I have been absolute rubbish in keeping my blog updated these past weeks. Im sorry! This will be the last update...I come home tomorrow. It has been such a wonderful life experience here. I can not put it into words. I dont want to say good bye to it all just yet. We had room check out and deep cleaning duties around the castle and i dont think it has fully hit me that im going home in less then 24 hours. It just feels like i will be going on another holiday and returing in a few days or weeks.
I cant guess how the adjustment back is going to go? I guess i dont want to think about it to much. I hope everyone has enjoyed my photos and reading my thoughts...well some of them, about my time in England.
When i leave at 5:00am tomorrow morning i will not be saying good-bye to England forever, I will come back some day! I just have to!!!!

1 week 6 days 23 hours and 52, 51,50 minutes left in England :'(

It is starting to set in folks. Im coming home soon and I'm not ready to say good-bye to my new home. I get sad everytime i think about leaving. I hope all who are reading this know that I miss you and want to see you...but understand how difficult it will be for me to say good-bye to England and more specificly Alnwick. The last two days have been beautiful outside and it has been such a blessing to get outside and walk around the town. It is also coming time to write the final papers, do final portfolio's, and study for a few final tests. And all I want to do is soak up ALNWICK. But dont worry mom and dad, I AM doing my homework. I even go to work on some of it outside as we get free internet access outside by the barbican...but we cant go inside and pick it up. So the nice weather has been good to get things done where I need to internet and what not to assist in the making of a powerpoint or research for a paper.

If you are reading this, could you take a moment and pray for me. Ipon returning to Minnesota I need to figure out a job, save money and just get back into the swing of things back home. This may sound strange but I will experience "culture shock" (not sure what else to call it) when i get home. Having been apart from everyone back home for so long it may be difficult to ease back into eachother's lives. I know you are all excited to hear about my many adventures, and i look forward to showing my pictures and telling my stories. I will warn you though, you will get tired of me talking about England...trust me:)

The photo's are from a night at the Hairy Lemon:) And some of the lambs we saw on our field trip last Friday:) Hopefully i get my camera fixed soon so i can take more photos these last 2 weeks:)

Love you all
Connie

THE BEST HOLIDAY EVER!!!

I recently returned from my final holiday while abroad. During these two weeks I took a 3 day tour through the Isle of Skye in Scotland and went on a seven day cruise through the Mediterranean!

First the Isle of Skye. It was beautiful. Lots of mountains and snow. But the weather really wasnt that bad and the views were worth it. We also saw Loch Ness...but no Nessy:( We had a really funny bus driver who kept us entertained throughout the tour. The hostel we stayed in asked for people to stay in the "caravans" outside...they were trailer homes, but it was cheaper and pretty fun!

After returning for one night in the castle to do laundry, sleep, oh and go out for a bit...we left for the Newcastle Airport Friday afternoon. Waiting in the check out line and looking around it seemed that we had signed ourselves up for a retirement cruise as we were the only ones under the age of 60. Bought a book to read over the holiday and borded the plane for a quick trip down to Palma Majorca where we boarded our cruise ship shortly after 9 pm. At 11 was the send of party where I danced and had a great time with Alexis and Sierra and where we first met the great staff aboard the Thomson Celebration! Saturday was a day at sea. The weather was pretty good...but i kept my coverup on most of the day and in result the tops of my legs were the only part of my to get sun burnt that day. That evening was the captain's dinner. We got dressed up and had an amazing 5 course meal at the posh resturant on board. I enjoyed a shrimp scampy salad thing, ceasar salad, tomato and basil soap, duck and strawberry cheese cake. That night we were entertained by the show team on board with a production of "Africa". It was lovely as were the shows throughout the rest of the week. Most evenings were spent in the Broadway show lounge and then up to the liberties bar for a caborat or disco...LOTS OF CRAZY DANCING!!! :)

Sunday we ported in Tunisia, Africa for a few hours. Getting off the ship we were immediatly bombarded with taxi drivers wanting to take us places. And it wasnt just one or two drivers, no there was a couple dozen! After a short walk about we headed back to the ship where Alexis rode a camel right outside our ship. She was very excited! The rest of the day was spent eatting the endless food from the buffet and sun bathing on the Lido deck. I got a bit more sun that day. In the evening we took in another show and went to bed early because we had a long day in Rome the next day.

