Three, Two, One....

Hi Everybody!  So I said I would be updating more often before finals, but I underestimated how intense exams are here.  I've essentially been living in the library for the past week and a half.  But I wanted to do another little post while I have a few minute to spare. 

Three....
Only three days left until I leave Glasgow and come home for Christmas.  I really can't believe how quickly time has gone by.  It's hard to believe I'll be heading home so soon.

Two....
Two Exams left to go!  I have my finals for Public Policy and Art History on Thursday and Friday.  I'm a little nervous, but I think I have just enough time left to pull everything together.  Like I said before finals are very different here than at BC.  The expectations are higher and the whole process is a lot like taking the SAT, complete with proctors and sealed exam booklets. 

One...
One exam done!  After almost of two weeks of preparing I finally took my first final today, in Fundamentals of Education.  A lot of my friends are already done with tests, so it feels really nice to at least have one test finished.  It's definitely a weight off my shoulders.

So there's a  quick update for you!  I'm a little scatter-brained and stressed right now, but every time I think about coming home for the holiday it makes it easier to keep powering through.  You probably won't hear from me again until I'm back in the States, but I'll definitely be posting soon. Thanks for reading!

- Sarah

Snow in Glasgow!

Last night was the first snow of the season in Glasgow.  It was too funny to see everyone making snow angels and having snowball fights with less than an inch of snow!  It doesn't often snow here before Christmas, but I'm glad there was a least a dusting before I went home.  Nothing puts me in the Christmas Spirit like snow.

Spencer's Visit

Hi Everybody!  I can't believe it's already December.  The time has truly flown by since I've been here.  In  less than two weeks I'll be back in New Hampshire (12 days to be exact).  I'm going to try to update a little more frequently in the next couple weeks, I don't have finals until the 14th so in between my studying I should have more time to write.

Anyway...this update is about Spencer's visit to Glasgow!  It was so nice to finally see each other after almost 3 months apart.  We got to see quite a bit of the UK during his week here and I think we really made the most of the time we had.

Enjoying a beer on Ashton Lane.

Me and Spencer outside the Christmas Fair in Glasgow City Center.

Ferris Wheel in George Square.

The lights turned on.

Fireworks at the Lighting Ceremony.

We spent the first three days of the trip in Glasgow.  I went to pick up Spencer at the airport around 2:00 and then we dropped off all of his things in my dorms before heading out to explore the West End.  We went down to see the University and then grabbed drinks at the Grovsenor Bar before our dinner reservations at Bookclub.  On Sunday, we met up with some of my friends in the city center for the Christmas Lighting Ceremony.  The ceremony itself was great and it was so nice to walk around the city and get into the Christmas spirit.   On Sunday we had a nice dinner in and stayed in to watch a movie.

Edinburgh Castle

Monday I actually brought Spencer along to my classes and we went out for a great Italian meal at night.  Because our flight to England was leaving from Edinburgh Airport, we ended up spending the afternoon and night in Edinburgh  on Tuesday.  Edinburgh is definitely closer to Spencer's ideas about what Scotland would be like.  Glasgow is very industrial and urban, where as Edinburgh almost feels as if you're going back in time.  It's still metropolitan, but not on the same scale as Glasgow.

On Wednesday morning we made our way to the airport and left for Manston, a small airport only 10 minutes away from my Aunt and Uncle's house in Ramsgate, Kent.  It was so nice to go to England and see all of my family.  I was so excited for Spencer to finally meet everyone and to have a delicious home cooked meal.  Especially with Thanksgiving so close, it was great to be with family.  At dinner on Wednesday there were 19 of us including little Ruby, my cousin Holly and her husband Geoff's new baby girl.  We had an amazing roast dinner and all got to spend time catching up!

Cliffsend, Ramsgate.

Viking Ship across from my Aunt and Uncle's house.

On Thursday , Spencer and I are were lucky enough to take a trip into London for a day of sightseeing.  I have to admit it was the strangest Thanksgiving Day I've ever had, but I'm so thankful for my cousins Sue and Sally.  They took time off of work to be our tour guides! We got to see so much in one day and we couldn't have done it all without their generosity. 

Big Ben.

Me and Spencer in front of The Tower of London.

Tower Bridge.

The London Eye.

The two of us during our ride on the Eye.

Love this picture with the flags in the background.

After a full day in London we came home and had a great Lasagne dinner in Kent.  After dinner Spencer and I played cards with my Aunt and had a nice time just chatting.  The next day we were on our way back to Scotland!  The rest of the weekend went by so quickly.  On Saturday we did a full day of shopping and got dinner in the city center.  Then Saturday night we packed everything up for Spence to leave on Sunday.  It went by really fast, but we definitely had a great week. 

Hope you enjoyed the photos (most of them were taken by Spencer, he managed to get some awesome shots in England)! 

- Sarah

Quick Update!

Hi there!

I'm a little busy this week with school work, I have a one paper due on Thursday and another on Friday, but I just wanted to write a short update.  Spencer came to visit me last week and we had a great time in Scotland and on our trip to England!  I was sick at the beginning of the week which put a damper on some of our plans, but I felt much better by the end of the week.  Now I'm back to my usual self just in time for the busiest week of the semester and then final exams!  I'll be sure to write again soon with a full account of Spencer's visit. For now though here's a link to the blog about BC students teaching abroad that I'm contributing to: www.bcteachabroad.blogspot.com.  I've only posted one entry so far, but I'll have more up within the next two weeks. 

