Day 103

Today started out splendid! We slept in for a bit, showered, then got breakfast at our favourite bakery. They also gave us free little croissants with a delicious cream in the middle. We return to our room to eat and finish packing. Around 12:30 we checked out. The woman at reception who loves us and is so sweet gave us each a little bottle of Ouzo and said she hoped to see us again! Then, we made our way to the metro. We asked for tickets to the airport and hopped on the blueline. Eventually, we came to a stop, everyone got off, and the lights went off, so we got off too, not yet at the airport. We saw that there was a sign saying there would be a metro to the airport in 18 minutes, so we waited. When it finally came by, we got on; minutes later, I found there was a sign that said you needed a special 8Euro ticket to go to the airport, and if you were caught with out it, it'd be a 120Euro fine. As a result, we get off at the stop right before the airport to buy said special ticket. Then, we sat at the end of the platform where we were dropped off, waiting for the next metro, only to find it only stopped at the other end of the metro and drove right passed us. To avoid this, we stood between the two platforms for the next one, and then it picked us up at the platform we had been waiting at the first time. We finally get back on and to the airport, only to find there was no one checking tickets or anything, so we didn't even have to get off! We found our way to EasyJet, checked in, and got our boarding passes. Going through security, they took my computer out of it's case and made me open it... they must think I'm more tech savvy than I truly am. We waited for our boarding time. We snuck in the speedy boarding lane and found seats together and overhead space. I slept a bit on our 2 hour flight to Rome. Once we got to Rome, we had to leave and go back in to get our boarding passes. We got so lost, but we finally found the right terminal and got sandwiches for dinner. We got our boarding passes and went through security. First stop, find a bathroom, the dirtiest airport bathroom I've ever seen, then we sat by our gate. When they called us for boarding, we were in the front of the line. Then, we had to get on a bus to bring us to the plane, meaning we would be the last to get off. When we got out of the bus, I quickly headed up the stairs at the back of the plane and grabbed seats and overhead space for us. This flight was only 45 minutes. After getting off, we found the place to get bus tickets and asked for bus 15, but it had stopped running. Instead of chancing it, we just took a taxi. At the hotel, the man refused to split up the payment in two, so Jen is in my debt. Also, the city of Venice has a stupid tourist tax we are required to pay for each night we are here. Finally, we got to our room, which is really nice, and we share a bathroom with our floor. We were so relieved to have free wifi in our room and I got to skype my boy shortly after our arrival. We ended our night with an episode of Doctor Who and passed out.

Day 102

This morning, I woke up around 10. Since Jen was still asleep, I watched Doctor Who and went on facebook. At 11, I couldn't take it anymore, so I just took a shower. When I came out, she was finally up! We put our swim suits and sunscreen on, then clothing over it. Today was supposed to be a beach day. When we finally got out of the room, we started walking into town and stopped at our favourite bakery for delicious doughnuts filled with apricot jam to our surprise. The filled us up and left powdered sugar all over our faces. While sitting and eating our doughnuts, we came to the decision that it was too cold for the beach. Though it was supposed to be 80, it was super cloudy, windy, and looked like it was going to rain. Instead, we talked about shopping then going to a museum. We went shopping for Jen's Greek dress and found one at the first store, the first dress she even picked up, like I did with mine. Then, we went searching for her souvenir for her mom in several different stores before finally finding it. Then, we headed to a bakery we had found online since we had been wanting cupcakes every night and we bought our cupcakes, mine is pinks, Jen's is blue. We walked down the shopping strip and picked out bracelets for Jen, Liz, and Kate. I also finally found what I wanted to get Matt from Greece. We walked back to our hotel to drop off our cupcakes, change out of our swimsuits, and leave our towels. When we arrived, the hotel owners were eating and just told us to grab our key from behind the desk; they are so sweet and they love us! After doing all we needed too, we ventured into town and got frozen yogurt; I put strawberries, chocolate chips, and dark chocolate sauce on mine. While eating, we concluded that we didn't want to walk all the way to the museum, so instead we walked towards Parliament and got on the Happy Train. This train shaped tram brought us around Athens sightseeing for an hour or so; some of the sights we had already seen, some we had missed. It was quite pleasant. At a cashpoint, I took out some more Euros. around 4:45ish it began to rain and was windy, so we went to our favourite restaurant even though we weren't hungry yet. We got Lattes to warm us up, then had pastitsio for dinner. We sat and talked for a couple hours there. When we decided to leave, the waiter talked to us and we told him we were leaving tomorrow, so we wouldn't be able to come back anymore. We hurried back to the hotel since we were cold. We began uploading pictures, then decided to start packing. Eventually, we packed up everything to make sure we had room for everything, especially all that we bought. We both passed.. barely, but we passed. If necessary, I will just wear as many items of clothing as needed. Then, we continued facebooking and such until I got to skype my boy! Unfortunately, he got kicked offline with the storms so we had to wait a bit. We got back on later to finish skyping. Then, Jen and I watched Say Yes to the Dress and made a video to a Backstreet Boys  song before going to bed.