Rome was beautiful. We got to walk around, take the metro and see the Coliseum, spanish steps and trevi fountain. We then made the mistake of eatting lunch close to the fountain and paid 8 euros for what turned out the be a microwave meal. The resturant didnt even try and fool us by taking it out of the plastic tray...nope they just put the plastic tray on a plate and served it to us. But Rome redeemed itself with the AMAZING icecream or gilado (sp) as they call it. That same day we met Lucy and Emily and their family. Lucy is 10 and Emily 16. They spent time with us by the pool the rest of the week, sang kareoki, and went to the shows with us the rest of the week. Their parents seemed to appreciate us keeping an eye on little Lucy. But she was a joy to be with, such a character that little girl.

After rome we did wine tasting in Tuscany. It was very beautiful and the wine was the best i had ever had! After Livarno we ported in Mariselle, France. I choose this day to stay on the ship and get a bit of revising done on the homework i had. Lucy spent the day with me on the Lido deck and we actually ended up winning Thomson Celebration mints for winning the true false quiz in the afternoon. Her family being "all inclusive" bought me a few fruit smoothies and pina colada's that afternoon:)

Thursday we ported in Barcilona, Spain. After doing a bit of souviner shopping we found a beach and burnt to a crisp by the Mediterranean Sea. There i got a tattoo too....but it's fake and will be gone before i get home. I got a star on my right hip for those who havnt checked my facebook pictures or talked to me.

Friday we were back in Palma and the weather was not very nice. So it was time for more revison and saying good-bye the the ship. Lucy, when she hugged me, cried a bit. But we plan on sending e-mails and such. FINALLY at 6:40 pm we headed to the airport and headed back to the castle!

Not looking forward to class the next 3 weeks:(

Ready for Another Adventure

I am tired of sitting around the castle. We leave for Scotland tonight...and i am so ready for a change of scenery. Crazy thing, it's been SNOWING here...and it even accumulated on the ground a bit. Thats the first time since we got here.
Went shopping with Alexis on Saturday and got a few things for our cruise. I am every excited to be in a warm climate, get some sun (which reminds me i need to purchase some sunblock soon!), and just relax. On Sunday I went for dinner with Alexis and her homestay family. It was a delicious meal and great fellowship. They have daughter, Tonya, who is our age. She gave me a lift to the train station to pick up our train tickets for tonight.
Well...i think im going to go try and find some other form of entertainment. I will write again soon!
C.

Castle Bordom

Yes we do have homework and occasional nights out...but just because we live in a castle doenst mean we all dont get BORED! This week to pass the time a small group and i invested in fabric, pins, thread and stuffing to make our own little stuffed animals. I just finished my bunny creation. She's not the prettiest of animals but i love her just the same. I am just proud of myself for doing it all myself! I have decided when i get home i want to learn how to knit. There is a knitting club here but i dont think i have enough time to really get into it....or the money to buy the supplies.

This weekend is going to be one of relaxation...and probably a lot more boredom. My roomie Alexis and I are planning on taking the bus/train to Newcastle to do some last minute shopping before we go on our cruise. We will definatly be making a stop at "Prixmark". That store is like Old Navy and Wal-Mart on speed...it's crazy, and CHEAP. (music to our purses and handbags). I hope to find a nice pair of sandals to wear with my dress for our Captain's dinner on the cruise. Oh and maybe some shorts and a beach towel:)

Hmmm...oh had a good st paddy's day. It really isnt has big here in England. But as American's we all had good time and dressed to impress in our green:) Sierra, Alexis and I got super cute t-shirts from one of the local pubs, The Hairy Lemon. You can see them modeled on the photos above. The guy in the other photo is a true blooded Irishman...oh he's a friend i have made while I have been here. The photo of me and the strange stuffed animal is "Prisilla" the stuffed bunny

sewed....in my bordom. She may not be that pretty but i love her!

Okay, well that is all i can think to update about. I miss you all back home! See you in just over a month. I cant believe how fast this semester has gone! AHHH! Okay im not going to think about it...im just going to make the most of the time i have left here:) See you soon!

C.

Oh and another thing i do when i get bored is change the template of my blog:)

Amsterdam

This past weekend a group of the students and I took a ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam. The ferry was unlike anything we expected. It seemed more like a cruise then a ferry. But we were all housed in the "Jack" part of the ship. (Think about titanic...you'll figure it out). We were sure that if our ferry went down we would be the ones gated in the bottom of the ship with no esape. The cars were even higher then us! But it was a good time. The trip over there was smooth, but the people on this ferry were LOUD!!!! I found it very difficult to sleep that first night. We ported in Amsterdam around 9:30 am and after going through immegration and what not we boarded a bus to have a one hour tour of the city. This was beneficial when Sierra, Alexis and I wanted to find the Anne Frank house after we got off the bus.

