A Farewell Bid

Good morning blog world. Sorry for the silence. I've honestly not had much to say. A short recap of what's been going on since September 16th and then a special announcement.

The boy and I made it safely to the US on September 18th. I was extremely excited to get to see my mom at the airport with my dad this time. We made our way on the long drive back to the house where I was greeted by 2 very excited dogs. Nothing says welcome home like a dog who is running in circles, wagging his tail so hard his whole body moves, and doggie kisses. I spent the week showing him around my home town and around the area where I was hoping I'd get a job. Luckily he fell in love with the area. The week was WAY too short though and I had to see him off at the airport for what is the longest 3 months ever.

The week after he left, I had my job interview. A very stressful 3 weeks later I received an offer and accepted. I've just started my second week there and so far it's going well. I've got a bit of catching up to do, but I'm up for the challenge.

In the meantime, the wedding is pretty much planned. It took a whole 2 hours and 3 dresses to find my wedding dress. I'm so excited about it!!! But shhhh...it's a secret. Venue - check, Food - check, bridesmaid dresses - check, flowers - check, cake - check, invitations - check, hotel for guests - check. Just a few more things to figure out and we're good to go.

Now that I'm home, it seems that "Postcards from Britain" should end. I'm not even sure how much I'll use my other blog because I'm finding not blogging a bit nice. Almost liberating. In a way, blogging began to be a chore and I stopped being original. Instead it just felt like a real quick recap (like this one) and I'm not enjoying it anymore.

Thanks for following me on the journey that literally changed my life. It's been a wonderful experience and I've enjoyed sharing it with you all.

363 Days Later

As of Friday it will be 365 days, a full year, since I hugged my parents at the airport with 3 suitcases and a bookbag in tow and flew across the ocean for what would be a life changing year. Friday I leave England with those same suitcases and the bookbag, but I am bringing home so much more than I ever could have imagined.

My year over here has been amazing! You always wonder when you make a fresh start. You wonder what sort of people you'll meet. For me, I was surprised that the first people I met, ended up being the people that I spent most of my year with. I met a girl in my course when checking in for orientation. I was put in a group with one of the twins on the first day of class. I walked to town the first time with my American friends. It's been amazing to make such wonderful friends.

I don't think there are words that are adequate to explain what this year has meant to me. To everyone that has supported me this year, thank you so much. I could never thank you enough. To my parents especially, THANK YOU for everything...the gifts, comfort foods from home, phone calls, letters, cards, hugs, and encouragement.

363 days ago I began this journey. In 2 days a new journey begins. And the best part of all is that it begins with hugs from my parents at the airport. I can't wait!

Just because I can't express myself correctly...here are my favorite pictures from this past year. Enjoy!

Two more weeks!

Preparing to move home is no easy task. Besides packing and repacking (and repacking) to make sure everything is in the bags and under the weight limit, there's saying goodbye to the people that have made this year amazing. A couple weeks ago our professors decided to conduct a "going home" seminar. For a lot of people (including me), this experience was their first away from their home country. Naturally, we've lived life a bit differently and going home can end up being harder to adjust to. For instance, one of my classmates is from Pakistan. She's enjoyed quite a bit of freedom this year, but goes home to a province in war with the Taliban and to a home where she must have permission and an escort to leave the house. Big changes for her!

One of the tasks we did in this seminar was to list things we are looking forward to and things we will miss. I didn't take things too seriously at the time, but I know there will be some adjustment for me. So, here's a more serious list.

What I'm looking forward to about going home:
Seeing my family
Hugs from my mom and dad
Phantom
Playing with the kids
Finding a job
Getting my stuff out of storage
My bed (the mattress at my apartment was less than comfortable)
Phantom
Ranch dressing
Mexican food
Seeing my friends
Planning my wedding

Things I will miss about being in England
Sleeping in
Traveling to new places
The architecture
Seeing the boy (he doesn't move right away)
The friends I've made here
Having everything in walking distance
Trains

So, while I'll miss some things, there is much more that I'm looking forward to. And now that I don't live there anymore, here are some pictures from Loughborough University, my home away from home for the past year.

Every beginning has an end

It's my final 3 days in this university town. It's all a bit bittersweet. I've loved being here and will really miss the friends I've made, but I'm excited about where life is going to take me next.

I've spent this past week catching up on much needed sleep, spending time with the twins, and will even get a 'hen' party tomorrow night. It's nice being able to spend time with my friends now that the pressure is off.