Day 101

Our alarms went off at 6am and since we both had a hard time falling asleep, we were exhausted. I manned up and turned the light on, against Jen's wishes. Then, I jumped in the shower, put on my swimsuit and a dress, and ate my breakfast. We headed over to the hotel we had to meet the bus at, but the tourguide rerouted us to another hotel due to bus complications. When the big purple bus finally came, we got a ride to the other side of Athens to the dock and boarded the cruiseship. I made us sit at the top level, but we were freezing because of the wind and the sun had barely came up. Both Jen and I ended up falling asleep at different times on the trip to our first island. It was 3ish hours before we got to our first island, Hydra, my favourite. Hydra is known for its white buildings and donkey rides, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants style, the whole reason I fell in love with Greece. We wandered down a street and decided to get an ice cream cone, then we headed in another direction where I found a ladder to the water, so I needed to stick my feet in, regardless of Jen's fear. The water was unbelievably clear and blue! We continued wandering to find a little rocky beach, so we followed the path and stood in the water. It was so beautiful; I could see my feet in thigh-high water. We had an hour and a half on Hydra before going back to the ship for our Greek, 3-course lunch. For 90 euros you'd expect better food, but we took what we got... oh yeah, and they made us by drinks, none provided. We returned to our spot at the top of the ship for an hour before reaching Poros, our next island. There really wasn't much to do other than shopping, so Jen and I sat on a dock, then found a playground to play on for our 45 minutes. Back on the ship for another hour before stopping at our last island, Aigina, more specifically St. Marina, supposedly known for its golden beachs. We went looking for said beaches, but only found one where you have to pay 5 euros for a chair, so we set our stuff against a fence with others from the cruise. Jen and I enjoyed this sandy beach. It was quite shallow pretty far out, but it was enough to go under and swim around. We dried off in the sun and returned to the ship when our hour and 45 minutes was up. The return ride was a very loooong hour and a half, and cold. We got lounge chairs at the front of the boat and eventually went inside on the second layer because of how cold we were. Back at the dock, we got on our bus and rode around town for quite a while; wouldn't you know our stop was one of the last? With food on the mind, we immediately walked to our favourite bakery to buy dinner and ice cream to eat in our room. The servers gave us a special treat, some sweet doughy thing for free. Back in the room, I called dibs on the shower, so I ate my ice cream before it melted and washed the salt and sand off of me and out of my hair. Then, we ate our dinner and  uploaded pictures while listening to music. I skyped Matt after our families barbequed at my house for the holiday, then Jen and I watched Doctor Who before passing out from exhaustion.

Day 100

This morning we slept in. I slept until 11 and Jen until 12ish. When we finally got going, we stopped on the corner for croissants and Frozito Chocos.. yummm. While eating we got bothered by kids trying to sell junk; It's so annoying. We wandered down the shopping street since today was going to be our shopping day, but realised all the stores were closed.. so don't try to shop on Sundays. Then, we were like "what to do?" Well, we saw we weren't too far from the National Gardens, so I have a lot of pictures from exploring in there. We came out the other side and saw the Royal Palace and the Presidential Residence. We went back into the Gardens in another entrance and exited near the bottom. We first went to Hadrian's Arch and took pictures, then looked for the entrance to the rest of the ruins. It turns out, our Acropolis ticket covered it as well, so that was all we needed. We went in and took pictures of the Temple of Zeus and all the ruins surrounding it. There was also another Temple, possibly of Saturn and Rae or something. We were so hot and tired and sweating, so we started walking back towards the restaurant we ate at yesterday. On the way back, we found more ruins, I think of Roman baths. We continued back to our restaurant, but it was closed, so we went down another street and found a cute one to eat at. I essentially got chicken kebabs, pita bread, chips, and a salad. It was so good and filling. And Jen and I drank 3 glasses of water each to prevent dehydration. Eventually, we got cold sitting in the shade and asked for the bill. I suggested we wandered the opposite way we came. As a result, we found The Plaka, the ultimate Greek Souvenir shopping center. I spent a good amount of money, but I found souvenirs for everyone! And now, I don't have to worry about it because I got everyone covered!!! On the way back, we found the tourist center thing and went in to book a day tour of 3 Greek Islands tomorrow for 89 Euro.  We get lunch, entertainment, and 2.5 hours at each island, including swimming in the ocean! The downside is we have to be ready to go at 7am... but it will be worth it. Jen bought peaches for her breakfast and accidentally asked them for a lot of peaches.. so we have like 20. She offered them to everyone we ran into in the hotel. We returned to our room and showered and uploaded pictures, as well as charge our cameras since they will have a lot of use tomorrow. We made countless attempts at ordering a pizza; with no luck, we ventured in the rain to the closest open food place: a cute bakery. We got delicious ham and cheese pastries and ice creams and ate them back at the room. I got to skype Matt, then Jen and I watched a Doctor Who episode before our 10:30pm bedtime.

Day 99

Jen and I woke up around 11:30ish, showered, packed and were on our way into town. We stopped at the main desk of the hotel to ask for directions to the beach, then started walking to the bus station. On our way, we stopped for croissants and then frozen yogurt for breakfast/lunch. It was  longer walk than we expected and we had to ask a few more people where to go but eventually we got to the bus stop right outside the Parliament and took the 45 minute busride towards the beach. We weren't sure where to get off, so we followed some of the people wearing swimsuits off at the first beach we saw. It was beautiful! Since I had applied sunscreen before leaving, I took my dress off and ran towards the water. It was cold so I only got halfway in. I returned to Jen and put sunscreen on her back then it was her turn to go in the water. She went all the way under. When she came back, I went back in and went under. We laid in the sun for a bit, reading, listening to music, and warding off the most obnoxious sales people ever. I went back in the water one more time, for about 20 minutes. After 3 hours at the beach, we were ready to eat. We caught the bus back to the Parliament and rode for 45 minutes, realizing how hungry we really were. We started walking the way back to the hotel and found a cute little restaurant, i Gusti. I was starving, so I wasn't going to take any chances and order something I might not like, so I got a chicken sandwich, and even ate it with the tomatoes. For dessert, Jen and I split the most delicious thing on the face of the planet: a chocolate filled cookie crumble crepe. I could eat only those for the rest of my life... sooo good. When we finished, we walked back to our hotel, noting all the shops and food places to stop at tomorrow on our shopping day. Back at the hotel, we showered to get the sand and salt water off of us and uploaded pictures and videos. I got to skype Matt, who will be running in the marathon tomorrow. Then, Jen and I watched episodes of Doctor Who while craving cupcakes.

