ding dong ditch and OMG TRAMPOLINE!!!!

so, I thought there was a FOOL playing ding dong ditch at obscene hours of the night - turns out, our doorbell, which sings for 5 minutes every time someone presses it, rings by itself 10 times in a row until you kick it...

which leads to: the worst night of my life

3:00 AM: the doorbell goes off
my flatmate Kate and I get out of bed, shut it off, and take all the batteries out of the doorbell speakers installed around the flat

5:00 AM: the doorbell goes off again, I do not even understand how.
I get really angry and start making monster noises, Kate gets out of bed, curses, and kicks it

6:30 AM: the fire alarm goes off
it is raining and freezing outside
I forget to grab my glasses
I am wearing shorts and a sweatshirt
people are talking to me except I have no idea who they are because I cannot see a thing

worst night ever

and OKAY girl at the gym on the treadmill without shoes on
what what WHAT are you doing....

but all is well!
we had a Scottish hurricane named BAWBAG and there was a trampoline on the loose that kept me laughing for 4 hours. no joke.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=214702938604320

please watch. it will make your life happier especially during this bleak exam season!

p.s. if you ever come to the Great Britain, don't call people ma'am, they give you really nasty looks : (
no southern hospitality here : (

and YAY for EXAMS!!

cut my thumb instead of the onion......

...but found a treadmill that won't kick me off after 40 minutes!

how is it that no matter what country I am in, I live in the library...

and you know you've been in the library for WAY too long when the person sitting opposite from you has changed three times...life fail

on a happier note, our flat had arts and crafts last Saturday and made Christmas decorations for the kitchen! yay for a million snowflakes and snowmen and Christmas trees!

and speaking of Christmas and winter, it's still 50 degrees here?
definitely NOT colder weather...

but still high hopes for a white-r Christmas (than Sweet Home Georgia)!

University Challenge: another one of our flat's favorite pastime, second to arts and crafts of course. Similar to jeopardy but without the cool song and played by college students from schools all over the UK. Gets pretty intense.

on the subject of TV shows. I don't care what anyone thinks, but I love Pan Am with all its 60s music and Bobby Darin and Mack the Knife and don't compare it to Mad Men please!

cannot wait for:

1. central 8th floor. actually, central any floor. I'll even take biomed, stevs, or law. I'm getting a little desperate after fighting with people for seats in the library multiple times a day. Oh Joy, CANNOT wait for exam season...UGH

2. chipotle, pinkberry, five guys, panera, DEEP FRIED CHICKEN

3. the date being written normally. not backwards - day/month/year?
I've missed way too many events/classes because I thought 12/10/11 meant December 10th, not October 12th...

OH, and...
saw the US national soccer team at Versailles!
and got a picture with Clarence Goodson!
I know he's no Donovan, but I did my best.

headlights and castles and seashells

1. people here run at night with construction hats on, the kind that has a flashlight attached...and also with a map in their hands. okay. cool.

2. it is against the law to buy forks and knives here if you are under 21 - got carded when trying to buy forks and got the forks confiscated because I'm underaged. uh, what just happened.

3. the shots here in the UK are so much smaller than in the US - they also do not have handles, the largest amounts of alcohol they sell are fifths

4. jumper = sweater/hoodie
trousers = pants
pants = underwear (you get weird looks if you say I don't like wearing pants)
revise = review (revision week = reading week)
cheers = thank you
crisps = chips
chips = french fries
braces = suspenders

5. as winter comes around again, remember how sucky my circulation is. always always cold hands and feet.

6. loved visiting a dear friend at St. Andrews! such a quaint little town with a SUPER WINDY beach - but the seashells and the swans in the ocean completely made up for it! and of course, visiting Paris for dinner and the tesco chocolate chip cookies was the highlight! oh, and the secret sugar cinnamon syrup recipe!!

7. people here dress up as really scary people for Halloween! Blood and gore and scary clowns! no cute bunnies or pumpkins or bananas : (

8. no one here carries backpacks to class. so where do you keep all of your books and laptop and notesbooks? no idea.

9. a 30% is passing. WHAT?!

10. oxfords. short skirts. stockings. every. day. of. the week.

11. one main library for 28,000 students. SO incredibly frustrating. SO annoying. you have to fight teeth and nails for a seat in the library. I just want central and biomed and stevenson and buttrick. UGH.