I had my final test this week, the oral defense of my thesis. It went really well. I will definitely graduate and have a masters, which is awesome. But even more awesome is that my professors want to publish my work in a journal. Publish! I never thought I'd ever have anything worth saying that others would want to read. I guess being an engineer that's also good at writing is a really good thing.

It will still be a few weeks before I return home. I'm hoping to actually post a bit more about my final weeks here. But for now, I've got to get back to the packing and the cleaning. Till next time!

Food, Film, Friends

Nights like last night remind me why change is not a bad thing in life. Moving to England a year ago was a huge step outside my little comfort zone. HUGE!!!!! But I did it, knowing I needed to change, needed to figure out some things, and needed to just learn how to step outside my comfort zone and know I could make it.

Leaving last year meant I said goodbye to a few really special people in my life (outside my family of course). I've kept in touch with those people, lost touch with others, and in general realized that it's not the end of the world to start over with friends. You really learn a lot when you step away from the situation.

The thing about it all is that I've made some amazing friends here. Last night reminded me of that. It was the first time since getting engaged that I saw my friends. And it was great to just have planned a girls pizza and movie night, but end up having friends decide the whole evening should be about celebrating my engagement. It makes me so happy to see how friendships can be really amazing and can change the outlook on a day so quickly. And it makes me sad to know that in a little over a month, I have to say goodbye to those people I've met here. But in the meantime, it's great to know we have more time to spend together now that we turn in our reports in 2 weeks. Time to cherish those moments.

Two Roads Converged

~Robert Frost

This past weekend is definitely one I won't forget. But that's how it's supposed to be right? After spending so much time working on the thesis, traveling to Spain, and just generally wondering what the future holds, I was very much looking forward to spending the weekend with the boy and celebrating his birthday. Little did I know what was in store.

Friday my journey began with about 2 hours worth of trains to get from point A (where I live) to point B (where he works). The first train was late by 8 minutes, then got stopped along the way because of signal malfunctions. When I arrived in Derby I had to run up a set of stairs, across a bridge connecting 4 platforms, and down a set of steps to barely catch my connecting train. Luckily I made it, or I'd have been waiting there for an hour. Made it down to the next stop only to miss the connection and have to stand on the platform breathing in lots of diesel exhaust. Not much fun. Caught the next train about 10 minutes later, made it to his stop, and the doors would not open. Talk about frustrating. So, I took the train to the next stop, ran up the ramp, across the tracks, down the ramp, and onto the train to go back one stop. Finally, I made it there! Trains are sometimes just not that much fun.

Saturday morning he took me out to the countryside. It was so beautiful. While we were walking, I told him how this park reminded me of the one where I had run my half marathon. We talked about trail running and the reasons why I loved that more than running on roads. He joked about getting lost in the woods. It was about that point that he decided to veer off the trail we were on and go up a different trail. After a few minutes he stopped, dropped his bag to the ground, got on one knee, and asked me to marry him. I haven't stopped smiling since.

The rest of the weekend was just icing on the cake at that point. He loved his birthday present, but said that my saying yes was the best present anyone could ever give him.

So, there you go...'Two roads converged in the wood.' This year just keeps getting better and better.

Siesta Time!

Yes, I'm still way behind on keeping this thing up to date. I have 3 weeks from today until my thesis is due. 3! So, it's high gear from here on out. Luckily I am already over halfway through, but there's still a lot of important things to do...like another case study and write my conclusions. But I have a few things I felt should be shared on here...in the series of a couple posts.

First...Spain was awesome! I went a couple weeks ago to Nerja, Spain. I highly recommend it if you like crystal clear waters, warm sunny days (with no clouds in the sky), and a laid back lifestyle where it's perfectly acceptable to take a nap from 2-4 PM everyday.

Despite all the wonderful things about being over in Spain (like meeting the boy's mom and stepdad)...I got real life experience about what I have been studying all year. You see, they have running water in all the houses there. But the first thing I was told was to not drink the water. Apparently there are way too many minerals in the water so you end up getting sick. Makes you wonder what people did prior to having bottled water so available. They also don't have constant water supplies. Monday morning we had to wait to take showers because the water was not working. Great fun!

And now, some pictures!

Peaceful reflections

I woke up this morning only to realize that I have 2 months left. 2! That's not a lot of time. That also means I have 1 month left until my thesis is due. But I'm not too worried about that...yet.

It's been quite the interesting 10 months here in England. Lots of highs, lots of lows. And looking at what I've experienced, I wouldn't trade any of it...well, except I'd give anything (including this past year) to still have my grandmother around...but that's understandable.

