The Swimming Social...

After a very relaxed start in the hotel this morning, I had some breakfast and then boarded the hotel shuttle to BWI. After some slight complications with shuttle timings and pick up points I was on board, and making my way towards WAC, crossing the mighty bay bridge. 

Upon arrival campus was very quiet, with many people arriving tomorrow. The wind certainly makes the weather colder than I has been back home, but I braved the walk to Walgreens to pick up some essentials. I spent the afternoon reading and chilling out. This evening I headed over to KC where Sam cooked me a great chicken recipe that I mostly forget, but it was very tasty all the same. 

Tonight, after going to Hodson for a while to meet up with the new internationals, we headed over to Calvert to somewhat crash a swimming social. However, the evening passed well, and was a great way to catch up with Ellie and Danny, as well as a chance to make some new contacts. 

Starting Off Spring Semester 2014...

Greetings readers and a happy 2014 to you all!

If you are reading this then you have clocked for part two of my year studying abroad at Washington College. With a slight feeling of deja vu, this post is coming to you from by room at the Hampton Inn. (Free upgrade to a king, don't mind if I do!)

The five weeks back in Blighty were surprisingly warm, which meant one thing - lots of rain! But, fending off the occasional downpour, they were five week jam packed with great times - poker and games days with the guys, champagne lunch at the Ritz and other early 21st prezzies, the theatre, an Australian New Year in London, and much relaxing in between. 

But, now my mind is very slowly turning back to the idea of having to do some actual work for a change - not that we won't try to have heaps of fun as we go. I don't know what definite plans we have for the next five months, but I can't wait to find out what they have in store. This time tomorrow I shall be back in Worcester, and probably thinking back on the luxurious king-sized bed that now awaits me. 

A Holiday Toast...

Dear loyal readers I write a special post,

if you like, my holiday toast.

To an all-round amazing semester

and now it is time for a month’s siesta,

away from all the exams and assessments.

But, this year abroad has been one of the best investments

I could have made to my life,

even if there was some paperwork strife.

And so, I raise a glass

to the happy times that have come to pass,

to the amazing people that made it real,

I don’t think I could have had a sweeter deal.

Here’s to all the friends that I have no doubt will last,

even when these days are memories in the past.

Many I will see in the New Year

though for several, we must part ways here.

It is always sad to say goodbye,

but we’ll see each other again, and I’ll tell you why.

Because the world is actually rather small,

and I’ll come looking for free lodging from you all.

When I look back on all we’ve done

it really has been rather fun.

From Annapolis, the BBQ and kayaking,

to the country concert and white water rafting.

Halloween, first Fridays, and Homecoming,

New York, DC, and Thanksgiving.

The Renaissance fair, the picnic and Phili,

Eastern Neck, Blitz Ball and Ocean City.

Yes, it was quite a semester indeed,

and through it all you’ve continued to read.

So, my final words go out to you,

I wish you luck in all you do.

I bid you farewell, love, and holiday cheer.

Here’s to a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Worst Part Is The Waiting...

As in war, the worst part is the waiting, but that time is drawing to a close. By 11:30am tomorrow, the exam will be over and I shall be free...to begin packing. Today I continued my routine of gravitating between my desk, the MPC, the pool table and the piano, as I re-read my notes and staved off my growing boredom - made worse by the fact that virtually everyone else is finished. But, I will be content with knowing that there is always someone else is worse off than myself - that person being Oz Sam who has two exams tomorrow. 

First Farewells...

Yesterday was yet another long day of revising and passing the time as this exam crawls nearer. Later in the morning I took a Christmas card to Cheryl and David's - the people Mum and Dad stayed with when they were over in Fall Break. I chatted to them a while and Cheryl went to get me some Christmas cookies, which turned out to be a very tasty array of snacks that, in the holiday spirit, I decided to share with the others later. 

The day passed and that evening we went over to J to meet up as a whole group, minus Eoin, for the last time. We relaxed and chatted, and Sean came by at 10:00pm after his tutorial class. By 11:00pm we called it a night as packing still needed to be done and for some of us, exams need to be revised for. So, I said goodbye to Bean for a month and headed back to Worcester. Just as I was drifting off, I had to offer my phone to a guy on my corridor who had locked himself out, and having done it myself, I felt obliged to show some sympathy.  

Still More Snow...

This morning I managed to wake up with my alarm and so I went to breakfast and then to the CAC to start revising for the day. After about an hour, the snow that had been falling all morning began to get heavier, so I decided to get off campus and walk into town to get some photos. I hadn't been down for several weeks and it was nice to see the place decorated for the holiday. I spent about an hour and a half trekking down to the boathouse and back up again, by which point I was very wet and cold, satisfied that I got some decent shots. 

Arriving back in campus, I warmed up editing through the photos and uploading them online. By this time the cold had made me hungry, so I went for lunch, meeting Marcela, Abby and others. Having recharged my energy, I collected my work and went to the basement of the library and to the MPC where Shannon works. Sure enough, I found her down there along with an empty chair, peace and quiet. So, I continued to work in there, breaking for a short while at the piano and then carrying on through until an earlier dinner. 

This evening we hung out at J, Shannon putting her craft skills to good use, making everyone hand decorated tiaras and then they all went to Team Tuesday at the Blue Bird, and I back to Worcester to get some rest for another long day tomorrow of revising and waiting to get this exam over with. 

A Monotonous Monday...

The days are starting to seem long. With a smaller amount of material to revise and waiting until the end of the week for the exam, it's no easy task keeping myself motivated to continually go over the same material. This morning I went to the library after breakfast so that I would stay on track. There I bumped into Sean and Marcela, and I spent several hours re-writing notes from memory and devising various ways to make the range of dates easier to remember. 

It is a novelty without classes to choose when I have lunch, and half one seemed as good a time as any. So, I broke off for half an hour, meeting up with Lenka in the dining hall, before going over to the comfier sofas of the CAC to give Marcela some snacks and have a change of scenery. As it happens we didn't get very far and managed to bump into Sean again after he came out of his exam. 

Deciding that I'd done enough work for the time being, or at least progressed sufficiently from yesterday, I returned to Worcester to catch up with the latest episode of Homeland. I spent the time leading up to dinner going over notes one last time before putting them down for good. After eating I waited for the KC shuttle and then relaxed in J as has become my custom.