The Anne Frank House was an amazing thing to see and i am glad we waited in the "Q" to get in. Just to think about what life must have been like for her and the others living in that small space...it's so hard to get a handle on. We did not get to the Van Gough Museum...just not enough time! After the Anne Frank House we sought out the Hard Rock Cafe and did a little souivinear shopping. Then we grabbed some Mc Donalds for the ride home and our dinner.

When we got back on the ferry we were exhausted and took a nap. Around 7 we woke up and did a little exploring of the ship again...went out on deck and Alexis and I just had a good chat before heading to bed around 11.

Early the next morning we were awaken by a woman's voice coming through the speaker to tell us when we would be back into port in Newcastle. We were back on the bus headed for home about 10.

When we reached the castle i quickly showered and threw a load of laundry in before my friend's Matt and Ashely came. It was so good to see friends from home! We just spent the afternoon together. I took them to Barter Books where they met my new good friend Dink and i bought the book "Atonment". Then we headed over the pastures to do some sheep chasing and take "harry potter" pictures with the castle in the back ground. After climbing the hill back into town we went to Grannies for scrumcious sandwitches for dinner and headed back to the castle to enjoy them in the library and just catch up and chat. And ofcourse, before they left I had to take them to my favorite pubs, "the lhairy emon" and "blackmores", for a few drinks. Then it was off the bus station where we discovered they had missed the last bus to the train station. After some quick thinking we go the number for the taxi and booked an ride for them to the train station. Seeing them really made me realize how important everyone back home is to me. Dont get me wrong, i love it here in England and really hope to come back again some day...but it's just not the same without everyone you love.

The pictures included are ones from Amsterdam and the one of Ashely, Matt and I at Blackmores.

I will try and post again soon....it might be hard because i will be gone on holiday. I havn't decided if i will be bringing my computer yet or not.

Love you all! x

Con

Sister visits...LONDON BABY....weekend in Paris!

First i want to appoligize for the lack of updates. It is very easy to forget to update you all back home. Sometimes it seems that what i am doing may seem uninteresting to you or I sometimes struggle to share the events in a way that i think you all would enjoy. But I will do my best! Continue to check my facebook for photo updates.(for those of you who have it....mom and dad or anyone else without it, if you want to see photo's send me an e-mail and i will send you some of the best photos)
Okay, so last Wednesday (Feb 27) my sister Nicole came to visit. Wade and I drove to Edinburgh Scotland (about 2 hours) to pick her up from the airport and bring her back to her former home at the castle. It was so good to see here. We spent some time with a few of her local friends and then called it a night, as i had class the next morning. Thursday while i was in class Nicole tried to sleep of some of the jet lag. That afternoon we walked around town, stopped at Barter Books, and got donuts from GREGGS. Later that night, after having a delicious italian dinner, we went out on the town and had a good time. I spent Friday morning at orentation for our London trip while Nicole got to sleep in. (I was jealous). Friday afternoon we took the bus to Newcastle for some shopping and then took in a free movie (Semi-Pro) with our friend Dink and then took the train back to Alnwick. Saturday was spent relaxing and that night we went out. Sunday morning came quick with us having to load the bus @ 5:45am for our 7+ hour drive to London.
The bus ride went rather quick. I was able to sleep most of it. Our first stop in London was the Tower of London. This was one of my favorite places. The tower is where many people in history were kept prisoner or exicuted. I got to see "the block".

Over the next few days we saw the house of lords in parliment, took a ride on the londone eye. Walked through st. James park, past Buckinham(sp) Palace and Prince Charles home. I went to 2 plays, STOMP and The history Boys. I enjoyed both very much. There is talk of starting our own Stomp team here at the castle....after the duke leaves for the season so we do not disturb him:) Let's see...what else did we do...We saw St. Paul's Cathedral. This is the church where Prince Charles and Diana were married. Mom and dad, start saving, i want to get married in that catheral some day;) While we were there we climbed up over 600 stairs to the top to see beautiful views of the city. We also went to The Globe Theater, Museum of London, the British Library, Hampton Court, and other places that i cant remember at the moment:)

Thursday afternoon most of the group headed to Paris for the weekend. We took the chunnel. It was a quick trip there, but the journey we had to get from the train to our hotel was no easy task. I was very grateful to only have my backpack and not rolling luggage. It was difficult to muniver through the underground with all our luggage. But we made it! Our hotel was POSH!!! But it was located in a dodgy part of town. Sierra Cameron, Alexis and I went out for chinese that night...it was good. Everything became a little harder to do once we got to Paris. Everything was written in french. But somehow we managed. The rest of the weekend was spent walking around paris. Going to the Louve, a few other museums, the eiffel tower, Moulin Rouge, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe. It was a good time! At the end of the day it was nice to go back to the hotel and just take a warm bath and relax. Being a tourist for a week is hard work...very exhausting! I have a few photos posted...hope you enjoy!