A year ago I was worried about how I'd pay for this whole thing. Now, I'm worried about how I'm going to pay it all back. I thought my dreams were about to come true. But now my dreams are so jumbled I don't really know what the real one is anymore. I've learned more than I thought I would, made some amazing friends, meet people from all over the world, met the guy I want to spend the rest of my life with, seen various places in England, been to Scotland and France, and as of today, going to Spain. I couldn't have imagined half of that a year ago.

So, with my last 2 months here I hope to take in everyday and experience as much as possible. It's going to be tough leaving this place. But I can't wait to get to land back home and see my parents are the airport. That moment will be one of the greatest.

It's like a heat wave

~Linda Ronstadt

I have a new appreciation for air conditioning. Really. When it's 80 degrees with over 30% humidity and there's no a/c, it's rather miserable. But since I'm from the south and supposed to be used to this kind of weather, or worse, I try really hard not to complain around those that aren't used to the weather...ie. the English. But man, they do love to complain about the weather here!

It's been a great couple of weeks, despite the weather. The boy took me to his hometown to visit the zoo and castle (which is a part of the zoo grounds). It was a lot of fun, even if we spent more time looking at empty cages. We did manage to find very playful meerkats, sea lions, and the giraffes.

This past week was extremely productive for my thesis. I finally got a chapter written and feel pretty good about my time management so far. I do have to check my schedule and make sure I can finish a couple more chapters before I head to Spain in a couple of weeks. Must stay on top of things.

Saturday, we took the train to Stratford-upon-Avon. It's Shakespeare's birth place. That was a lot of fun and I loved the scenery. I like the tudor style house anyway, so being in a town with all of that was wonderful. It ended up being a beautiful weekend for weather too.

From here on I'll probably be posting less and less, except pictures. Mostly because everything in my head is centered around the thesis and more time must be spent typing that than updating the blog. But fear not, I'll share photos as much as possible.

Aliens and Rainbows

~Ferras

It's been a great couple of weeks around here. Great in the sense that I don't have any more classes or homework or exams...beautiful weather on the weekends...and lots of productivity on the thesis. However, working on my thesis means weekdays where I don't leave my room...which is starting to get to me.

This weekend was a blast. I headed out for dinner on Friday with the twins and one of the other Americans from class. The twins left Saturday for 2 weeks to work on their projects back in Sweden. It feels strange not having them around to waste time with. But they'll be back soon. It was so nice, we really should have eaten out in the Beer Garden at the pub, but because nice weather doesn't happen around here very often, it was too crowded.

Saturday I got to spend walking around town with rem. We looked at the random merchants in the market, took a walk through the park, and then tried to make a decision about watching a movie. We ended up not watching a movie and I headed home to relax.

Sunday he decided to take me for a drive around the area. We had the intention of finding a random village pub to go sit outside and enjoy the weather...but an hour and a half later we still hadn't found a place. It was fun just getting out of town though and seeing the villages in the area. Eventually we found a little pub that he passes on his way home. It was fun minus all the green flies. After beating flies off us for about 45 minutes, we decided mother nature had won and we headed back to town. Then we hit up one of the local pubs and enjoyed the fly free sunny weather of their beer garden. Great fun!

Today was very very productive and I now have a much better feeling about my thesis. I just hope the rest of the week is just as productive. The highlight though was the awesome thunderstorm tonight. I haven't seen lightning at all since I moved to this country. I was very excited by it and stood at the door watching the lightning and downpour. When I got back to my room I saw the most amazing rainbow over the countryside and along with my neighbor, went to capture the beauty of it. I really miss home, but I'm glad I get little reminders every now and then.

Before colors broke into shades

~Josh Groban

Days are long here, nights are way too short. It's strange how different things are when you don't realize just how much farther north you are from what you're always used it. It's been quite a week for weather. I really think I'm just getting spoiled. It's been sunny and in the 70's. Beautiful weather for having the windows open and having the shades open. But it doesn't make it very difficult to focus on the task at hand. Somehow I am managing though.

Strangest thing by far has been the sun not setting until about 9:45 PM. (Note that it's 9:36 PM right now and the sun is still setting). And the sun rises around 4:00 AM. This fact was discovered this weekend when I had to get up to investigate a strange noise in the night. Granted, seeing the sun rise that early was really rather cool. I hope there are more days like these this summer.

Good times never seemed so good

James Taylor

This past weekend I traveled down south of uni to visit Birmingham and Dudley.

