As most of you know, I have all of my lectures packed into two days (Mondays and Tuesdays), leaving me with a five day weekend. I wish I could say I have visited more countries or went on some incredible adventure, but I honestly didn't do much.
Part of me is struggling with feeling so "lazy" because I am used to being on the go constantly, going from work to school, school to work, clubs, church, babysitting, and the many other things I am committed to back home. I am a person who thrives on being busy and get the most done when my plate seems to be completely full. Let's just say I am not feeling the slightest bit of stress here. And I am learning to just appreciate and soak in the relaxing, less stressed life while I am here before I get back to the States and reality hits and I am rudely awakened.
This past Wednesday, Erica and I hosted a girls night at our house for our American girl friends. Our nails were needing some lovin', and during the week we all don't see each other that much with lectures and clubs. We piled into the kitchen, painted nails, and chatted for a while.
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| Sparkly party nails, of course. |
Thursday night, we all went back to Central Perk for live music and the Friends quiz. Sadly, we did not win that evening, but I did sing and play again! I sang A Thousand Years with Ross, a sweet British boy who plays at the cafe. Then I borrowed Ellen's (who, for the past two weeks I called Ellie...) guitar and started to play Taylor Swift's Dear John. Just my luck, I forgot the words. So naturally, I started singing any words that came to mind. It reminded me of that time Sophomore year I was singing a solo in Eleanor Rigby for Nights of Broadway, forgot the words, and sang something to the effect of "Eleanor Rigby, lays in the grass by her house while she waits for the boy." Oh mercy. But I will tell you, I have a way with coming up with words on the spot, even if they are wrong. Then, after I finished, I went to take the guitar off, bopped it on the ceiling (they were low ceilings, people), almost cried of embarrassment and worry that I damaged
Ellie Ellen's guitar, and ran back to my seat to chug my chai latte before I ruined anything else. My suave and collected manner is really shinning over here in Chester.
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| Erica and Andi. Cuteness! |
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| Adrienne and myself, pre embarrassing guitar saga. |
Yesterday, a few of us were wanting to explore more of Chester, and decided to hit up Cheshire Oaks, a huge outdoor outlet shopping center. Oh my lands, was it wonderful! We walked into almost every store, and spent the whole afternoon loving life. There were these men with the most beautiful and distinct owls I have seen, showing them off and letting visitors pet them. I am not gonna lie, one of them looked into the depths of my soul and I cried a little.
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| Dad, this is for you! Spode tea pot and saucer. We almost bought it... |
If any of you know me well, you know I am quite the bargain shopper. Erica and I popped into the Columbia store to peruse the hiking socks, and I stumbled into the most amazing pink coat. Mind you, I don't really need a new coat, but once you hear this, you will agree with me that this was a must. This incredible pink coat is the kind with the inside lining that you can zip out and wear as another jacket, while the outside shell is the waterproof rain cover. The inside jacket has their omni heat technology that basically heats up as your body heats the coat. This coat was £26.65, but was originally £210!! I walked away one happy and satisfied customer.
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| A sweet baby waiting for his owner. We were totally creeping. |
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| We stopped in the Lindt store...Glorious. |
After hours of retail therapy, we ate dinner and decided to head back. The bus driver on the way to Cheshire Oaks said to take bus number 1 on our return journey, so we hopped on and rode along happily. About 30 minutes later, I mentioned to my friend Natasa that she should double check if we were headed towards Chester. As she walked back to where we were all sitting, she shook her head and said "No," then sat down. We all thought she was joking, and then when she said she wasn't, we asked where we were headed. She said "I didn't ask, I was in shock." Needless to say, we got off at the next stop, realizing for the second time since arriving in England, we were heading in the opposite direction we needed to be going, and had almost made it to Liverpool. Does this sound like my Wicked adventure to you?
We walked a short distance to a bus stop heading in the direction of Chester, and waved down Bus 1...only to have the bus zoom by and all 5 of us girls scream and yell at the bus to stop. We see the bus stopped a bit down the road, so we all start running as fast as we can to reach it before the bus leaves again. Right as I make it to the bus, the doors close. Talk about straight out of a movie. I yelled "WAIT!!" to which to bus driver opened the doors. I pant out "Is...(breath)...this bus....(breath)...heading to....(breath)....Chester?" When he said yes, we all hopped on and laughed and sang our way back home. At one point, my friend Hannah exclaimed "GUYS, I just found an Olive Garden mint in my purse!! This is the happiest day of my life." At this point, I just laughed and smiled, grateful to be on the right bus, and thinking of the many conveniences I take for granted back home. Like being able to drive to and from places. And driving to and from the grocery store when you have bags of groceries. Especially when it rains on the way home. Instead of walking home with bags of groceries in the rain, like Erica and I had the pleasure of doing today.
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| THE mint. Pure joy. |
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| Grocery store chronicles. |
Oh, how I am loving my time here. I know things are going to pick up very quickly with essays due and our travels approaching. But for now, relaxing and doing a whole lot of nothing is fine with me. Sending my love to my family and friends. Know I miss you all so much!
XOXO Cath