Thanks for reading and in case your counting there's only 19 days until I come home from to NH for Christmas!

- Sarah

Paris!

 

Hi everybody!  This update took a little longer than I expected, I've been really busy this week trying to get things done before Spencer comes to visit on Saturday.  Also, I officially have one month left until I leave Scotland.  It's crazy how quickly the time has gone by, and scary to think of how many things I want and need to do before I go home.  I'm in the process of making a Glasgow bucket list to make sure I do everything I want to before the holiday.  On top of that I have to study for finals and write two papers so wish me luck!  Anyway, enough talk of exams and leaving Glasgow this post is supposed to be about Paris! The photo above was my first view of Eiffel Tower.  It is so much bigger and more gorgeous than I thought it would be.  No one ever fully described how big it is. 

The trip to Paris went really smoothly.  We all met up outside of our dorms to take cabs to the train station and then grabbed a train to Prestwick Airport.  From Prestwick we flew Ryanair to Beauvais Airport about an hour and a half outside of the city.  It was a trek to get to and from the airports, but it was a lot cheaper than flying directly from Glasgow to Charles De Gaulle.  Plus, there was a huge group of us traveling together so it was impossible to be bored.  Once we got into the city we hoped on the metro and headed off to our hostel. 

Me standing outside of the hostel on our last day in Paris. 

We were a little put off at first by its name, Oops!, but the hostel turned out to be a great find. The rooms were really clean and had private bathrooms.  Also, we got really lucky because the ten of us were able to split up into two rooms, one with four people and one with six.  It was nice not to have to share with anyone we didn't know.  After settling into the rooms, we ate a quick dinner and then headed out on the metro to go see the Eiffel Tower.  It was a little disappointing at first because the weather was so foggy, but as we got closer it was easier to see.  We found a little park with a great view and took pictures there. 

 So pretty. 

Me in front of the tower. 

It lights up!

 I love it.

It was so much fun just hanging out on the gardens in front of the tower and taking photos together.  We also spotted a carousel nearby with a crepe stand next to it.  It was the perfect first desert in Paris!   After the crepes, we walked around for a little while and then went back to the hostel for a somewhat early night.  On Friday we got up and were out of the hostel by 8:30.  The first stop was the Louvre!  It was great to explore such a famous museum, but it was even more meaningful for me because I'm studying Art History while in Glasgow. Mat, Rich, Bridgid and I all got to show off our knowledge of Renaissance Art and finally see some of the works we studied in class. 

 Me in front of the Winged Victory. 

 

 With the Mona Lisa. 

Our next stops were the Pantheon and then Notre Dame.  Thankfully, my friend Carlos is great at navigating and got us all around the city with no problem!  We finished the afternoon with a walk down the Champs-Élysées and a photo break in front of the Arc de Triomphe. 

The Pantheon.

 Me, Alina, Michelle, and Bridgid, we really loved Paris. 

 Notre Dame

 Rich, me, Bridgid, and Mat in front of Notre Dame.

 Inside, so incredible. 

Me in front of the Arc. 

Friday wasn't just our only full day in Paris but it was Alina's 21st birthday and 11/11/11.  We met up and went for a big group dinner at an Italian restaurant near our hostel.  It was a great family owned place that was perfect for a birthday celebration.  After that we went back towards the Eiffel Tower and then got more drinks and deserts at a little cafe.  It was the perfect way to end our day.

On Sunday, we slept in a little bit and then broke into smaller groups to do our thing in the morning.  Michelle, Alina, Bridgid , and I went on a shopping trip to the Lafayette Galleries.  The Galleries were so beautiful.  There was a huge Christmas tree in the center atrium and you could see all of the floors of the store form the middle.  It wasn't set up like the typical mall in the U.S. but more like a department store with dozens of little boutiques and departments.  I picked out a Longchamp bag, it turns out they're actually cheaper in Paris than in the U.S., plus it will always be a reminder of my trip!  The rest of the day was spent strolling around and having a lunch outside by the Eiffel Tower.  It was our first really nice day, we finally got to take pictures with blue skies. 

I was in heaven.

If only I could afford anything in here.

 Me and Bridgid in front of the Tower on a gorgeous day in Paris. 

Perfection.  

Group shot in front of the Tower.

Overall, the trip was an amazing experience.  I'm so glad I got to see Paris and it was nice to get out of Scotland for a few days.  I feel like it definitely cleared my head and will make the next few weeks easier to manage.  I'll write again soon, probably to update you all on Spencer's visit next week!  Thanks for reading. 

- Sarah

Au Revoir!

I'm off to Paris and I'll be blogging about my trip on Sunday!  So excited to see the city for the first time.

- Sarah

Happy (Late) Halloween!

Happy Halloween! 

 

As you can hopefully tell from the photos I was a peacock for Halloween this year.  I didn't get to go out to celebrate on the 31st, I had a test the next day in Art History, but I did go to the Halloween party at the Glasgow University Union on Saturday!  Bridgid did an amazing job on our feathers and we had a great night out with friends. 

Hope everyone at home in the Northeast had a happy Halloween despite the snowy weather.  Miss you all!

- Sarah