Day 98

Since we slept in until 1pm local time, we decided against going to the beach. Instead, we said we would just explore the city a bit, get to know it more. Jen led us the wrong way out of the hotel (so we later found out) and we were a bit lost and confused as to where we were. Eventually, I found the road we were looking for and we started that way. We found the grocery store, good for future reference and as we were getting near the end we saw the Acropolis. We turned down a different street with little shops and found this one with beautiful Greek dresses that we swore to return to. Across from the shop we found some ruins. Looking for the entrance, we went around the corner and found the entrance to the Roman Agora ruins. We went in and they told us we needed a ticket, but since we were students it ended up being free, though I had left my Newcastle ID in the room because I didn't think I'd need it. After, we decided to just start walking uphill and it would eventually bring us to the Acropolis, which worked nicely. We found our way to the base of a hill with stairs that everyone was climbing, so we followed. At the top we could look over Athens and see the Acropolis; It was so beautiful. We continued towards the Acropolis and some women tried to talk us into a tour. I'm not one for tours, but if Jen wanted to, I would have gone along, though this women seemed a little off to me. We got our tickets to get in the Acropolis and the women found us again with and Australian couple who tried to barter the price. Since she refused, we all refused, thankfully. I did not want to pay more just to listen to someone talk for an hour. We walked through the Acropolis, seeing the theatre, which was stunning, and the Parthenon, which I had written about in an essay about math, as well as some other landmarks. It was beautiful being ontop of Athens and seeing so far. Once we made it around to everything, we headed back into town. At a little store on the way, I stopped to get a magnet, then we both got distracted inside and bought more souveniers. We continued towards town and found a restaurant to eat at. We ate delicious, yet expensive Greek food, well all the food was expensive, not just the Greek stuff. Still on our way back into town, we stopped at the Greek dress store and tried on a bunch of different ones. I found one that I fell in love with and bought. Again expensive, but handmade and worth it once you see it. We got into town and wandered down another little street with shops, then found our way back to the main road. I found hotel off the main road and we collapsed on our beds, uploaded pictures, and watched Doctor Who. I got to skype Matt at our normal time, then Jen and I found Say Yes to the Dress to make it a true Friday night.

Day 97

I had my last breakfast with Will; Jen and Jen were there too. After breakfast, I had to hug Will goodbye. It was quite sad. Then, I showered and repacked a couple of times while watching ANTM and waiting for Jen to get back. Eventually, it was time to head to reception, hand in our keys, and I called a taxi. We made our way to the airport and printed out boarding passes. Stupidly, I left my phone in my pocket (I forget about it because I don't use it... ever) so I beeped in security. Instead of letting me go through again when I pointed out I had forgotten about my phone, they patted me down. Once we finally sat down, it turned out we had two hours to kill until our gate opened, so we just sat and talked. We boarded out plane from Newcastle to London and realised we would not be sitting next to each other. Jen was just two seats in front of me. Since the flight was only an hour, I didn't mind being separated. The woman next to me was very nice also. In London, we didn't think we'd be fed on the plane to Greece, so we bought pre-made sandwiches. We boarded our next plane... and still weren't next to each other; we were in the middle seats on either side of the aisle. Lucky for us, a mother and son got split up in the window seats, so they asked if we'd like to switch, obviously we would. Jen and I read a bit of a book, then to our surprise got fed on the airplane. After that we just talked and she braided my hair. The flight was 3.5 hours and we arrived in Greece around 2:30am. We grabbed a taxi and told him the name of our hotel. Unfortunately, he didn't know where it was and we realised we didn't have the address, but he made some calls and figured it out. It was 50 Euros and a 40 minute car ride there. We got here and the man at the desk was so nice. The hotel is simple and beautiful. I skyped my family to let them know we made it, then Jen and I passed out (and slept until 1pm in Greece time)

Day 96

I had breakfast with two Jens and Will, during which we talked Will into watching his first ever episode of Glee.. this seasons finale. After breakfast, Jen and I had a "printing party" in the computer cluster where I printed off my essay due today. We waited for Jen and Will to come to my room then we all watched Glee. I kicked them all out at the end so I could shower and get dressed. When I was ready, I texted Will and we met at Reception to walk to campus. We handed in our Philosophy final essays at the Combined Honours office. We each needed to return a book, so we went to the library. After, he asked if I wanted to get lunch, so we wandered into town to get food. We decided that after lunch we finally needed to go to Shakeaholic for shakes. I got a cadbury egg flavoured milkshake and his was nutella. By the end of our shakes we both felt sick... too sweet. On our was back to the dorms we ran into Jen, Jen, and Liz so we joined them back into town and convinced them to get shakes. We stopped at the bookstore so Jen could get bibliography information, then met Elsa at Costa Coffee and wandered to the park. We played on the playground for a few hours and Jen braided daisies in our hair. It was Jen and my last time seeing Elsa. We talked Will into coming to Thursday breakfast to see us as we all headed back to the dorm. I chilled in my room for a bit before we went to dinner. After dinner I skyped Matt and sang him some A-teens :) I talked with Jen a bit, then we made hot chocolate and watched ANTM in my room while she finished making Will's friendship bracelet. Kate came in for a bit later on, then we all went to bed.

