End of a journey :(

I really can't believe my time here is pretty much over. It's crazy. I kinda feel like I have lived here forever, definitely going to miss my Kentucky life :(

The girls and I had our leaving night last night. Pretty standard night for us - all of us absolutely pissed, me falling, crashing at Sam's instead of coming home. However, I popped my getting-kicked-out-of-a-club cherry, so at least that is something. Managed to sneak back in though cause I am a BADASS. Har har. But yeah, had a really good night from what I remember of it!! Memory is definitely blurry. Note to self: Do not start drinking at 5pm, it ends in disaster. I have bruises all over me, a sore ass and skinned knees. Again, pretty standard. As you all know, I lose all function of my legs when I drink too much.

Not really got much planned for the next 4 days, will probably just be getting ready to move out. Say my goodbyes to people. :( SAD TIMES. Not going to be fun.

Right now I definitely have mixed feelings, so excited for my traveling but it's really sad at the same time. This is going to sound so cheesy, but I really do think I've learned a lot while being here. HOWEVER not going in to all that just now, will make a post about that when I'm home!!

Ahhhh can't believe I will be in LA in less that 4 days!!! SO EXCITING. We're going to a recording of the Jay Leno show which will be fun! And I'm also going to Disneyland and going to try to do a helicopter tour at some point. AND I AM GOING TO DO SOME CELEB SPOTTING hahha. Can't waitttttt. Pretty much all sorted for Florida too, got my Disney tickets the other day but still need to get Universal ones. Park tickets = EXPENSIVE! Oh well, it will be so worth it. Also going to go see The Lion King on Broadway when I go to NYC. BEST SUMMER EVER I THINK SOOOOOOOOO!!

Also hopefully going to Ireland for a weekend when I'm back home. Friend from work (ilu Collette) suggested doing something as a kind of welcome home thing, so I was like K LETS GO TO IRELAND. I swear I can't stay put in one place haha.

Anyway, this probably won't be updated again until I'm home. Will be too busy having fun for the next month!! You will all stay updated on Facebook though :)

Where has my time gone?

So, my darling angel Gemma pointed out this status update to me today, which is something I said way back in December (and yes, that was your shout-out, Gemma).

Leanne Coyle
just had a mini freak out session. 6 months? i'm nuts. calmed down now though haha! who is going to console me in two weeks time when i'm a complete wreck?

It's funny looking back and reading that, and remembering how SCARED I was to come over here. It felt like 6 months was going to be forever, and I'd want to go home. Yet here I am, almost at the end of my time here and all I can think about is how much I DO NOT want to leave. As much as I whine about the weather and how much I miss everyone at home, I'm just not ready to go. I know I still have 6 weeks in total, but 4 of them are being spent traveling. That leaves me with 2 weeks left to spend here. I have met SO many great people here, it just really sucks that my time with them is almost over. This place has been my home since January, each and every day has been amazing. I am going to cry buckets of tears when it is time for me to pack my things and go. :(

I'm definitely going to come back though. There's still a lot of places in the US I want to visit, so in a few years time I'll organise another trip, and will come back here to visit people. You all know me, I can't stay in one place for too long haha.

Quiet week

It has been a REALLY quiet week, haven't really been doing much! We've had some gorgeous weather, so I've been out and about with some friends but besides that, nothing has happened! Realised today that I haven't seen the girls in like 3 weeks, need to pay them a visit some time this coming week!

It will be 4 weeks on Sunday until I head to Los Angeles. I really can't believe how quickly this term has gone in. Every time I think about leaving, I get butterflies in my stomach. Really not ready to leave yet, think I'll just stay here! A girl can wish, right? I've made so many friends, it's going to be so hard to say goodbye. Need to stock up on the tissues before I say bye to anyone I think. I'm the biggest baby in the world, so many tears will be shed. Sorry guys, but prepare yourselves for it!

One of my friends invited me to her house for Easter dinner. She has 2 kids and they always do a big family thing, so I'm really looking forward to that. She mentioned it to me in class the other day, and it just further proves to me how welcoming people are over here. I mean, I know that my parents and friends would do the same if I had people from here come visit, but it still never ceases to amaze me. Although I'm not religious and don't particularly celebrate Easter, it will still be really nice to be in that whole family setting. And I'll get to meet her two boys who are ADORABLE. Excited!

