A Long Overdue Post

Dearest readers,

I am deeply sorry for not writing. There didn’t seem much to write about after I went home for break, seeing as how I wasn’t in England anymore, and then when I finally returned for the second semester my laptop decided to crash. After much patience and many phone calls pleading to my parents to send me the system restart CD, my laptop is finally back to its usual self and I can finally update! Although, this time, I am sadly without Catie. L

It is extremely weird to be here without her. We planned this whole thing together and I never thought in a million years that I could ever do this alone. As much as I miss her, I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Being here by myself, representing my home institution all on my own, is a big thing for me. And I’m already becoming so much more of an independent and stronger person than ever before.

Now to update on things happening! Last December, right before I went home for the holidays, I had the chance to go to Dublin, Ireland with a few of my friends. This was a big trip for me because ever since I was a little Irish dancing girl hopping my way through competitions and reading anything I could get my hands on about the country, I had always dreamed of visiting Ireland. It was a ton of fun, we stayed at a very nice hostel that was close to the center of town. I highly recommend you make sure you know exactly where your hostel is when choosing one because we saw some that were way out from the center of town. We were only there for a weekend, so we really only had one full day there. We spent it wisely though and, as any college kids would do, we went to the Guinness Factory. It was a trip of a lifetime and if you ever get the chance to go to Dublin, definitely visit the factory. We even got to pour our own pints at the end, complete with a signed certificate! I’m planning on framing it. J The one thing I do regret is only having about a day and a half there. I’m hoping to make it back there this semester and hopefully go to more of the countryside.

So far, there are no big trips planned. My parents are coming to visit in March and they plan on taking me to Scotland. And hopefully *fingers crossed* Catie will be able to come visit for spring break and we can finally go to Italy.

It is extremely weird being here without the Americans from last semester. Only three of us stayed for the full year and now we are surrounded by the newbies. Luckily, all of them are awesome and we have already formed many friendships. But it is hard to have such a dramatic change. I never realized that coming here would not only give me worldly experience, but the chance to make life-long friendships with people from all over the country and the world. And for that, I am forever grateful to the person who thought up the idea of studying abroad.

That is all for now. More later…and this time I won’t take so long I promise! (No, seriously Catie, I won’t take so long next time!)

Abby