshots of my trips!





Me being silly next to a statue of Nicolas de Condorcet in Paris (only Scrippsies would understand)

  



Blarney Castle, Cork

  




ME IN THE FAIRY GLADE!
Blarney Estate

  




This was literally the only place in the Elephant House Cafe that was Harry Potter themed.

  




For Ms. Stenberg

  




Me and LeeAnn at the St. Andrews Town Hall (the old one - they obviously built a new one)

   Wow, I completely forgot how long it took to upload photos. It wasn't just because I've been too busy. I hope you like them!

love always!