Day 95

I feel so free after finishing my first exam! I had 9:30 breakfast as usual with Will, Jen, and Jen. I returned to my corridor and showered and got dressed for the beautiful, sunny, 64 degree weather!!! I wore a dress with sandals, no tights, no coat. It was wonderful! Jen, Jen, and I wandered into town to run a few errands. First stop we had to pick up some sunscreen that was small enough to be brought on a carryon. Then, we went to the bureau of change to get some Euros... funny story, they only allow you to get the money straight from your debit card if you have your passport or UK driver's license with you. Seeing as we don't walk around with our passports, we went to the cashpoint just outside to take some pounds out. Apparently, I have a limit to how much I can take, but still manage to get enough pounds for 200 Euros. We hurried to the movie theatre since we were late meeting Elsa, Alex, and Antoine. We watched the movie Dark Shadows. It was pretty good! though I felt it had some holes here and there. Jen and I returned to our building and had a printing party getting all of our confirmation numbers for hostels and planes. After, I went to my room and edited my last essay to be handed in on Thursday. We had 6:00 dinner with the girls and Will... and of course annoying boy came along too. After dinner, I returned to my room to send mama my travel information and eventually went to Jen's room with her, Jen, and Kate. We just hung out listening to music and playing on their ipads. I skyped with Matty-boy at 10ish then called it a night.

Day 94

Well... I didn't sleep very well, maybe 5 hours? I got up for breakfast with Will and Jen and UVM Jen. Then, I came back to my room, showered and sat down for some studying. I tested myself by going through last year's exam, not feeling too confident. Eventually, I got dressed and a bag ready to go. I found exam rules on the school website... turns out you aren't allowed a calculator unless it's a Casio ... (certain models of it) All I have are Texas Instruments... my graphing and a scientific. And if that didn't scare me enough, going calculatorless for this exam, turns out.. The test has to be completed in ink... yikes! I make so many mistakes and NEVER write in pen. I headed over to my exam early dressed in my usual exam attire: a tank top, a sweater, a jacket... you never know how hot/cold it'll be and my hair was pulled back in a ponytail with my bangs pinned back. I was waiting for a while to finally go into the exam room in the Sports Centre. I was seat #37, right near the front. There were so many things on the desk I had to fill out. The exam started promptly and I only had 1 hr 30 min to complete it. There were only a few moments where I felt lost, but then I closed my eyes and pictured the problems I had done earlier studying. My only issue: I ran out of time so I didn't finish all the questions, though I'm feeling alright about it... I may have even passed. I walked back relieved and in shock about how much I knew. I got to my room, knocked on Jen's door, but no answer. So I texted her and she told me to join her and Jen in the park, so I walked back over there and we just sat and talked in the pleasant weather. When we returned to our dorms we separated for a bit, then had dinner at 5:30ish. After dinner, I came back to skype Matt. around 8, a bunch of us headed over the the pub The North Terrace for a pub quiz. This was a lot harder and less enjoyable to our usual pub quiz. It was very loud and dragged on. I got a Koppaberg and they handed out a free slice of pizza to everyone. around 10:30 I was so done and just wanted to head back. Luckily, Jen felt the same way and the other Jen tagged along. Then, I called it quits for the night and passed out like a baby.

Day 93

I slept in again this fine Sunday, then ate my breakfast, danced zumba and did 8-minute abs. I worked up a sweat, so I showered immediately. Jen and Jen came to my door asking if I wanted to go shopping with them. I had to turn them down because I needed to study, not to mention I didn't actually need anything. I sat down and studied as much as I could, though I could not get myself to focus or care very much. I started watching ANTM while writing down important things from my notes. The Jens returned and I made myself some dinner, then joined them and Liz outside for a few rounds of Liverpool Rummy. I came back inside to skype the most charming boy on Earth. Then, the Jens and I picked out a movie from reception: 21. I love that movie... so good. I was exhausted by the end, returned to my room to go to bed, but had a hell of a time falling asleep due to the stress of my exam the next day.

Day 92

After such a late night, I slept in until noon-ish; the sleeping felt great, though I felt like a bum for missing half the day. I watched an episode of Criminal Minds while eating my toast. I did zumba and 8-minute abs, level 2. And showered immediately after. I cracked my Diff EQ notes open and began studying, writing down the equations and info I need to remember. Eventually, Jen came in so we could make lunch, soup for me. We watched Doctor Who in my room and came close to passing out on my bed. Half asleep, Matt started skyping me, so Jen scurried out and I talked to my boy. After, I joined Jen, Jen, and Kate in the kitchen to make pasta for dinner, then we went to Jen's room. We started watching Dodgeball, but 20 minutes in, Jen H. decided she wanted a different movie. I went down with her to choose a new movie, Coyote Ugly, and discovered I had a package! Unfortunately, I didn't have my ID on me and the guy was too lazy to look me up on the computer I guess, so I had to run back to my room and down to reception again for my parcel. I got back to Jen's room, opened it up and teared up a bit because my family is so sweet and I miss them tons. I began making a bracelet with my new book as a guide and some alphabet beads for Matt's initials. We didn't get to finish Coyote Ugly, but Kate wanted to go to bed, so she took her computer in the middle of the movie. Shortly after, I returned to my room, looking to skype my family. I got to talk to everyone while they were hustling to get out of the house.