I know I said in my last entry that all my summer plans are finalized, but I'm going to state it again. Because I can. My summer plans are finalized. And no, I'm not going to get tired of making you all insanely jealous. I'm loving every minute of it. Wish some of you were coming with me though. ♥ There has been one new development though, 3 of my days in Boston are going to be spent in New York!! NOSDNKJGNDSKJGKDGHD. That just about sums up my reaction to that. And we're going to go see a show on Broadway. SO. EXCITED. New York and Broadway have been calling my name since I was a child watching Miracle on 34th Street, I honestly cannot wait. This whole summer is just going to be the best time of my life.

tl;dr Boring week, but still loving life.

Indiana

Not much has really happened the past couple of weeks since I last updated. Just been busy with school work, getting near the end of the semester now (5 weeks left) so tests and coursework deadlines are creeping up!!

This weekend I decided to go to Indiana to stay with my friend Amanda. She picked me up on Friday, and we drove to her place in Cambridge City. Such a small town, it was so cute!! I had mentioned I wanted to go shooting at some point while I was here, and her boyfriend goes hunting. So on Saturday morning we headed to her boyfriend's friends house for some target practice! I got to shoot loads of different guns which was so much fun! Definitely found myself a new hobby....

Amanda had told me about this cute little pizza place named Clara's, so we went there for lunch. Inside, it has this big double decker bus which you can sit inside to eat. It also has tables with swing seats, so cool!! When you place your order, you use a phone to call the waitress then they bring you your food. I found this hilarious, but it is SUCH a good idea. Means you don't have to wait for a waitress to finally come take your order!!

Amanda placing our order!

Afterwards, we drove around Richmond for awhile so Amanda could run some errands, then we went to the best chocolate shop ever. Now, I HATE American chocolate, it is horrible, but this place was a real chocolatier shop and omg it was delicious. Ended up spending $24 dollars on a few little chocolates and a cake. So worth it though.

 Delicious!

After our trip to the chocolate place, we headed in to Indianapolis which is about an hour away. We did a bit of shopping (I bought some shoes - of course. Flipflops though for the summer!!), then we walked around for about 2 hours looking at the different sites. Not a huge city, but really pretty! Had an awesome weekend :)

Scottish Rite Cathedral

I got my summer plans 100% finalised today, so excited!! I feel like I'm about to burst every time I think about it haha. I leave here on May 8th to spend 10 days in LA, from there I go to Orlando for 7 days, Boston for 5 days, and Chicago for 4 days. Definitely going to be the best summer EVER!! Never going to want it to end. :(

Still trying to organise a New York trip, will hopefully get that done this week. If my friend can't make it, I think I'll end up just going myself. I can't be here and not go to NY at some point, I'd never forgive myself!!

Boston!

Okay, wow. Lots to update on, mainly all about Boston though!


I arrived at Boston airport on the 5th March, and was met by Heather's husband, Mike. He drove me to their house, being the perfect tour guide on the way by pointing out different buildings and colleges and such! They live about 40 minutes out of Boston, so it was a bit of a drive! It was good though, meant I could switch my brain off for awhile because omg flying is so stressful.


When we arrived at the house, I was greeted by Heather, and her two kids, Abby and Logan. Two of the cutest kids ever!! It was a quiet night, we had dinner then Heather's parents came over to drop off their car so we could all go to the aquarium the next day!


The next day, which was the Sunday, we all headed out to the aquarium. While there, we met Heather's brother Jerry and his girlfriend Keegan (who works with the penguins!! cool, huh?), and her uncle Lenny and his wife Andrea. We had a really good day, had so much fun and the kids absolutely loved it! Loved meeting Heather's family too, they are all so kind and caring and made me feel so welcome.

Outside the Aquarium



On Monday, Heather, the kids and I took a trip to Rhode Island to go to Providence Mall. When we arrived we were all hungry, so went to the cheesecake factory and got lunch there which was so good! We also got some cheesecake to go, cause there's just no way we could have eaten it there (sidenote: we ate it a few days later and omg it was the most delicious cheesecake I have ever tried). We spent a few hours shopping, then headed back home. Had a really good day and didn't spend too much money haha!


