A new semester

Its been a couple weeks since ive been back from Scotland/after the 2 week break now, and my classes have resumed!

I, again, only have 2 classes monday and tuesday which is nice. and so far i find them already more interesting than last semster's. And, after looking over the syllibi for when my essays are due, i feel the stress coming on already!! even though most are due in june, or late march....i always have the dissertation in the back of my mind. but, then again, that's what the masters is supposed to be like...right? all work very little play?

also, on my plate, is planning the trip for when the fam comes to visit during my easter break in April!!!! so, that is my main motivation to git crackalakin on my work so i dont have to deal with it when they're here!

oh, and i was informed about a 1/2 marathon that will take place in march...but due to chronic (3 weeks long) back pain and stupid shin splints that like to come and go too often....i realize it wouldnt be smart for me to push myself to run such a long distance non stop. yes i realize i could walk a bit, but running straight on for that long is much different than playing a game on squishy grass with the motivation to knock someone over or steal a ball. so therefore, no marathon for me :(

On the upside of things, i am enjoying church more (finally) cuz now i know students there and get to socialize in and outside of church which has been a huge blessing for me!! :D It is a nice break to hang out with the 'church group' and get a dose of fellowship aside from my uni friends.

thats all for now. sorry its not more interesting.

DSL:DEEP SCOTISH LOVE!!!

On tuesday I left for Scotland to spend 4 days there with 2 of my girlfriends and 1 of their brothers (Alexandra's brother Dimitri).

We arrived in the evening, so we decided to just check into the hostel (which was surprisingly nice/clean) and take a stroll around the town to get acquainted with the streets and try to plan out what we were going to do the next day. We settled into a small cozy pub that i had researched online, and i enjoyed a warm Bailey's coffee :) After, we went back to the hostel for the night and i slept for about 1 hour.......couldnt sleep the first 2 nights there!!! dont know why, just couldnt do it.

the next day we ventured in the Edinburgh Castle, learned about true Scotish Whiskey at the distillery, loved a bowl of traditional Scotish soup (Cullen Skink) and then Dimitri and I took a tour of the spoooooky underground in Old Town of Edinburgh!!! No ghosts that time, but it was creepy/very exciting and interesting too!

The next day it was off on our day tour via bus up to the Highlands (northern-ish Scotland) and Loch Ness!! the total hours of the trip was about 11, but it never felt like you were stuck in a bus. we made frequent stops to take pictures and enjoy the scenery. also included was a sack lunch. we also took a 1 hour boat trip on Loch Ness and went by an old castle on the Loch as well. The scenery was breathtaking!!!!!!!!!! I also got to become friends with a very sweet Highalnd Cow named "Hamish". and, the tour guide (who played music for us and told lots and lots of stories about the history of scotland and random stuff too) said that behind a certain mountian in the Highlands, Hagrid's house scenes from Harry Potter were filmed there! though we couldnt see it from the road, he told us a story of him and his mates drinking too much, breaking into the house and playing cards.

*off to church now, but will resume the rest of the stories later!

>>ok, round 2:

so, yes, the highlands. where i would loooooove to go another time and hike in the mountains and open fields!! our last stop was Loch Ness!! we did not see Nessie, however our tour guide did tell us some really cool stories of his friends who were once skeptics of the underwater allie, but had personal experiences that made them 50/50 believers!! woah!

The last day, we went walking around town and stopped in a couple tourist shops to get last minute purchases. I got a warm, snuggly lambswool blanket and a necklace with a cool looking celtic symbol :) I already miss Scotland VERY much, but im sure sometime ill go back and visit. but next time prolly Glasgow or one of the islands with seals. Im still forcing myself to think on and off in a Scottish accent too. its just too cool to let slip away!!!

***Aside from my trip, today was extra awesome cuz church rocked my sox again. which is kinda funny, cuz i imagine that God has great stuff planned for me but i still wake up skeptical of whether its gonna be a good day or boring/loner day at church. but today i had the promise of meeting up with the Canadian girl (sarah) and having lunch with other students!!

the morning started off-actually-with no heat! i woke up and realized the temp in my room was much to cold than normal. of course, our heat ran out, but this time i used the emergency 5pounds so it was all good. and on the bus was Sandie (was invited for lunch with her and her family last sunday!!) who greeted me on the bus and we had some conversation en route to church. i also said hello to another student who was waiting at the stop/rode the bus :)