Day 91

Happy Friday! I had no classes today! I'm all done with them! But, I was continuing my day of silence. I went to breakfast with the girls and Will, which was fun, even though I didn't contribute much to the conversation. I did use a bit of sign language to get my 2-cents in. After breakfast, I needed to go back to bed because of staying up to late, so I took a nap and watched some Criminal Minds. When I finally woke up, I showered and just got dressed for my evening, then joined Jen and Jen chilling just down the hall. We hung out and talked for a few hours, and Kate joined us. Eventually, Jen H. from Idaho came to my room and I changed my dress and she helped me choose my shoes, well boots. We headed to her room, where we picked out her dress and I borrowed her hair straightener. We took a few pictures and counted down the end of my 24 hour silence. We met up with Liz and started walking the the pub for our Combined Honours dinner. The pub was very posh, but the buffet was disappointing, but what can you expect for a 2 pound ticket? It was just mini-pizzas, potato wedges, and fish sticks. At least each table got 2 bottles of wine... oh wait, they never brought us wine glasses. Right after we finished eating we left because Jen needed to skype and I loved the opportunity to skype as well. We talked a lot on the way back and Jen was to text me after her skyping. I got back to my room and skyped an anxious Matt, cute as ever! After skype, I downloaded some music and my Jen returned from her sushi dinner. I got a text of need from Jen H. so we went to comfort her for a few hours and at 12:30am decided we would come to my room to watch Ratatouille. The best part... the four of us all fell asleep on my bed and the movie had stopped streaming! We woke up and went our separate ways.

Day 90

I had a late breakfast with Jen, then returned to my bed with a headache again. Once I finally got up, I watched some ANTM and ate lunch, mainly things that were going to go bad in the fridge. I went to my classes from 4pm-6pm. I started my Day of Silence (for LGBTQ) at 5pm. I had silent dinner with the girls, though I used a bit of sign language to get myself in the conversation a few times. I returned to my room to skype my lovely boy. I took an hour break from my day of silence, which was made up later, because there was no way I was missing the opportunity to talk with Matt, and sing to him. After 45 minutes, it was back to silence and I had to meet Jen, Kate, Jen, Liz, and Antoine at the last comedy night. The headliner was a woman this time, and she was so good! She sang songs loaded with jokes and were so much more relatable just because of our gender. Kate and I hung out in Jen's room for a bit. I was force to take a quick timeout to tell Jen something important about our perspective London trip and the other girls. Then, it was off to bed!

Day 89

After a late breakfast with the girls, it was time to get ready for the Leavers' Event. I met up with Jen and Liz; we sat in the sun for a while since we were early. Once we got to the event, it was a reunion with a bunch of other study abroad friends. We were sat alphabetically, so I was behind Liz, but separated from everyone else. I attempted to take pictures of all my friends getting called for their certificates, though my camera was really blurry. After the presenting of the certificates, we got food!! They fed us rather "posh" food. Annoying boy would not leave us alone.. in fact he sat down next to me. I could have punched him.  We were ready to leave asap and decided to leave. Jen, Jen, and I walked down to the Quayside and took tons of pictures on the way. We saw the castle, cathedral, and millenium bridge, which having photoshoots in archways and such. On our way back, we stopped for coffee and muffins, then ventured back to campus to purchase my ticket for the Combined Honours dinner Friday night. We walked to the park and had Liz meet us their to play on the playground, dance, and sing at the top of our lungs. We started to get cold, so Jen, Jen, and I returned to my room to watch Glee, both episodes. Jen and I couldn't stand the thought of dining hall food, so Jen, Jen, Liz, and I ordered pizzas. I uploaded my pictures to fb, then Kate joined us and we watched the movie Bad Teacher. I kicked the girls out so I could make my chemo video for Matthew, and watched ANTM until he woke up from his nap and skyped me. We didn't skype until midnight but it was well worth the wait, and the perfect way to end my day.

 The Castle!

 Archway

 Way what?!?

 Planking at the castle

 Archway photoshoot

 The well-known Millenium Bridge

 Again...

 Monkey bars!

Just some flowers in the park

Day 88

I slept in this fine Tuesday and had late breakfast with Jen. Then, I laid in bed for a few hours trying to sleep and get rid of my headache. I then did my zumba and 8-minute ab routine so I could take a nice hot shower to rid the sweat. I ate a banana, then headed off to my only class of the day at 4pm. When I return, I chilled with Jen, Jen, and Kate until we all went to dinner with the girls and guys. I got to skype with matt, big day of chemo tomorrow. Then, I joined Kate, Jen, Jen, Liz, Antoine, and Will for a game of Liverpool Rummy; I didn't do too bad. The girls went to Jen's room for some gossip before separating. I watched the newest How I Met Your Mother episodes before going to sleep!

Day 87

Now that it is the last week of classes, my actual classes are dwindling down. I only have lectures for two of my courses this week. Which meant I had late breakfast with Jen, then went to the computer cluster to print off something for my essay. After showering and getting ready for my day,  headed off to campus to hand in my final essay for Environment and Sustainability. It was such a weird process: signing a sheet, filling out exactly how many words (I had forgotten to check, guessed 2165 and it ended up being 2163.. I'm just that good!), and I had to turn in a receipt with my essay. I finally got it all done, and headed to the building for my only class of the day. I sat in the lounge since I had 20 minutes, and ended up talking with Jen from UVM for a bit, then my Jen came over and was talking with us. I went to my class for some revision, then met back up with Jen to go shopping for a bit of groceries. On our way back, I requested we play on the playground a bit. I was able to do the monkey bars, which arched like a rainbow... it was amazing because I seriously lack upperbody strength. We returned to the dorm, made lunch and watched the MJ Glee episode. We split ways so I could write my statement of purpose for the IQA position I applied for. After finishing, I did my zumba and 8 minute abs. Shortly after, the girls and I went to dinner... annoying boy was there, but so was Will. Kate and I balanced spoons on our noses, while Will tried and failed desperately. I came back to my room to skype Matt, and sing him some Adele. It was the halfway point between when I left in April to when I return in June! I then made some hot cocoa and watched ANTM, eventually Jen joined me. I awaited my letters of recommendation and emailed in my application documents before dozing off.