On Tuesday, we had made plans to go to the Blue Man Group. I had heard of it and had seen clips, so I was really excited about seeing it. Jerry and Keegan also came along, and we all went out for dinner before the show. The show was amazing. Nothing like I had ever seen before. People keep asking what it was like and I really have no way of describing it. All I can say is that I imagine it is what an acid trip would feel like! So crazy. After the show, Heather, Keegan and I got a ride to the car in a pettycab (I think that's what it was called?!). It was absolutely freezing, but so worth it!!

Keegan, me and Heather - we met the blue men!

Me, Keegan and Heather on the petty/peddy cab!



On Wednesday, Heather and I took a trip in to Boston and went to Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market. It's like a big market place, and in the summer there's lots of street entertainment and stuff. Was way too cold for it that day though lol! This was the first day I actually got to see Boston in daylight, so I was so amazed with all the really tall buildings. Glasgow just does not compare in any shape or form. After we had shopped around, we headed for lunch. We had passed this place called Dick's Last Resort, and Heather explained that it's a restaurant where the waiters are mean to you - it's what the call a themed restaurant. I decided I'd like to eat there just to see what it was all about, and it was absolutely hilarious. It wasn't that busy when we went either so I can only imagine how funny it would be if there were more people around! When you go in, the waiter gives you a hat with a dirty/rude comment on it. Definitely my ideal job!


The next day we went to the outlet malls. Spent $100 on shoes. Oops? This was also the first night I tasted lobster, thanks to Mike's fabulous cooking!! I've never really been much of a seafood person, but I think that was just plain stubbornness on my part, not really wanting to try it. I did want to taste lobster though, just so I could say I had, and I loved it!! Will definitely be eating it again.

Hmmm can't really remember what we did on the Friday, I'm drawing a bit of a blank haha. I know we went to the cinema at night and saw Hall Pass which was hilarious! I think we just chilled out during the day.

On the Saturday, Lenny and Andrea invited us around for dinner. The live about 40 minutes away, so we left the house around 3pm and were at theirs for 4. They live in a beautiful house, and have the cutest cat ever! He has one eye! We chatted for awhile before dinner, and they are just the nicest people ever. I felt so welcome in their home even though I had only met them once before! Genuinely nice people, and I really hope I get to see them again. (I will, I will definitely be returning to Boston!)

Sunday brings us to my last, and one of my favourite days. Heather and I headed back in to Boston, with the main aim of going on the Duck Boat Tours (tour bus which turns in to a boat and goes in to the water). Well, we got there and found out that they actually hadn't started running yet, they didn't start for another 2 weeks. So we ended up going on another tour bus, called the Boston Trolley, and honestly I'm so so glad that we did. I had such a good day. It took you around all the main sights - Fenway Park, Cheers, Boston Commons, USS Constitution, Copley Square, Newbury Street, Prudential Center, MIT, Harvard Square - the list goes on and on! We got off at Cheers and went for lunch there, the food wasn't that great but it was a cool experience anyway! We also took a walk around Boston Commons (which I imagine will look gorgeous in the Spring/Summer), and walked around Little Italy, where we found a bakery which looked like the Boston equivalent to Carlos Bakery. A customer in the shop said that we had come at the right time, usually the queue goes right down the street! It was so weird though, cause inside the shop was really busy, but there was no queue, everyone just pushes forward until they get served haha. I bought a real Italian cannoli, and it was so so good!!

I'm pretty sure that sums up everything that we got up to, but I will definitely go back. Most likely in 2 years or so, but will go in the summer. Had one of the best weeks of my life!

As for what is going on back in Kentucky, just the usual. Going to class etc, but now I only have classes Tuesday/Thursday. SO GOOD! Me and the girls went out on Thursday for St Patrick's Day, but I'm not going to discuss that. Mainly because I remember very little from it, and we were all absolute disasters. Except Rebecca. Poor Rebecca had to get 3 drunken messes home. SORRY!

I'm hoping to go to New York with my friend Jackie soon, we're gonna try to plan something tomorrow. So exciting! New York City is one place on Earth I've wanted to visit for as long as I can remember, so that fact that it's actually happening just makes me act like a 4 year old in a sweet/toy store. Pretty much skipping around with glee. ALSO I BOOKED MY TICKETS TO LOS ANGELES AND FLORIDA TODAY YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!! Oh my god I have literally never been this excited in my whole life. Spending 10 days in LA, 7 in Florida then I have to decide where I'm going for my last week. Will probably be between Washington DC and Chicago, unless I go to Chicago during term time.