Once at church, i walked in the sanctuary and visually combed the crowd for a familiar face to sit next too. in the distance, i saw my friend Rachel and she waved. so, i made my way over to her when i heard someone call my name. i second guessed turning around assuming that i didnt know enough people yet for someone to recognize me let alone stop me to talk...but i turned and after a brief/panicky 2 seconds, i recognized the face. It was James, a guy from my life group whom i havent seen since December! He gave me a hug and asked how i was and we engaged in a brief and friendly convo about how lovely Scotland is (and dont get ideas, mom, he already has a serious gf!). anyhoo, i sat with Rachel and the service was cool. there were about 5 baptisms today....all of which were grown ups.

oh, and even when i first walked thru the church doors, i ran into Sarah (with relief that i found her so early!) and she invited me again to confirm that i wanted to join for lunch. so, after the service i found her quickly and we ventured off to meet other students and ask around who wants lunch. It ended up being just her, me, and another girl Emma, but it was still really nice to talk with them about faith, and life groups, and them informing me about other student activities if im interested...heck yes!! OH!, and today i saw info about a fashion show the church is putting on to raise money for breast cancer awarness. i mentioned to the girls that if i could help out, it would be good experience for me (with my masters and all), they agreed and said they'd pass my name along to the coordinators they know in church. awesome.

so, it was a brilliant day, and im looking more forward now to Tuesday when i plan on checking out the bigger student life group, and then next sunday....since i actually have another reason to go to church and not feel like a loner!!

THANK YOU THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

me and Loch Ness.

the end....*for now.

Hats off to the Zebras......

ok,

monday night Bärbel and I went to London (where else? please..) to see the British comedian Bill Bailey. For those of you who dont already know, im not really a big fan....or a small fan of British comedy. Let's face it, england is an island and therefore secluded from the rest of the big world, and therefore somehow has crappy humor that only they can appreciate. (too harsh????)

anyhoo, after watching a few clips of him from youtube, i felt that i could spend a few pounds going to see him and hanging out with my flatmate!

we got to london and tried to find cheap tix for the show, and decided on either Wicked or chicago as a fall back plan. first, we found a very scrumtrulescent chinese buffet restuarant in Soho-(nice to meet you.......OPI nailpolish name! ;) anyhoo, we had to heaping plates and mine was mostly covered with sweet and sour chicken!! love love!

then, a quick stop and Starbucks, and then off to the show! our tix were only 20 some pounds and good seats too!

the show lasted about 2 1/2 hours and i laughed a lot. he was very funny and his personability (sp? is that even a word?) with the audience made it that much more enjoyable. the woman behind us, however, sounded like a hyiena (sp?)....always gotta be something, right?

anyhoo, that was it. it was a bit chilly outside, though that didnt detur us from stopping at Häagen-dazs :p

here are some youtube clips of him at the one we saw and other ones......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8wj6qoGVOs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRyvsRAo8T8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VM0eG8gb28 (this last one, refers to him wanting to get a tattoo of panther on his chest, but the tattoo guy said 'well, it will look like the panther is caught in a thicket'......and therefore, the story with the crazy tattoos.......i like the burned out car ;)

ENJOY!?

i should get paid for this....

alright, just a quick story about my life aka a ridiculous movie in which i swear someone is taping me cuz sometimes things that happen to me just gotta be planned or scripted..ya know?

anyhoo, the other day...thursday, i went with my friend Anna to see the movie Twilight (2x for me :) well, it all started off when we walked into town to catch the bus-in which the times i had checked online-only to be fooled yet again by the very conflicting times posted at the stop. so after a few vulgarities and laughter, we got a cab and headed to the movie place...er, the cinema.

we got our tickets and my bag of peanut m&ms and got our seats. nicely enough, it wasnt crouded at all, and we got good seats. i had brought along my titanium water bottle with me cuz i didnt want pop (runs thru me like niagria) and didnt want to pay a bunch for 1 plastic bottle. sooooo, during the movie my purse and bottle were perched on my lap. up until the point when the 'kissing scene' arrived and (if you've seen the movie) there is no sound, and based on special circumstances it takes the lead guy a while before he actually makes contact with her lips....during this time, my bottle decided it would be a good time to check out what the floor feels like....by falling off my lap smacking the ground with an alarming, tinny crack, and rolling for a couple seconds-which felt like 5 minutes!!!!!!!!!!! i jumped, anna jumped and a couple girls behind me jumped at this. anna just laughed at me for like 15 min. and yelled at me for 'ruining the mood'....i could feel my heart nearly jump out of my chest in embarrassemnt, but even more, i was laughing at the irony of what just happened. go figure, the 1 scene in the movie, and this happens.