The photos are of the girls and i infront of Buckingham Palace, and then one of just me, the four of us on the london eye, the girls and i pretending to be 3 of Henry VIII's wives, I was Jane Seymore (his favorite wife),Sierra is Anne Boleyn and Alexis and Katherine of Aragon. and then one of us infront of the effiel tower:)

See you all soon! I have to go finish packing for Amsterdam now!

Just a few more pictures. Sierra and I kissing a green door in Dubling! Amanda and I. My ring and the village it's named after, the sunset setting behind the tallest "mountains" in Ireland and Michelle and I at the Dingle Penisula:) ENJOY!!!!

The Craic is Tight in Southern Ireland

Hello again everyone!
Sorry for such a delay in posting. I am just getting back to reality (in my castle), after a week off which i spent on our Paddy Wagon tour bus going all over Southern Ireland. It was amazing! I am very glad I chose to do the tour for my week break. I will do my best to explain everything I did. We saw so many beautiful places, i am struggling to remember exactly what everything is called.

Amanda and i left of Newcastle on Friday afternoon so we could get to our hotel and enjoy a night of relaxation before having to catch our flight to Dublin @ 7:55 am the next morning....or so we thought that was when our flight was scheduled, more on that later. Our hotel was AMAZING! We had very comfortable bed, a pool, sauna, hot tub, steam room, workout room, bar, and resturant...and free shuttle service to the airport! Amanda and i thought we could be content spending our whole week in Newcastle at our very posh hotel...forget about Ireland. Well, before going to sleep Friday night we double checked our flight information and discovered that our flight didnt leave till SUNDAY @ 7:55 am...ooops. But we thought we would get up early, go to the airport and see if we could get it changed. It didnt work...it would have cost us over $500 to change it...so we decided to get a room back out our hotel again...for a lot cheaper. So we called up the shuttle service and the picked us up again and brought us back to the hotel. Amanda and i decided to take a nap before deciding what we would do the rest of the day....it was only 7 am....i slept till noon! That afternoon we took a bus to Blyth and did some shopping and exploring for the day. Then we went back to our hotel, swam, ate and went to bed early so we could get up @ 5 to get to the airport for our flight. The flight went well. It was a little delayed, but that was no problem. When we got to Dublin we found the bus we needed to get to our hostel and then we got a little lost in Dublin, but eventually found where we were to stay the night, checked in and then hung out with Sierra and Alexis and did some sight seeing the rest of the afternoon. I got to eat at my first "Hard Rock Cafe" in Dublin. It was very expensive, we all got appetizers and it was still pretty spendy...but that was the way most of Ireland was. At least we had a little better exchange rate:S
Monday morning Amanda and I got up early to pack up our bags, eat some breakfast (of fruit and toast...very common we would find out the rest of the week...) and then headed just down the road to Paddy's Palace to get on our bus. The tour brought us to the Guiness Brewery where we got to walk through the process of how beer is made and then we got a free pint at the bar. The view from the bar was amazing, it was at the top of the building and the walls were all glass. Our next stop was Gallway...this is where we stayed our first night. I bought a @"Claddaugh love Ring". The hostel was quite loud, most of our tour was made up of 18 year old south africans and austrailian GAP students. Tuesday we loaded the bus did more sight seeing. We stopped at a castle where the myth is if you walk around it counter clockwise you can regain your virginity. Interesting... For lunch Tuesday we ate by the ocean in an area that was at one point covered by glaciers and iceburgs. That night we stayed @ the "Randy Lepricon. It was a good time. Around 2 am we heard a chorous of "pirates"...it's a had to be there story, but it was an eventful night to say the least. From that night on we always locked our doors....to keep the pirates out;)
Wednesday we headed through the Dingle Peninsula, it was so beautiful. By this time Amanda and I had started to get to know Barbara, Michelle and Samona and spent a lot of time with them. We are looking forward to them visiting the castle later in March! Wednesday is the day i should have worn my wellingtons but didnt. We had to walk through a little marshy area...but my tennis shoes faired okay. For lunch me and my clan at by the harbor in the town of Dingle. It was a picturesque place to have our "fish and chips" (YUM...I had chicken and chips). A little more sight seeing and then it was back on the narrow roads. We stopped at a beach and i was able to run in Atlantic Ocean! It was cold, but so much fun! I wish we had more time there. Next we took a ferry over to our next destination. We stayed in Killarney 2 nights.
Upon arrival at our hostel a small group of us took the oportunity to have a carriage ride through Killarney national park. We had to ride through on a carriage, or horse, b/c no cars are allowed. It was a very beautiful park. We got to see the sun set over the tallest mountains in Ireland. They weren't that tall...but it was beautiful. (If you havent figured out yet, this whole country is amazing and beautiful....i loved it!!!!) That night for dinner a few of us just went to the supermarket and bought noodles and sauce. We made plans to do a cheaper lunch the next day and got stuff for sandwiches.
Thursday, Valentines day, we got to see the gap of dunloe, very pretty and did some dangerous driving in the mountains. We saw lots of sheep. We also stopped at Torc waterfall. Then it was back to the hostel for some down time. Me and the girls went shopping around Killarney and then had pizza for dinner. Then we headed back to the hostel to get ready to go out that night. It was a good time. We all wore our Ireland green gear. It probably looked like we were celebrating st. patricks day and not valentines day. We later found out that wearing green on valentines day when you are single is not such a good thing. think about it...green...go...single? Get the connection? lol:)
Friday...let me think....we went to Balarney and i kissed the Balarney stone. It means i have the ability to lie for the next 7 years? haha! The crazy thing is you have to be tipped upsidedown and go over a ledge to kiss the stone. Dont worry there are assistance to help you. But it was a rush for me:) We headed to the town of Cork that night. We got there about 4. By this time i could feel myself getting a bit crabby and knew i needed to take a nap. So Michelle and I slept, for 2 hours, while the others watched Rugby or went exploring. That night the gang and i went out for a nice dinner at a rather posh resturant, and it wasnt to badly priced:) Then we came back and I read my wuthering heights, did some e-mailing and went to bed pretty early.
Saturday, our last day in Ireland we stopped around 10am in Killkiney and did some exploring. there was a castle there as well...THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!!! The girls and i got lunch stuff together and by 12:30 we were back on the road with our destination of Dublin. We arrived there about 3:30, checked our bags in at paddy's palace so we could go do some more exploring/shopping in dublin before we had to catch our bus to the airport.
At the airport Barb, Michelle, Samona, Sean, Amanda and i all hung out till slowly we all had to get on our own flights back to reality. It was sad to say good bye the the girls who we were just getting to know. The flight from Dublin to Newcastle went well, we were able to catch the metro to the bus station no problem and were on our way back to Alwnick just before 11pm. We got back to town a little after 12 and we both could not WAIT to be back at the castle. We looked silly with our backpacks walking through alnwick, right when all the pubs were closing and the crowd was heading over the the squash club, but we didnt care, we just wanted to be home!
When i got home i thought it best to just stay up and get all my laundry done. by 2:30am i was finally in bed, dreaming of the wonderful time I had just had in Ireland! I loved it! The pictures above are of me at the Guiness bar, the cliffs of moore, Barb, Michelle and I at the Dingle Penisula and a picture of me and barb. I will add more pictures to another blog:)

