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!