12. the max time you are allowed on the treadmill is 40 min. it shuts down after 40 min. this is why I am so fat. the treadmill is also in kilometers so I have to stand there calculating how much I've run. yay for mental math!

13. no hulu or pandora here : (

14. remember remember the 5th of November is celebrated here with fireworks and bonfires and everything! SO EXCITING! YAY!

15. people here do not know what s'mores are! poor deprived souls!

16. the paper here has two holes - so appropriately, their binders have two snappy things. okay. cool. so how is my three holed paper gonna fit anywhere? AND their paper is tall and skinny. anorexic.

NERD for Halloween. Accompanied by two unicorns and Ke$ha. DUH.

Randoms

1. The sky seems so much closer here in Scotland. The clouds soar by so quickly and I feel like I can touch its fluff if I jump high enough. I need to practice jumping.

2. What is your forename?
I don't have one.
Yeah you do, it's Catherine.
Then why did you ask me?

3. My favorite thing about Scotland so far. Old old lady at the club with her walking stick prodding people. yes. old lady at the club. PRODDING people. Had a laughing attack and could not breathe.

4. Old lady to be complemented by old bald man at the club. What a pair.

5. The wind is ferocious. It whips your hair around. I should have cut mine shorter before it came. I think I eat too much protein or eggs because my hairs grows faster than my toenails. Must be the protein because I can't afford eggs here. Ridic. No more omelets.

6. I don't think anyone in Scotland took economics. There is no where to get late night greasy fatty nasty snacks even on the weekends. Everywhere closes before all of the pubs/bars/clubs close. Don't they know that the benefits of staying up late even with increasing marginal costs incurred by having to hire workers to stay later outweigh closing early and losing business from drunken college kids who think their credit cards have no limits? Oy.

7. cheese here is not sliced
garlic here is not minced
people here do not know what smores are

8. all the toilet seats are very circular, not oval like they are at home

9. again, there is a 10:1 sheep to person ratio, totally beating Vanderbilt's 3:1 squirrel to person ratio

10. the library EMPTIES right around dinner time.
when do people study?
I do not understand.

perfecting that chacos tan FOR REAL part 2.

Day Two. Saturday!

We had breakfast on the porch next to the pretty pretty flowers and decided to go on a walk on a hill. Okay. Alright. I can handle hills. And so can my chacos.

UH. NOT a hill. More like a mountain!
Here, they call mountains hills, and hills? no idea.
Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the mountain but it was one of the hills in the lake district. About 2800 ft in altitude.

The scenery was absolutely gorgeous and for once, Great Britain's weather was cooperative and gave us a beautiful sunny day. Unlike the hikes I've been on back home, the trail was all gravel and big blocks of stone and there weren't any trees, just grass and sheep. Lots of sheep just wondering and frolicking. Okay, maybe they weren't frolicking, but we did spot a sheep sitting on the hood of a car like it was nobody's business. Weird.

After struggling to the top, we had a picnic and then decided to make our way down. Down? Down should be breeze!

UH NO. what a day for surprises!
The path? What path? was nonexistent for most of the way down and we literally skid/caved down the mountain. Twas SO steep and slippery and rocky. Jello Legs by the end of the hike, but it was so much fun! The view was amazing and the little brooks here and there were so fresh and clear!

At this point, you are required to jump onto youtube or your itunes and listen to needtobreathe's song washed by the water. Whenever I'm at a lake or a river or a pond, I think of this song for some reason. Here's the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOjpkqrCEOU&ob=av2e

After our climb up the mountain, we drove to the lake, being in the lake district and everything. And no surprise, the lake was absolutely gorgeous, with the mountains and hills in the distance. It was a warm day and my chacos were filthy with dirt and mud and grass and sheep poop so I walked in to the water and thought my toes were going to turn into icicles and then fall off! But it was worth it, the water was so clear and looked like you could drink it straight out of your hands!

It makes me happy when I see a part of nature that is left untouched and unchanged by human hands. I feel like I'm seeing the world in the way that God intended to make it.

After the lake, we casually visited another castle. Great Britain is filled with castles and everywhere you go and every way you turn your head, you'll see a castle. They're everywhere! But it's actually amazing. I feel like I'm living in Medieval times where everyone has swords and wears kilts.

