An American in Sussex: December 2011

My term in Sussex ended December 9th. I took my finals, said goodbye to some amazing friends, and took the 12 hour National Express overnight bus from London to St Andrews, arriving Saturday morning. It's been amazing to be back in St Andrews with friends and doing Christmassy things.

Two days before I left Brighton, I went up to London for an afternoon. I particularly wanted to see Tower Bridge, and somehow missed it the last three times I was in the city. Even though it was INCREDIBLY windy and cold, I still had a fun time seeing the Tower of London and the bridge, and stumbling into the Christmas fair in Hyde Park. The nice part about being an only hour by train from London was that I didn't have to feel like I needed to stay for hours and hours. I got to spend a few hours and then head back to Sussex.

Last Sunday was the St Andrews Christmas Ball. This is the second year in a row that I've gone with Em, and I'm pretty sure that a lot of people think I attend St Andrews Uni. The ball didn't feel as busy as last year, which was nice for dancing. Great bands, free ice cream, and dancing with friends- what could be better for an evening? Probably shoes that had fit better.

This past Saturday Em and I went to Edinburgh for the Christmas market and to wander around for a bit. When it got nippy, we headed inside to the Writer's museum and Armstrongs Vintage shop. This last week has been a collecting of meeting up for drinks and dinners with friends, and it's been so lovely, despite the cold weather.

My time in the UK is at it's end. I leave tomorrow to head back to Phoenix, and I have mixed feelings. I'm glad I'm coming back during Christmas time, because I'll have family and fun to distract me from being done with my adventure. Can't wait to see all of my Arizona family and friends! :)

This dress has seen a lot of travels in the last 3 months!

Prince Albert memorial

Obligatory red telephone booth photo- which incidentally, smell HORRIBLE inside.

I did my best for xmas decorations with limited supplies!

Edinburgh Christmas fair

Christmas Ball dresses

I haven't had too many adventures since I last wrote about Northumberland. Many of the castles/sites I would have visited closed on October 31st, and I've been busy with school, friends, essays, and most stressing, the GRE.

I went to Dusseldorf, Germany the weekend of the 12th to visit my friend Stephen. It was a pretty short, 48 hour visit- but when the flight is only an hour, why not? We got to see an amazing photo exhibit, walk along the Rheine, and visit the Konisplatsz, which is a pretty famous shopping district. It was really lovely to see Stephen for a bit and to practice some of my German, which was not as bad as I thought. I managed to communicate what I needed to several shop assistants, so I felt pretty proud of myself!

My friend Em came down from Scotland the next weekend to hang out with me in Brighton. It was awesome to show someone else around "my" city- which is kind of what Brighton feels like after 10 short weeks. It was such a fun weekend. We had nice weather to walk down the boardwalk and get ice creams, as well as finding an American candy shop in the Laines! Most excitingly, I won five pounds playing a Star Wars game at the arcade on the pier. It was hysterical, as neither Em or I knew what we were doing or how I was winning money. We also went on the Crazy Mouse, a ride at the very end of the pier. It was incredibly terrifying. You can hear the wooden boards of the pier creak ominously every time a ride is in operation, so to be on one was not the safest feeling in the world. The Crazy Mouse is a little roller coaster that goes over the ocean and screeches around each corner. Terrifying (but a little fun as well).

Monday the 21st we went up to London so that I could take the GRE (entrance exam for graduate school). I felt pretty stressed leading up to it, as I knew I wasn't that good on the quantitative portion. Em and I split up at the train station as she headed to explore London and I got on the tube to go 5 stops to Cannon Street, where my test was being held. My tube train ended up getting stuck underground for a good 30 minutes, as I tried to keep from unraveling into a pile of anxiety. The clock was ticking ever closer to 1pm, which was the time of my test. You can't use your mobile underground, as there's no service, so I couldn't even call the testing center to let them know I would be late. This was literally the last date to take it to get results in time for my application deadlines, and it's expensive as well. The conductor came on the loudspeaker at about 5 'til and said that he had no idea when we would be moving.

In not my proudest moment, I started crying. I have never felt so sick with anxiety in my life. A businessman across from me asked if I was okay, and if I had claustrophobia. A second later, the train started moving. I RAN out of the train and up to the surface to call the testing office. Luckily, they said I could still take the test, as I was only a few minutes away. Cue to me arriving at the testing facility 5 minutes late, sweaty, out of breath from running two blocks and up to the third floor, shaking, and with mascara running down my face. And then I started the test!

Four hours later, I think I did alright. I should get my results any day, but it felt good, and you get your unofficial verbal and quantitative results right away- and I did quite well on both. I was free to meet up with Em and head to Covent Gardens to see Matilda: The Musical, which was insanely awesome and fun. The man playing Miss Trunchbull had the audience in the palm of his/her hand. She would literally crook her pinky and we were laughing.

Last week, I spend a day in Chichester, which is about an hour by train from Brighton. I explored the gorgeous Chichester Cathedral and went to a Christmas fayre. It was nice to go somewhere close by as I didn't feel the need to spend a crazy long time in the town to justify my trip.
That's pretty much been my November! I only have 1 more week here in Sussex. I'm taking the night bus up to Scotland next Friday and will be in St Andrews for 10 days, before coming home to Phoenix on December 20th.