Day 86

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL! I slept in until 9:30 this morning, then started off with zumba, cardio, and 8-minute abs after eating my breakfast. I then needed a shower... so badly. After showering, I continued writing my essay, but not for too long before Jen declared it lunchtime. We ate lunch and watched ANTM, then I had to kick her out so I could do some more work. I ended up finishing the rough draft of my last essay and I finished editing my second essay. Jen and I walked past Will's room, pounded on his door, and continued on our way to the computer cluster where I had to print off a ton of things and figure out how to use this "turnitin" thing to submit my electronic version of my essay. On our way back, we again knocked on Will's door, but this time he answered in a timely manner as he saw us running away. We stepped back into our hallway to see Kate had returned from her weekend with her family! We all went to the kitchen to cook our dinners, pasta as usual. Then, we sat in my room watching ANTM again. They left so I could skype Matt, who sang "What Makes You Beautiful" to me by One Direction, a British boyband. Soooo sweet. Jen and Kate returned for tea and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

Day 85

I passed out before midnight and slept in until 10:30... I guess you could say I was tired. I ate my breakfast, then I did zumba and 8-minute abs. Next, I showered and started my essay. When I finished, I had 800 words out of 1500 and 4 out of my minimum of 5 sources. I was in the zone! I then edited my essay that is due on Monday. Tomorrow I will have to print out two copies and hand it in electronically. All of the essays are requiring me to cite my sources in a different way, so it's getting a bit annoying and stressful. At 5pmish, I was ready for lunch/dinner, so Jen joined me in the kitchen while I made my pasta. Then, we watched ANTM for a couple hours until I got to skype my boy. After skyping, I made some tea and Jen came back to watch more ANTM. Once she left, I made a Happy Mother's Day video for Mama, then went to bed.

Day 84

I had an early Friday morning breakfast with the girls, then hurried off to Cryptography and Diff EQ lectures from 9-11. I then met up with Jen and we went to Tescoes where I bought Kinder Surprise eggs and a Koppaberg's raspberry cider. Once we made our way back to Castle Leazes I did 45 minutes of zumba and 8-minute abs, then made a PBJ for my lunch. I invited Jen into my room and we watched the season finale of TBBT followed by an old ANTM episode. I kicked her out of my room so I could get dressed and begin correcting my Environment essay, though I only got 1 page in before leaving for cryptography lecture. We finished going over last year's exam and he told us that was the last class, so I don't have it at all next week. I came back to the dorms and tormented Jen for a bit before we headed to dinner. We did everything we could to try to avoid annoying boy, but yet again he invited himself to our table. Kate and I tried to teach Will how to balance a spoon on his nose, though it's a pretty hopeless cause. I returned to my room awaiting a skype call from Matt, during which I corrected another page of my essay. I don't know what it was, but he was especially adorable today. Perhaps it was his cuddling with his stuffed frog. He sang some Florence + the Machine to me and I sang him a Glee song he requested in January. Boy, do I miss him. After skype, I went to Jen's room with Jen, Jen, Liz, Kate, and Louise where we played cards and sang along with Disney songs while Jen and I were enjoying our Kinder eggs and Koppabergs. At around half ten, I was just too tired to socialize anymore and we all went to our own rooms.

Day 83

I had earlyish breakfast with Jen, then my last seminar with Will. We had quite a good time. Barely anyone showed up, so it was just Will and I discussing our question and it led to us making a very odd venn diagram of our friendship. hahaha. I handed in my last Diff EQ homeword, and received a poorly done previous assignment... oh well, can't change the past.Then, it was spa time! I met up with Jen, Jen, Liz, and Kate and we headed over to the City Pool, where downstairs they have the spa and massages and such. We paid L5.20 for the Turkish bath, complete with a cool jacuzzi, sweat room, and sauna. We all just felt generally happy from then on. We were allowed up to 3 hours, but we only stayed for 1.5. It completely drained us of energy, and ended up dehydrating us a bit. We went shopping, well Jen did while we all sat on the floor exhausted out of our minds. We finally returned to our dorms, so I ate lunch and laid down just for a bit of rest before heading off to Diff EQ and Number Theory lectures where we went over old exams in both. Unfortunately, I had to miss Esther's 21st surprise birthday dinner the girls through for her. I still chipped in on her present. 10 of us each gave L4 to get her this beautiful ring. Esther is like the mother of our floor and the sweetest girl here. I met up with them on the way back after class and Jen sat with me while I ate yucky dining hall food, not very appetizing at all. I returned to my room to skype Matt, and even facebook Gayle a little bit. Then, I did 45 minutes of zumba followed by 8 minute abs. I then let Jen and Jen know that I was done and they joined me to watch this week's episode of America's Next Top Model: British Invasion. Eventually, they left and I watched Secret Life before falling asleep.