Durham, the Beach and Rugby

This past friday our field trip was to Durham. It was nice because we didnt have to leave till 8:30 in the morning and the bus ride was just over an hour! The bad thing was, it SNOWED all day. And when it snows here, it's just like rain...SO WET! It was not a very good day to walk around and shop during our free time. But i did enjoy the Even Song church service we were able to attend at the end of the day. The entire service was sung by a choir...very beautiful! After getting back to the castle around 7:30, Alexis, Sierra and I changed our wet socks and huddled under our blankets to watch a movie, "Waitress". It was a good night.
Saturday I got to go to the North Sea and got my feet wet! It was cold, but SO MUCH FUN. After the beach we went to watch a rugby match. I had never watched Rugby before, so it was a bit confusing, and funny i thought. But really it's a pretty cool game. The match we watched was Ireland vs. Italy. We were cheering for Ireland because my friend i was watching it with is from Ireland. They won! WHOOT! Saturday night I went out on the town again with my friends James, Richie, and Dink. Had wonderful time with them.
Sunday was a pretty low key day. I have been struggling with a cold, so i tried to sleep and get over it...but it didnt work to well. I had dinner at my homestay family again and chatted with them a while. It was Super Bowl Sunday, so ofcoursing being AMERICANS we had to watch the game. The pub in town, The Hairy Lemon, set up a lock in just for us to watch the game. It did not start until 11:30 here...i only made it to half time before i was to tired to stay up for more. I was sad to hear in the morning that the team i was cheering for, The Patriots, had lost:( and that the game had been good. Another disappointment about watching the Super Bowl here is...they dont run the great american comercials that half the world watches for:(.
This week is pretty busy preparing for my Ireland Paddy Wagon Tour. I am very excited for my trip and cant wait to get there! When i come back two other girls and i will begin to plan our two week trip together. The planning never ends!
The pictures above are of Alexis, Sierra and I out on a Thursday night (in our matching Select tops), Sierra and I in Durham in the snow, the beach and me getting my feet wet in the north sea!. ENJOY!