The boy showed me around his hometown and I realized how much bigger "small towns" in England are from small towns back home (like where I'm from). I can't tell you much of the history of the area, but it was very pretty. We headed out to see the Priory ruins. That was interesting but I forgot to get the camera out to take any pictures. Then we headed out to Himley Hall. It's built on the Earl of Dudley's land where his home used to be. It's a medieval manor house. Very pretty...After Himley Hall we headed over to the Crooked House. It really is crooked. Basically, it's an old house that started subsiding (lots of limestone caverns under Dudley) so they built some supports on one side, made the floors even, and turned it into a pub/restaurant. Pretty neat...but it makes you feel a bit dizzy when walking inside. Plus the doors either have to be pushed or pulled upwards to get them to open.

Overall it was a beautiful weekend. While everyone around me kept complaining about the heat (it was maybe 70 degrees!!!) I reminded them that it's much hotter than that back home. So, another quality weekend spent seeing new parts of this country. Hopefully more of those will come.

When the cream and the crop are the same

~Andrew Bird

"Summer" has officially begun. Well, our first bbq of the summer anyway, so that makes it summer right? Yesterday a bunch of us from class got together to have a cookout. It was quite an interesting affair, which surprised us all with the end result.

We had no proper grill on which to cook the most amazing pork burgers I have ever tasted. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever had pork burgers. But man, they were amazing. They were freshly made by a local butcher. So good....




It took a good 20 minutes to get the charcoal to light and stay lit. But then mother nature tried to ruin it all with a nice little shower. However, 4 of us sacrificed our dry backs to keep the rain off our tiny little "grill". We regretted that later in the evening when it began to get chilly.

It was a nice break from the frustration of the thesis project. I have narrowed down my topic and the group I'm actually going to focus on. So, if anyone knows anything about Native Americans and their water rights, please get in touch with me.

In other news, the weather here is crazy. I think I've finally discovered the truth about English weather. It tricks the newcomers into believing that it doesn't always rain, and then bam! everyday it rains. Although it does remind me of a Florida summer. You know, where it's sunny, then rain, then 30 minutes later you'd never know it had rained. But, and this is a big one, it's no where near that warm, it doesn't thunder, and it's more like 10 minutes of sun, 1 hour of rain, 10 minutes of sun, well...you get the picture.

Winding in and winding out, the shine of it has caught my eye

~Dashboard Confessional

My days of attending lectures has come to an end. As has my days of doing homework. It's really a rather bittersweet feeling right now. I mean, I'm so exhausted I can't figure out what day or time it is, and I honestly feel like I could sleep for 24 hours straight. But it also means that all of this will end soon. The friendships I've made will change, the work I do will be different, and my time in England will end. Even if that's all still 3 months away.

Today I officially started on my thesis project. Really that's all that's left (besides one exam) before I can officially say I have a masters degree. I've already decided that after September I'm finished. I only have 3 classes left to get another masters back at State, but honestly, what's the use. I mean, it'd look great on a resume I'm sure, but I'm tired and I'm really just looking forward to working a job and going home and spending time with my friends, family, dog, and whoever else that might include. Plus the last 3 classes I have to take to get that other degree are classes I don't want to take anyway. So, what's the point?

Yeah, thesis. I'm really torn and confused right now. I'm not totally sure what my project is, how to go about figuring that out, and what to do once I do have it all figured out. And I have 90 days until I have to turn in 60-120 pages. Any suggestions? I know I want to do something with water rights (as in who gets what water and how much) in America. But I'm really second guessing everything right now. That's this week's goal, get the project decided, write the aims, objectives, and scope, and figure out how I'm going to spend my time this summer. Help!

Take a deep breath, let it all in

~Legally Blonde - The Musical

I finally have a few minutes to sit back and relax. Albeit, I still have one major assignment left to finish...but right now, I'm catching up on the blog that several people have told me to write more on. So, here you go.

The past 3 weeks have been crazy! We were starting and completing our group project. It was by far the most stressful group project I've ever participated in. But it's over now and I'm really happy with the final result so let's just hope the grade reflects that. But anyway...here's been my last month or so.

Paris, London, new friends, group projects, and less sleep than ever. But it was all worth it and I'd do every bit of it again.

Sorry, I'm at a loss for words. Somehow 75 page reports, followed by another 30 page assignment, and 4 pages of reflection on my part of the project have left me not knowing what to say. So, here are some pictures. Enjoy!

Insert witty lyrics here...

After a fun filled week at home I headed back over to England, with my mom!! She had an amazing time here, and I'll really glad I got to show her around. I already posted about Nottingham, so I'll spare those details again.

Her third day here we went over to campus. I wanted her to see where it is I am going to school...and where all that money is going. It's such a different campus from NC State, but I like it. She seemed to like it as well.