Before dinner, we experienced another British phenomenon: the X-Factor. The show has a format similar to the Voice, and is a show in search for the next big vocal star. Just another reminder of how many talented people there are in the world.

We literally had thanksgiving for dinner. Delicious!

Here comes the alcohol. Damson Gin. 40% alcohol, except you couldn't taste the alcohol at all! Dangerous. And going down your throat and into your tummy, it just warmed you up and made you feel cozy inside.

Another bath happened and then hit the sack and knocked out cold.

perfecting that chachos tan FOR REAL this time! part 1.

HOME STAY: ADVENTURES IN (NOT SHAP, CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF) APPLEBY!

Part 1: a MILLION BILLION STARS kind of night

Surprise number 1. As soon as we all hopped in the car with Judith, our host for the weekend, I asked, "so, how does this Shap thing work?" because our program IFSA Butler told us that we were all traveling and spending the weekend in some tiny town called Shap. She goes, "SHAP?! we aren't doing Shap girls, we're going to Appleby for the weekend!" Thank you IFSA Butler for lying to us. Again.

We got to her gorgeous antique-y house and met Joanna, a super happy and bubbly architect who graduated from the University of Edinburgh and is now staying with Judith while working in Appleby. We stepped out to her back porch because it was such a beautiful night and

Surprise number 2. I LOOK UP AND SEE A MILLION AND A HALF STARS! It was absolutely the MOST gorgeous thing I have ever seen in my life. Beats every summer at camp. Shooting stars and the milky way! THE MILKY WAY!

We had dinner (because the dining room was being painted yellow) in the sitting room with a REAL fireplace with real wood and a real fire, and it was absolutely scrumptious!

Surprise number 3. Time to wash up and get ready for bed. Except, there aren't any showers. HUH? They have baths! So I sat in the bath and felt like my 5 year old self when I thought I was a princess and demanded bubble baths all the time.

Then I locked my self in the bathroom and couldn't get myself out. But it was fine! HA!

Then to bed to rest for the next days adventures!

Random side notes.

1. Judith has a son who's 6'5". what? How do people even get that tall?

2. THAT SHOW - MY BIG FAT GYPSY WEDDING IS FILMED IN APPLEBY!! The gypsies on that show come to the town once a year every year and get married and do crazy things. Insane. But like actually.

3. It isn't called the big dipper in England. They call it the plough.

4. I swear, there is a 100:1 sheep to person ratio in Britain. Totally beats the Vanderbilt 3:1 squirrel to student ratio.

5. Judith's children, who are grown up and live in London, are blood relatives of Beatrix Potter! The author of Peter Rabbit!

perfecting that chacos tan

SUCH a gorgeous day to-day

UGH list
1. why is econ always cheese and wine? fluffy clouds and teddy grahams please.
2. creepy old weirdo man surprise attack walking back from class. who IS that?
3. avoiding homework at all costs. opportunity costs? no.
4. dear Scottish cobblestone everywhere in Scotland, my shoes hate you and so do my bruised toes from tripping over you ALL OF THE time. UGH! DOUBLE UGH!
5. trying to figure out different sized paper and four hole punchers and two ringed binder? HUH?
6. Buzz Lightyear trying to fight us because we are American. but I said I was Asian. because I am. so...why are you trying to fight us again?

happy list!
1. pastel purple shorts from j.crew kind of weather. absolute perfection!
2. pretend alumni lawn in the meadows and pretend studying while...
3. clouds that look like fluffernuffer!
4. three fat chickens in a tree in the secret garden outside our kitchen window!
5. trying to teach people the concept of "narp" - it's actually difficult when you don't have a certain someone to demonstrate for you
6. sharing the greatest freak out ever, Gloucestershire cheese roll, sassy gay friend with my flatmates. don't think they are ready for Joby yet. soon though.
7. hills and mountains and castles everywhere you turn!
8. church this past Sunday at St. Catherine's!
9. old people who smile at you on the streets! not everyone is so friendly here
10. figuring out where all these new songs on my itunes keep coming from...25 new emails! and our version of the fray's hit single. how to save a life. FAIL.
11. drunk emails!
12. planning trips to SHAP? Paris, London, Lochy!!

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer"
Romans 12:12

(my almost new life motto - still hanging onto, stop being mean lose five pounds, for now though)