Love you all
Connie XxX

Okay, i lied, the pictures will come later...it is taking way to long to load and i want to go to sleep.

A few firsts here in England

While I have been in England, the last 3+ weeks I have had the opportunity to experience many "firsts". Im bored right now so i thought i would just put some down...and put a few more pictures with this blog for you all to see:)

• Last night at my homestay we ate Lamb and Brussel Sprouts. I have never had both before...they were yummy!


• Today I smelt fresh cut grass for the first time in JANUARY! They have to mow lawn all year round here!


• I am of LEGAL drinking age here and have enjoyed many good nights out at the pubs while here.


• I have gone to Scotland


• And on Satruday i will see the North Sea for the first time when i go to the beach! It will probably be COLD...but i am very excited!

Hope everyone is well back home! SEND ME MAIL!!!! I love getting it! I'm off to get ready for "Monday Club". Sierra, Alexis and i are taking our note cards to study over a pint of beer or glass of wine! (One of the pictures above is of last week @ monday club)

XOXO

Con

Oh, a cultural observation i find funny and cute is that all the boys end their TXT messages with "x" now, is that the "hug" or the "kiss"?

I LOVE YORK!

This weeks field trip was to York! It was a great day. The wind was strong, and gave our bus (coach) a run for it's money. On the way to York (a 3 hr drive) the front roof emergency door kept unlatching and opening. Wade, with his fast thinking decided to anchor the door down with some ties and an umbrella. (luckily it didnt rain at all and no one was missing thier unbrella during the day).

When we arrived in York we split into two groups and walked around the town for an hour and a half. Now, this city has a WALL around it...how cool! (Oh i forgot to mention that we nearly ran over a man! He was cleaning windows on a shop by the street and his step ladder fell over and he nearly stumbled under our bus! That's how narrow the walkways and streets are. It was scary...happened right outside my windown! :0 )One street we walked down is over 2000 years old! I fell in love with York. I really enjoyed it more then last Friday in Edinburgh. After our tour we had about 3 hours to go eat lunch and do some shopping. A small group of us went to the "Gourmet Burger Kitchen". It was AMAZING. We have all grown very tired of eatting POTATOS at every meal, an the burger was delicious. After lunch 4 girls and i hit up a very american place for some coffee. Can you guess??? STARBUCKS!!! It was wonderful. After this we toured an art gallery and then it was time to meet back up to tour the York Minster Church. This building is amazing! I will post some pictures, but really the camera can not capture the awesomeness of so many of the things i have seen on this trip. (and i've only been here 20 days!)

After the tour it was close to time to head home. We met at the bus and began our long journey home. Traffic was heavy so it took a bit longer. I was able to sleep for about a half hour to an hour. But after i woke up...and was going to try and sleep again a loud noise woke me up! I thought something was falling on us and we were going to die! Rather it was the emergency room exit door FLYING OFF THE ROOF OF THE BUS! This is how windy it was people! So we had to ride about 2 hours with a big hole in the top of the bus. It was right in the area i was sitting. We all were praying it wouldnt rain! The ironic thing is, just a few miles later a sign flashed "high winds...slow down"...hmmmmmm.

But we made it home. It was about 8:45 and we had left around 5:30...so not to bad. When we got home some of us put a movie in. One girl invited one of her local friends over, so it was fun to meet him and chat a while.

Not much else is happening. Just class, some homework and socializing. I am starting to adjust and get more settled here everyday. But dont get me wrong, i miss you all back home so much! I think of you often and pray everything is going well there. Oh and by the way, i love hearing how missed i am by all of you. You make me feel so loved! (just an FYI) Keep in touch! I'll write again soon!

Love,

Connie

The flower picture is for you mom:)

Edinburgh, Scotland

Mom has been made me aware that I have not blogged in a while...so I suppose i should update a bit.

We had our first field trip this friday. We went to Edinburgh, Scotland. The bus left @ 7am...everyone was tired, but it was very difficult to sleep on the bus. We arrived at the Scotland parlement around 10 for our tour. It was...interesting...but kind of boring. Next we went to the Queens house while she's in Scotland, Holyrod House (sorry i cant remember the exact name). It was my favorite part of the day though. The home was amazing and the stories behind it were interesting. Check out my facebook if you want to see more pictures. Our last stop was at the Edinburgh Castle. It was fun to explore that by ourselves, but yet tough at times to know what to look at.