We headed down to London for her final few days. London has almost become like a second home to me, since I can now navigate the underground without really needing a map. Too many trips there I suppose. We did the usual stuff, Parliament, Westminster, St Paul's, Tower, boat cruise...but we also threw in a few curve balls.

See, we were in London over Easter. It's the first year that I can remember where I didn't go to church on Easter Sunday. Oops. But we did make it to the Good Friday Service at St. Paul's Cathedral. Wow! What a service! Now, I grew up baptist...and had been attending a church prior to moving here that's rather contemporary. So, hearing the psalms sung and the passion sung was truly amazing. It was a really great experience and very moving. Something I highly recommend if you ever have the chance.

Of course though, for anyone that knows me, you know I can't go somewhere with great theatres and not see a musical. This trip was no different. I took my mom to see Billy Elliot. If you like dancing at all...GO SEE THIS MUSICAL! The boys that play Billy and his friend Michael were wonderful. For 11-13 year olds, they had some amazing talents. The girls on stage were very talented too. It's funny, sad, upbeat, and constantly moving. Do yourself a favor and see this! Oh, and if you know the movie...this is soooooooooo much better!

In love at the rock show

~Blink 182

Being home at the end of March/beginning of April was amazing! I got the chance to see some of my favorite people in the world (my parents!!!). I had every intention of spending my time at home doing some research on my thesis project, but that didn't quite happen. I honestly just think I was a bit burnt out and needed a few days of a break. So, I spent some time with my parents, the kids, and my brother and his wife. It was great! Even the part where my dad and I spent the better part of one night just making fun of this season of American Idol. Anyone else think it's time for a break from that show??

But no worries, the week wasn't a complete waste. I spent a day in Raleigh catching up with the former place of employment (hey to those reading and sorry if I didn't make it by the say hi in person). But the real purpose for that visit was to get some things squared away on my thesis and I have to tell you, I feel a ton better about the idea...if I only had time to work on the thing now.

The overall purpose of the trip though was the celebrate the wedding of one of my former roommates. They have to be one of the more romantic couples I've ever had the pleasure to call friends. And I have to tell you, they couldn't have been any luckier on the weather that day. 70 degrees and sunny while getting married at the Court of the Carolinas. Congrats guys!

The sun was out, the air was warm

~Ted Leo & The Pharmacists

It's been quite the whirlwind of spring breaks for me. By far, the best spring break ever! And it's still not over! Bear with me while I take a few posts to catch up on all the happenings. It's well worth it, well the pictures are anyway.

I headed home for a week at the beginning of my break, making the usual pit stop in London along the way. This time in London was a bit different because I had enough time to walk around, but no real desire to see or do anything. Especially since I'd be spending the next 2 weeks there. So, I checked into my hostel and just headed out around Picadilly for a while.

As I came up upon St. James's Park, I noticed quite a few people heading in one direction. Naturally (or stupidly) I thought to myself, "I wonder what those people are going over there for" and followed. I soon found myself at the Household Calvary Museum so I walked through and learned a bit about the guys on horseback that help guard the monarch. It was pretty cool. After finishing in the museum I walked back outside to see a bunch of people taking pictures. Same natural thought followed, "I wonder what they are taking pictures of." So, I rounded the building and found this:
I was rather happy about my curiosity. The rest of the day was rather low key as I really just couldn't wait to get home and see Phantom, Lucy, and the family. Plus, I was heading home for a totally amazing wedding...and who wouldn't be excited about that. By the way, London in spring time is rather beautiful.

They're men, they're men in tights...

My mom is here visiting for a week! I'm really glad to get to show her around the area I live in and then spend some time in London. It should be really fun.

Yesterday we headed to Nottingham for the day. I finally made it up to the castle. I've gotta say, rather disappointing. I don't even know what I was expecting of it, but I was under impressed with what I did see. In fact, the only photos I took were of the flowers.

Today we're walking around campus and town. I'll be sure to take her to see the latrines out behind our classrooms, just for fun of course. Who doesn't want to travel to England and see latrines?!?!

The whole world is blazing, we need water

~The Who

Today is World Water Day. A day very near and dear to my heart. But that goes without saying. It kind of brings in the whole reason for why I'm here. While I could sit here and give you all the statistics...I'd rather just send you to find things out on your own. Because we all have a purpose, and all have something we're passionate about. And if your passion lies in water for developing countries, please check out these organizations or get in touch with me. If not, I hope you are putting your passion to good use. These are in no particular order...and not an exhaustive list. These are just the organizations that I regularly follow.


Nuru International

Wine to Water

Medecins Sans Frontieres

Engineers without Borders

Water for People