Day 82

As usual, I had no classes on Wednesday, so I ate a late breakfast with Jen. I then returned to my room and downloaded a lot of new songs, mostly Glee and some Maroon 5. Then, I did 45 minutes of zumba and my 8-minute abs. After getting all swexy, I needed a shower desperately, so I did so. Then, I waited a bit for Jen to return, made myself a PB & banana sandwich and the two of us watched Glee. What a great episode. I also got to facebook chat with Matt a bit. Then I finished my Diff EQ homework to hand in on Thursday and I made a brief outline of my next essay. I ended up in Jen's room with her and Jen, just chilling for a bit, then went back to my room and sang for a bit. I went to dinner with the girls, Will, and unfortunately Mark found his way over... KMN! obnoxious. After dinner, I skyped my handsome boy and he told me he was excited to see my parents. HOW CUTE! I went to Jen's room again and her, Kate, Jen, Liz, and I watched 21 Jump Street and rocked out to some music. At 11pm my time, Mama skyped me in to the All-state parade in Winooski, where my family was watching with Matt's family at the DiMasi house. The DiMasi's got to meet my terrifying neices, but they loved them. And the girls love the chickens. I got to spend the hour with my families, which was nice, but it made me want to be there so much more. I'm happy I got to see everyone and that they all got to hang out.

Day 81

Back to classes... I ate late breakfast with Jen then got ready for my last Philosophy and Ethics lecture with Will. While waiting for class to start we worked on the crossword in the school paper. Then, it had to be about the most boring lecture, but I may have picked my essay topic, though it's going to be hard. After class, Will and I went to the school office to sign the census, letting them know we are still here. Then, Will accompanied me on my errands while he had time to kill. We went to the library to return books from my first essay, then we went into town so I could buy an envelope and wait in a long queue to mail out my Parking Permit application for next year, where they decided they had to cross out my return address... I still don't understand why. Outside of the post office I got to help Will pick out flowers for his girlfriend, Laura. SO CUTE! And we walked back to Herschel where he was meeting her and I handed in my final essay for my other philosophy class. I waited around for my next class where I got help on my Diff EQ assignment luckily because I was heading in the completely wrong direction with it. Then, I had Number Theory and Cryptography classes before heading back to the dorm for dinner with the girls and Will. I skyped Matt and talked about our days. Then I had hot cocoa and watched ANTM with Jen and Kate, and rocked out to a bit of Hannah Montana music to piss Jen off. The girls left and I watched some Friends while talking to Mama and shopping for Sophie's new bed... Mom won't let the puppies get bunkbeds :(

Day 80

Today is a bank holiday, so no classes!!! Jen, Kate, and I went to breakfast at 10, then showered and got ready to meet up with Jen and Liz. We all made our way into town to do some grocery and toiletry shopping. All I ended up getting was some carrots and ranch, much needed. I ate pasta salad for lunch, then made a resume for the quidditch job I'll be applying to. I also did my Number Theory assignment online... 4 problems in I lost internet and it lost my answers, giving me completely new questions when I logged back in. I was in pure shock and so pissed, but then I got through all 6 questions fine. I went to dinner with the girls; they were running out of food in our usual hall, so we went to the other one and met up with Jen and Will. We were all so tired and nutty and kept taking Will's utensils and ID and mixing his food around. I returned to my room to see and sing with Matt, now sporting the lovely mohawk yet again!!! Then, Jen, Kate and I headed to Liz and Jen's floor to attempt to help her learn to wax, listen to music, talk, and play a round of cards.

Day 79

I slept in this Sunday morning, then enjoyed breakfast with Jen, Liz, Jen, and Kate. Once most of them parted, Jen and I did our zumba workout. To her surprise, I also made her do 8-minute abs right after. I showered then got right to work. After hours of hard work, I finally pulled off a rough draft of my next essay, though I believe I may have strayed from the topic. I then edited my first essay for the last time since it needs to be handed in on Tuesday. Jen, Jen, Liz, and Kate came into my room where we watched Miss Congeniality while we all worked, I started my Diff EQ homework. Jen expressed her want for pizza so 4 of us split 3 9 inch pizza. We began to watch Stick It until pub quiz. We met up with Will and lost horribly, and it was the last pub quiz of the year. I returned to my room to finally skype Matt and here all about his lovely weekend. After we sang and said our goodbyes, I joined all the girls in Jen's room where we gossiped and read magazines.

Day 78

After staying up to play Jeopardy! I was glad to sleep in. When I woke up, I ate a chocolate chip muffin and some dry frosted flakes, washed down with some orange juice while watching friends. I washed my dishes, then informed Jen we were doing our 45 minutes of zumba in 10 minutes. We danced, then I took a much needed shower after that. I sat down to write my paper and got another 400 words done. I called Jen into the kitchen for lunch, then we got ready to go into town. We went to get Jen a new bag since the strap on hers broke. Then we went and picked up our reserved seating tickets for The Avengers! Amazing movie, however, here in the U.K. they had 22 minutes of advertising playing before the movie, and not movie trailors, a few, but mainly cars, shoes, and food ads. After the movie we headed back to Leazes and got ready for dinner with Kate and her mum. She treated us to drinks, then dinner and had a lovely time getting to know the older version of Kate. She even gave Kate money for the taxi ride back. It was wonderful having nice food. Though, since after the movie, my throat has been hurting and I'm in a bit of pain now, trying to make it better with some tea and honey. Also, staying up, hoping for a possible skype with the boy, not entirely sure how likely it is, but I'll wait a bit for the chance.

