Today was my last exam of the semester as well as my last scholarly endeavor for a little over a month. I turned in a take home final for my British Society class last week, turned in a 10 page paper for Science and Society yesterday, and sat for my first/last Scottish exam this afternoon. The take home final consisted of two short essays and was probably the easiest thing i have done all term. The paper for Science and Society was actually quite interesting, but slightly existential and philosophical so it was hard to keep a grasp on. But this ecology exam had every ability to actually kill me. I taught myself more in the course of two straight days of revision than i did all semester thanks to online lectures from the biology department at Yale, so if i pass i owe it all to the Bulldogs. I made a 35 page study guide and at one point didnt move from my desk for 6 straight hours...gross. Ecology was made all the more stressful by the fact that one exam (3 short essays) determine 60% of my term grade. In reflection, i think i did rather well, so it probably (hopefully! cross your fingers!) saved my grade. But i'll have to wait until february (approximately) to find out how i did.
Now that im done with finals, it should be all parties and celebrations, right? No. i think im probably the only person on campus who is already done (exams stretch until the 17th- or even until january for students whose exams were canceled on monday due to snow). Tonight im having dinner with my flatmates because it's Celine's last night here- she goes home to norway tomorrow.
I'll probably spend my extra free time cleaning and preparing my room for Anna's visit; she gets here on the 13th. I'll probably bake tomorrow too- i need to use that left over can of pumpkin puree from thanksgiving.
Once Anna gets here we will almost immediately leave again: Paris until the 18th (because i got snowed out last weekend, anna agreed to switch our plans around so i can try again). Which, unfortunately, means i will miss most of the IFSA kids celebrating the end of exams and also their group flight home. Fortunately Barbara will be in town until the 20th so i will get to see her before she leaves. The parents will arrive here on the 17th and will stay through christmas and return home on the 26th. The next day, Anna and i will travel to the homeland (Ireland) and then head back to the states, her to Santa Clara, i to the good old WA just in time for New Years celebrations :)
I then will have a week or so before i head back to Redlands, move into the new house, and start classes.
The next month will be a whirlwind of fun and family and friends, but i cant believe its already time to think about going home. It feels like we all just got here; its pretty surreal that i have been living in Scotland 3 months (it will be closer to 4 by the time i leave).
One last thing before i stop boring whoever still reads these: i am officially disenchanted with snow- mostly because it screwed up my travel plans, but more recently because it turns into ice- its actually impossible to get anywhere without slipping. Ive now fallen in two of the most populated areas of the city- on one of the main streets just after a class ended and yesterday outside of the library in the middle of exams. Awesome, thanks snow.
Welp, as always,
CHEERS!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Pictures: Thanksgiving, London, Edinburgh Christmas
The Frozen North- Traveling Nightmares
Classes officially ended last Friday signifying the start of exams, but also signifying the start of traveling! Last weekend i took a trip to London and met up with Rachel and Lauren who are studying in Milan. It was great! We saw just about everything touristy- Big Ben, Parliament, Abbey Road, Covent Garden, Tate Modern, St Pauls. It was great to hang out with Rachel and Lauren and trounce around Londy. The fun started to fade at about 430 am on Monday morning when i recieved a text from EasyJet saying my flight had been canceled due to inclement weather. Perfect. I was already in the cab on the way to the train station (that would take us to Gatwick), so i figured i would just show up and get put on the next flight. And that is exactly what happened, except the next flight wasnt for approximately 15 hours (it was currently 630 am and the next flight to edinburgh wasnt until 730 pm). And here began my day inside Gatwick. After attempting to find a train from london to edinburgh, which would have cost around 150 quid, i bought a book and some breakfast bars and found a place to nap. Somehow, with much help from The Lost Symbol and a few more naps, i made it to 5pm. At that point i headed upstairs to check on the status of my flight, just as the women at the ticket counter had told me too ( i was becoming a regular guest by now). Just as they are telling me that they are still unsure, a large group of people come clamoring over saying that our flight was canceled. Again, perfect. Thankfully, i had heard through a number of people that the Glasgow airport was open, so i asked about flights going to glasgow. There was one flight left that evening with two seats left. The girl in front of me in line got the first and i got the second (aka the last). As we were getting booked, another woman was informing everyone else in line that they had booked 30 hotel rooms and would pay for food for up to two days. A flight, a bus, a train, and 6 hours later i made it back to Edinburgh. And to think, i used to like snow.
Fastforward to today, friday. After another four days of snow, airports are still backed up and Edinburgh is still a major struggle, but i attempted to get to Paris this morning. I even got as far as getting on the plane (after waking up at 5am to leave for the airport at 6am) and sitting on it for two hours waiting for the de-icing crew before that flight was canceled. Long story short, they ran out of de-icing fluid...really.
Now i am working on booking flights for when my sister gets here and this process is proving just as difficult as each of my recent experiences with airlines. Some malfunction with the ryanair website is keeping us from booking anything, and of course the call center closes at 5pm and the only other help line to call charges a pound a minute.
Moral of the story: I hate snow, i hate airports/airlines, and i think im getting an ulcer.
Fastforward to today, friday. After another four days of snow, airports are still backed up and Edinburgh is still a major struggle, but i attempted to get to Paris this morning. I even got as far as getting on the plane (after waking up at 5am to leave for the airport at 6am) and sitting on it for two hours waiting for the de-icing crew before that flight was canceled. Long story short, they ran out of de-icing fluid...really.
Now i am working on booking flights for when my sister gets here and this process is proving just as difficult as each of my recent experiences with airlines. Some malfunction with the ryanair website is keeping us from booking anything, and of course the call center closes at 5pm and the only other help line to call charges a pound a minute.
Moral of the story: I hate snow, i hate airports/airlines, and i think im getting an ulcer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)