Life is sweeeeeeeeeeeet!


Some random Boston pics:

Cutie pie!

Also a cutie pie!

Alive, uncooked lobsters!

Boring week!

Last week was a very boring week, so this update won't be very long!! Honestly, nothing happened at all. The girls headed out to Blackfinn's on Tuesday because Ronnie from Jersey Shore was there. I really wanted to go, but I've had the cold all week and felt really ill that night so just decided to give it a pass. While we're on the topic of Jersey Shore, I'm going to paste something Rebecca wrote on her blog which pretty much sums up my week.

"It can be a bit of a love or hate type thing but before I came to America, even though I knew what Jersey Shore was, I’d never really properly sat down and watched it. I’m now fully aware of each and every event, drama and character that there has even been, so when the girls and I heard that Ronnie (standard Guido, juicehead gorilla) was gonna be appearing at Blackfinn, we could barely hold Caitlin back! JOKES!"

Honestly, for the past 4 days or so I have been on a Jersey Shore marathon. I'm now all caught up to the latest season, and I'm loving it. It's the lamest thing I have ever watched, but it is SO good. Snooki is my favourite person in the world.

 Besides that though, nothing has happened. Just been going to classes and hanging out with some friends. Booked tickets to go to Boston over spring break, really looking forward to that!! Going to stay with a friend and we've got plans to go to the aquarium, we're going to see the Blue Man show, and I'm sure we'll do loads more while I'm there. Perhaps visit the Cheers bar??

My friends and I also got our Florida trip sorted this week. Villa is booked and paid for, and the majority of people have their flights booked! I just need to wait and see what is happening about New York before I can book anything, need to figure out my plans for the summer first :/ Will get that done as soon as I know about New York!

After my Boston trip I'm sure I'll have loads to update you all on. And spam up this blog with some cool Boston pictures haha!

Until then, bye! x

PS. Major love for Toni and her beautiful little boy! Can't wait to meet him! xx

Hmmm...

I've decided I'm going to try to update this every Sunday. I'll probably still suck at getting it done on time, but I shall try haha.

Not much has been happening this week. Been hanging out with a friend who lives in my dorms quite a lot, but otherwise there's not all that much to say! Hadn't seen the girls all week until last night, when we headed out to Passage (the doormen recognise us now hahaha). Had a really good night, foot got really sore towards the end though! Sore foot + heels = ow. I remember Caitlin and I running around after a taxi, minus our shoes. Classy as always. We had a table again which was really good, though we did spend most of the night dancing. Mind that time we had to pay a $30 service charge even though we served ourselves?? Pffft.

I booked flights to go to Boston over spring break. Really looking forward to it!! Caitlin and Stacey are heading to Panama City, but I felt that I didn't really want to do the whole party holiday thing again. I'm sure it will be amazing, but I'd rather use my time to go visit somewhere I really want to see. I leave on the 5th March and return on the 10th. Had plans for the 11th/12th/13th to go to Indiana to see a motorbike thing, but I think those plans may be off now. But oh well, still got loads to look forward to!

I've been doing pretty well with my school work/tests. Have gotten loads of A's and some B's, so impressed with myself haha! Got 97% for a group presentation that I took part in, was so happy! Have a couple of tests coming up this week (never ending, I swear) but hopefully they will go well. Got a paper to finish (read as: start) for Tuesday...really should get on with that. I just keep telling myself it's only a page and a half, double spaced, so it's really not all that much haha.

Really can't believe I have been here 7 weeks, it has gone in so quickly. The next 3 weeks are going to completely fly in too, with me going to Boston and stuff. Kinda crazy. Really looking forward to planning my traveling for my last month, can't do it though until the Florida trip is sorted! HI GUYS GET YOUR TICKETS THANKS.

I've kinda realised this week how much I'm going to miss everyone I've met here. Saying goodbye is definitely going to be emotional, however on the plus side, I can totally come back and visit/have people visit me, so all is good!

tl;dr: I am loving life.