Day 77

I had early breakfast with the girls then Cryptography and Diff EQ lectures 9-11. After lecture, I went to tesco express to get a block of cheddar cheese and bread, then hurried back to my room. I was done for the day, seeing as my later lecture was cancelled this week. I watched the quidditch matches of my team last weekend, so proud of them! Then I wrote a tiny bit of my paper before receiving a skype call from Matt (a planned early call since he's away this weekend). After skyping and singing, I continued writing, and ended up with 622 words! I then got lunch and watched the new TBBT. Then, Jen came in my room and, while attempting yet failing to nap, we watched the movie Stick It, so good, always love it. At the very end, Kate came in. After talking for a bit, we decided to collect Katie and go to dinner, disappointing as always. I also texted Will, so he joined us, and though we texted another Jen, she did not come. I went back to Jen's room, where I taught her Egyptian Rat Screw. Then we went to Jen and Liz's floor and taught them how to play. We returned to Jen's room a couple hours later for hot cocoa and reading my old magazines. Jen and Liz left, so Jen gave me a back massage and braided my hair, such a lovely girl. Kate came back from dinner with her mum and joined us reading magazines. Eventually, we split ways to go to bed. As I was prepping for bed, Mama asked me if I wanted to play Jeopardy! which I was obviously wanting to. So, she skyped me in! Being teen jeopardy, I could answer a good number of the questions and I got to talk to everybody on the commercial. Although, every now and then throughout the game Kaylee's head popped in front of the screen to see what was going on. Three day weekend! (Bank Holiday on Monday)

Day 76

I woke up for breakfast with Jen, where we waved at Will from across the room. Then I headed to campus for my Philosophy and Ethics seminer. We were given scenarios and a point of view, so we had to make the decision from our assign point of view. Meanwhile, we got a bit off topic and Will and I got to learn and teach about cultures with this kid from China. We discussed gay people coming out, and how it is rarely done where he is from. I assured him that there are some cities where people don't necessarily feel safe enough to come out. It was really nice. Will and I returned to our dorms, I wrote 500 more words of my Environment and Sustainability essay, putting me at 1/3 of the way done reaching bare minimum. I then got lunch with Jen and we watched TBBT.. eventually I ended up falling asleep with my head on her lap while she was braiding my hair. I woke up in time to got to Diff EQ and Number Theory. When I return at 6, all us girls gathered and went to dinner. Eventually another Jen joined us, and just as we were going to leave Will came, so they stayed with him while I returned to my room to skype and sing with Matt <3 After, I watched The Inbetweeners Movie (based on a British sitcom) with Kate, Jen, Louise, Jen and Liz. It was gross, but funny, like a movie Matt would try to make me watch. Then I hung around Kate's room with Esther, Louise, and Jen for an hour before going to bed.

Day 75

Being Wednesday, I had no classes, so I had big plans of being productive. However, due to a late night, I woke up for late breakfast, then returned to my room to go back to sleep until almost 1pm. I showered, then sat down to write my paper, but I only got 100 words in before getting a message from Jen about watching Glee, so I made lunch and we watched Glee and Doctor Who and slept on my bed until dinner. We had dinner with the girls, then I came back to skype and sing with Matthew. After skyping, Jen, Kate, and I went to Jen and Liz's floor to have a girls' night playing Liverpool Rummy, which I lost with the most points these girls has ever witness, 485. Job well done. We returned to our floor, into Jen's room for about 20 minutes, then I decided I was tired. I went to my room, did 8 minute abs, then got into bed. I attempt an early bedtime, but rolled around unable to fall asleep.

Day 74

Tuesdays are still my busiest days, as I still have my full schedule. I had a late breakfast with the girls, then got ready for my Philosophy and Ethics lecture in which I got to see Will. I loved this lecture because it was all about Feminist Ethics, right up my alley. I walked back to my dorm and ate some lunch, then had to return to campus for my three hours of math, which went by slowly. After, I met Jen and some other girls at Campus Coffee to walk to the movie theater and get tickets for The Avengers. Unfortunately, it was sold out, except for 9:30pm or later, and I was not feeling it. No one ended up going, but somehow we ran into Antoine and annoying boy leaving the theater. I casually mentioned that if he spoke to me I was going to punch him in the face... yet he still talked to me, so I was just a bitch in all my responses. Not that it stopped him... We found a pub call Bar Loco and decided to eat there, which is where Antoine said he had homework and had to leave... just dropping Mark with us. I was simply unpleasant to him. I had a delicious grilled chicken, salad, and humus wrap and a strawberry and lime cider, both were so amazing. At the end of dinner, somehow Jen, Jen, Liz, and I managed to get rid of the rest of the group, saying we needed to make a stop at Tescos... our real plan: By a little chocolate cake and watch No Strings Attached! It was brilliant, and so much fun. I then skyped Matt before laying down in my bed.

Day 73

After having a hard time falling asleep, it was hard to get myself out of bed and to earlyish breakfast with the girls. Then I headed over to my 9am, 2 hour, Environment and Sustainability lecture, where he just made contradicting statements about what he wants from this essay, which to me, means he will take what he can get. Luckily, the class only lasted 1 hour and 10 minutes and I never have another class for it again. I went to Herschel to time stamp and hand in my Cryptography assignment. I returned to my room, attempted to nap for 40 minutes with no such luck, so I headed back to campus for my Number Theory Lecture, which I sort of enjoyed. I met up with Jen in the lobby and we walked back to the dorms together. We made lunch, then she crashed on my bed while watching Doctor Who. I ended up laying on the floor. Then, when she left for class, I snuggled into my bed and passed out. I awoke to knocking from Louise, rounding everyone up for dinner. Dinner was pretty good, some chicken thing. Then I came back to my room and Skyped Matt, and he sang to me. Kate and I decided to like a bunch of things on Jen's timeline, dating back to when she first got a facebook, leaving her 80 notifications when she finally returned. I did 25 minutes of Zumba before Kate came knocking on my door, so we chilled, watched Jenna Marbles, and obsessively texted Jen until she returned to us. Then, the three of us headed to Jen and Liz's floor to play Liverpool rummy with Antoine and Ashleigh. Half of us had never played before, yet I still managed to win 2 rounds (though, in the end Kate and I tied for 2nd to last).