oh well. gotta love life.
then afterwards, i called for a taxi. we waited and waited, then finally got in a cab that pulled in front of us. the cabbi mumbled something i didnt hear but anna said 'yes'. he said something about Sandwish street. what the shiz? i said 'no, we would like to go to town center'. he looked at me and said ' are you lucy?' for a flash of a second i thought about either saying yes or just making some random comeback up to say..but if you know me well enough, those dont come easily, so we hopped out of the car and waited in the cold some more.
finally, another taxi showed up. but it pulled in front of another girl waiting next to us, and she kinda glanced over at us and hopped in. they drove away, and then i realized...i think she just took our taxi!! so, i called again and another one came to get us.

all in all, it was a relatively eventful night (well, eventful according to Eastbourne standards) and it was nice to have a few laughs.....though the main joke was on myself. go figure.

German Christmas (the most delicious!)

*My gift from Frau Beschnitt and Norbert of traditional Leipzig 'wood widdled' people!!!!!!!!!

ok, obviously, i cant write every single thing that happened/all that i did while i was in germany this christmas/new years, but ill try to highlight as much as i can...if i can remember all of it!

i arrived in Berlin at 11am on the 23 and then stayed the next 2 days at Kristin's moms/bf's house. Where the days basically consisted of eating, taking walks in the cold, and napping. seriously, i dont think ive ever been so consitently stuffed! they made roast duck/goose (eaten at one meal, mind you) and 4 diff. kinds of delicious potato salad, and breakfasts of rolls, jams, cheeses, and meats!! always coffee and snacky cake things too. on the evening of the 24 (which is basically christmas for them) i went Tine to a nearby church for a quick German christmas service. however, upon my arrival there, after being drawn in from the cathedral/old school architecture of the building, i realized there was no heat!!! yes, very very very cold. but i endured and enjoyed the experience. Next we went back home and proceeded to open gifts and eat food. lovely.

on the 26 i arrived at Tine's dad's/gf's house (where i stayed over this past summer when i visited) for the rest of my trip. it was really great to see all of them again and to talk about things that have happened and also, for me, to realize how crazily blessed i am for a) being in germany again, b)having a family away from home and c) experiencing a close friend's traditional christmas. we opened some presents at thier house as well, and that was pretty low key. and again, as was expected from the summer, breakfasts of cheeses, meats, and rolls!! *dont forget the staple of nutella as well ;) i also (somewhat surprisingly enjoyed the liver patae....or something with some strange meats....but whatev. no surprise to any of you back home i got no prob trying anything. except maybe some crazy sh*t that those guys eat on the travel chanel. *chelsea and julie, you know what im talking about!!)

soooooooooooo, a few of us went to visit Wittenberg where it had to have been the most frigid, cold day outside, nonetheless the germans loved the strolls in the cold.........while i was willing my insides not to freeze over!! we toured the first church that Martin Luther preached in as well as his house turned museum too. it was pretty cool (figuratively and literally). later we ate dessert at an italian restuarant where i got a kick ace dessert of vanilla ice cream and warm sweet cherry stuff on top!! rock my sox!

aaaaaaaaaaand, then on the 30, Tine and i were off on our 4-5 hour road trip to Hamburg to meet up with our friends to celebrate the new year! we arrived without any problems and had fun listening to the radio on the way (which played really great American hits and whatnot). we ate japanese food prepared by our MGU friend Michiko visiting from her study in Ireland, and then went out to a really posh bar called "20 up) in a veeeeery nice hotel. we met up with some others of Ruth and Philipp's (the friends we stayed with) friends at the bar and one of them was Asian/American!! might sound silly, being around fluent english speakers, but talking to another American was really great! its just something different about it when its someone from 'back home'.

the next day, we went shopping for some food and i bought a dress for the new year party we were all going to at a 4 star hotel. the party was fun, and it was cool to count down in german and then watch all the fireworks all around the city. then i called the fam back home (while they were still in 2008) and wished them a merry new year. of course, according to Zach, talking to him while we were both in different years was like something out of the Twilight Zone. :p

anyhoo, that was my trip! it was fun, exciting, i learned some more german words and phrases, ate incredible food, fell in love with the country a little bit more, and slept for 11 hours the night i got back to England!! i already miss Tine and being around my friends, but i know ill see them again sometime.

for now, anxious about my other uni friends to return back to Eastbourne, and finish up this semester and git got with the new one!!