After that it was time to walk the Royal Mile and find our way back to the bus to get our backpacks and find our hostel for the night. That took a little time, and i was getting tired and crabby:( But we made it! The hostel was okay. It was cold, cramped and they had no soap in the bathroom. Um...then next morning me and two other girls had to find the bus station to take our bus to Newcastle and then from there to Alnwick...so another LONG day.

I was pretty tired and thought i would just stay in for the night. But it is one of the students birthdays so I went out with the group for a while...but then i ran into Nicole's Alnwick friends and spent the rest of the night hanging out with them. It was probably one of my favorite nights in Alnwick.

Today we met our homestay families. I am excited to have a place to go for Sunday evening dinners. The family i have seem very nice and have been involved in the homestay program for 15 or so years. They have a 15 year old daughter and an 18 year old on who is in Durim at University. They also have 4 dogs! Oh and 2 turtles which im scared of.

Well, i dont have much else to say, i think i might go do some homework. Yes, we do actually get homework here. And then go to sleep! It has been a long weekend. I am ready for classes to start. Hopefully the weather is nice so i can get out for a walk everyday around town. I need to head to the postoffice tomorrow to mail a postcard and maybe a letter...i need to get some envelopes...hmmm.

Okay, enough rambling, i hope you enjoyed reading it...lol:) Talk to you all soon! XOXO

Con

The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly in ENGLAND!

Hi all!

It is another boring afternoon at the castle. Many people are wondering what we are going to stay busy with these next 3+ months. I'm not minding it, i can sit and read a book, go for a walk, journal or facebook for quite a while before I get to bored. But yes, it may be a long 3 months if we dont find other activities besides the pubs. I think traveling sounds fun:)

Saturday afternoon many of the students and I went to Newcastle for the afternoon. It was fun to see a different city and do a bit of shopping...mostly window shopping though. We didnt see much of the city, I hope to go back there again to see more of it sometme. But i did get a new pair of "ugg" boots. (they arent the read ugg, but close enough). I walked around with one of the girls from the castle. We had a good time. I even got to chase a small cluster of pigeons. IT WAS SO FUN! We headed back to the castle around 2:30 and got home just after 4.

That night there was a Futbol game on the tube, Newcastle vs Manchester. So we all headed to the Hairy Lemon to watch the game with all the locals. Now i have learned, from a few new local friends, that the Manchester team is pretty much the best team in the leage, and Newcastle is a ways down the list. So really we were going into the game, expecting to lose. (I told them that's a bad attitude to have and they have to think positivly) Also, this sport is a huge subject of converstation. I think one of these days i may have to brush up on my futbol knowledge. (well i might have to do much more then brush up on it, i may have to teach myself ALOT) Vance, can you help me? The Manchester team won 6-0:( But i think it might still be fun to get a futbol jersey, maybe if i can find a cheap one, doubling the price of everything sucks!After the game we traveled over to the pub Oscars and hung out there a while then went to the dance club, the squash club and danced the nigth away.

Today was another day of class. I am enjoying them, they are not to hard. It was raining...go figure. But i still took a walk to the post office to mail a few postcards. Outside the postoffice was an older local man who invited me down the street for a drink. After chatting a bit about America and what not I politly declined the invite to the pub, he gave me a rather akward hug, and continued my walk. I miss being able to instantly get on my phone and call someone to have a quick laugh about the whole situation with. So instead i try and portray the story here:)

Well, i need to print off some papers before dinner. Hope everything is going well. Love you!

First day of class!

We had our first day of classes today. I am really looking forward to my English classes...we get to read Wuthering Heights! I cant wait! It is one of my favorite books and it is going to be so much better because i get to read the book in a setting that is where the novel is set. We are scheduled to take a field trip to where the Bronte's use to live! I am really looking forward to that.

I haven't been sleeping the best yet...i am hoping that changes soon. I am done with class for the day and there is nothing planned for the rest of the day! I think i will take a shower and a nice long nap. It sounds like tonight everyone is pretty much staying home in the castle. We have gotten word that Friday nights arent that happening at the pubs...and many of us need to stop spending so much money and get more sleep:)

I will try and write a bit more soon about the pubs, the rest of the castle and how i have been doing as soon as i can. I might get some pictures up soon as well! Keep your finger's crossed it works:)

Hope you are all doing well back in the States! I miss you and love you all!

Connie

Home in England?

For all of you who keep asking if i made it okay, how the flight was and how i am doing, i thought i would just write a quick blog in my 25 minutes of free time today:)

Yes, I made it to Alnwick. We arrived at the castle around 3:00pm and were all ready to go to bed. Before arriving in England we endured a terbulance filled plain ride from the cities to Chicago, out of the three flights i had taken in my life it was the worse...to date. The flight was delayed due to weather and oh yeah, Air Force One was taking up all the air space in Chicago and backing EVERYTHING up. By the time we made it to Chicago we had 20 minutes to get to our next gate and on the plane...WE MADE IT! The next flight was about 7 hours. It went by rather fast, I got to know Lindsey, a girl sitting next to me (on all three flights we had to get here) and a fellow student here at the Castle. I enjoyed watching 2 movies...but not till I read the notebook filled with messages from home that i had been waiting since my going away get together to read. I enjoyed all the notes...almost cried while reading some, but mostly smiles and realizing how much you all care about me:) Thanks so much, i will miss you, but i will be home before you know it!

After landing in London at about 6 am (England time...midnight in MN)we had a few hours to go through customs, find the correct terminal and just "chill". Most of us wanted to sleep, but knew it probably wouldn't happen. Alexis, my roommate, and i bought our first European thing. BOTTLED WATER! It tasted wonderful. It is funny to see the soda bottles and things. They are in MlL and not oz so they are a bit smaller. At 8:45 we boarded the plane AGAIN for Glasgow, Scotland. This was a quick trip, only 55 minutes. I finally fell asleep, for a bout 10 minutes but it was enough to give me a bit more energy. (My left ear hurt during our landing of the last two flights...but eventually i got it to pop and it doesn't hurt as of today:) ) Upon landing we headed to baggage with our fingers crossed, hoping everyone's luggage had arrived. IT DID! There were no problems with luggage. (except maybe carrying it around the airport and the half mile or so walk we had to get to our bus...aka "coach".

With our luggage and packs on the coach we started our 3 hour bus ride to the castle. Wade, the residential coordinator, told us if we could to stay awake because the drive is a pretty one. Sorry to say, i missed most of the ride and will have to enjoy some of it when we take our Field trip back that way, or on the bus ride back to the airport in April. But it was good to sleep...until i woke up and was more tired then i was before i slept.

Pulling up to the castle we were all excited, it may not have shown on our sleep deprived faces, but we were in awe that this was our home for the next 3 months and 3 weeks! It was raining, which made unloading the coach a bit unpleasant..i still had my glasses on so it was a bit difficult to see. And again, we had to drag or carry our luggage to our new homes.

My shoulders and arms still hurt from carrying my own luggage...but it is nice to know that i only had to carry it up the stairs once. My room is HUGE. It is meant for 4 people but there are just three of us. We have plenty of room and i think it will be a good fit. The sad thing is we only have 1 shower, for 3 girls and 7 boys to share! Praying that that works out:) Last night we had a few orientation things and took a walk around town. It literally is right outside the castle walls! I am looking forward to a trip "into" town later today to put minutes on my phone and buying a few snacks:) After the tour of town we had our pottery room sale and then i showered, checked facebook once more and went to bed about 10:30.

My roommate Alexis and i both woke up about 3 am and could not get back to sleep. (stupid jet leg and loud winds) So we chatted a bit and ate some beef jerky. I fell asleep again around 5am and was VERY tired. We have meetings all day. In a few minutes we are touring the rest of the castle and going over the policies and rules AGAIN. Then im going to town and maybe a pub later tonight.

I better go, change my status on facebook so you all know to read this. leave comments. I love you all and miss you! I will try and post pictures once i get my own wireless on my computer. :)

Connie

Packing for a semester abroad...VERY DIFFICULT

So everyone has their favorite clothes, their favorite blankets, pillows etc. Well when having to pack your life into two suit cases that must weigh 5o lbs or less each, it is next to impossible to bring all your favorite things. I have taken advantage of the fact that i only live three hours from home and can come home a few times a month and get things i may not have had room for on my previous trip to St. Cloud. I will not have this luxury the next four months. It is kind of a scary thought. I have already started picking things out that i will be leaving in England before i come home. I see this task as an even harder one then packing to go there.

By the end of the semester I am sure to have aquired many new trinkets and ofcourse, NEW CLOTHES. ( I am going to be living in Europe, so i need to dress to fit in right?) I am sure I will have picked up gifts for many people back home too. It will be so fun to buy things for all my loved ones here in the States. I appoligize in advance if all many of you get is a postcard...but know that the postcard will have been sent with so much love and that i really am thinking about you:)

Well, I am off to look over my packing again. I think i have both cases under 5o lbs. It is funny, cuz the one still has room in it...and i just want to pack if full so i need to sit on it to get it shut...but then it would be FAR over the aloted weight:( Wish me luck! I miss you all so much, and i havnt left Minnesota yet!

Much love to all,
Connie