I'm so, so sorry I haven't updated this blog in quite a while! Since my last posts, I've been to Liverpool again, spent a week in France visiting a Wooster friend, and I've spent the past few days catching up with my Le Page friends and attempting to get some work done before the term officially starts on Monday! And it's going to be quite the term, full of projects, exams, and travelling. So I will post something about my travels around the UK and France soon (a relative term, coming from me), but this is just a general update post.
First, exciting news! I got a first in my archaeology module from last term :-D I feel quite accomplished, getting a top mark from a great university for archaeology, given that I haven't had an archaeology class in two years. So that was a nice surprise coming back from the holiday!
Coming back from a five week holiday is quite strange, I must say. I've been around York on and off throughout the break, so I've been in Le Page at random times when it was empty, which was a bit eerie. It was nice that people came back in waves, so I got to spend some quality time with different groups as they returned (I got back from France on Tuesday night, and since then, there's been a steady trickle of returning students). It was like we'd never left, we just fell back into the ease of life in York, which I had really missed it while everyone was gone. In general, I just love the banter and shenanigans that happen in Le Page, which is something I'll miss a lot back in America.
I have less than two months left, so being myself, I'm already getting emotional about leaving. It started in France, really. It was really comforting to talk to someone else who has completely adjusted to living in another country (one of my close friends has been in Paris since August), and we had some candid conversations about culture shock, our experiences abroad, and how reverse culture shock is going to be the absolute worst experience of all time. We've both developed rhythms of life in our new countries, and both have no desire to return to America (no offense). I've never been particularly fond of American culture (not that I don't appreciate living in a country where I do have a lot of rights and access to privileges, don't get me wrong).
I slipped into English culture without much hiccup, though my week in France was full of a few bumps and struggle that I assume are more typical of adjusting to a new culture, which I will talk about in my post about that trip. I think I lucked out in York, not to mention I've been an anglophile since forever, so I think that preparation was helpful to some extent. I feel so much more at home in England, and I constantly refer to Le Page and York as home, which I'm sure was confusing to my parents when we finished our UK tour and I said I couldn't wait to get home! I'm not sure if it's just my nature to be able to adapt to new environments well (Wooster, Interlochen, and Siena have all been pretty smooth adjustments, culturally), but I feel especially at home in York. So the thought of having to leave on the 10th of June is petrifying and something I don't want to deal with.
Joan feels similarly, and reverse culture shock is something we're dreading. Reverse culture shock is something I hadn't really considered before the Wooster pre-departure meetings where they blathered on about it, but I think I had experienced it before and hadn't realized it. Generally, it's a difficulty re-acclimating to your own country's culture when you return from travelling or living elsewhere, and you experience culture shock at home. And I definitely foresee it being far more problematic than culture shock on arrival. Dread is the first word than comes to mind, when I think of returning to the US.
And I realize I'm still here for nearly eight weeks, so it's completely pointless to get all worked up about this now, but the flight back to England from France was unexpectedly emotional for me. I think being in another culture for awhile jarred me into reality, that I WILL actually be leaving my home in England in a few short months, and I will have to get on a plane in Manchester with all my belongings shoved into one bag by some miracle, and say goodbye. Which is the opposite of what I want!!! And I think leaving with first years is making leaving seem like an even more foreign idea, as they're always talking about their next two years at York, their classes, their housing, etc., and then I have to remind myself that I'm not going to be here for it, no matter how much I wish I was.
So I'm going head first into my Summer Term, and I'm just going to yolo it up- it is my postcode, after all, YO10 haha. The nice thing about study abroad at Wooster is that your study abroad classes are pass-fail on your transcript, so while I'm definitely still doing work (obviously, I managed a first!), I don't need to concern myself primarily with academics (some people who know me are probably aghast at the thought of me not letting academics drive my existence haha). I can have adventures and spend time with people, rather than hole up in the library for six months straight stressing about work.
And I have some adventures planned! Starting this Tuesday. A friend of a friend in London had a spare ticket to see The Tempest at Shakespeare's Globe in London, so I took up the offer. And on top of the exciting proposition to see a play performed in the Globe (which has been on my bucket list for a while), Colin Morgan is in the cast! For those who don't know, he's the actor who plays Merlin on the BBC series, and I might be a bit of a huge fan of him. So I'll get to see him perform live this week!
I'm also finally doing my HOST UK visit, where I stay with a British family for a weekend. I'm going to Todmorden, which is a quaint little town from the looks of it! And then my best friend from home is coming to London for a summer study abroad trip, so she'll be visiting me, and I'll be visiting her (and hopefully seeing Les Mis in the process), and Joan, my friend from France, will be visiting me as well! Not to mention a surprise necessity to go to the US Embassy, so I'll be spending a bit of time in London in the next month. And who knows what other opportunities will arise? I'm very excited about my final term in York, and I'm definitely going to make the most of it :-)
First, exciting news! I got a first in my archaeology module from last term :-D I feel quite accomplished, getting a top mark from a great university for archaeology, given that I haven't had an archaeology class in two years. So that was a nice surprise coming back from the holiday!
Coming back from a five week holiday is quite strange, I must say. I've been around York on and off throughout the break, so I've been in Le Page at random times when it was empty, which was a bit eerie. It was nice that people came back in waves, so I got to spend some quality time with different groups as they returned (I got back from France on Tuesday night, and since then, there's been a steady trickle of returning students). It was like we'd never left, we just fell back into the ease of life in York, which I had really missed it while everyone was gone. In general, I just love the banter and shenanigans that happen in Le Page, which is something I'll miss a lot back in America.
I have less than two months left, so being myself, I'm already getting emotional about leaving. It started in France, really. It was really comforting to talk to someone else who has completely adjusted to living in another country (one of my close friends has been in Paris since August), and we had some candid conversations about culture shock, our experiences abroad, and how reverse culture shock is going to be the absolute worst experience of all time. We've both developed rhythms of life in our new countries, and both have no desire to return to America (no offense). I've never been particularly fond of American culture (not that I don't appreciate living in a country where I do have a lot of rights and access to privileges, don't get me wrong).
I slipped into English culture without much hiccup, though my week in France was full of a few bumps and struggle that I assume are more typical of adjusting to a new culture, which I will talk about in my post about that trip. I think I lucked out in York, not to mention I've been an anglophile since forever, so I think that preparation was helpful to some extent. I feel so much more at home in England, and I constantly refer to Le Page and York as home, which I'm sure was confusing to my parents when we finished our UK tour and I said I couldn't wait to get home! I'm not sure if it's just my nature to be able to adapt to new environments well (Wooster, Interlochen, and Siena have all been pretty smooth adjustments, culturally), but I feel especially at home in York. So the thought of having to leave on the 10th of June is petrifying and something I don't want to deal with.
Joan feels similarly, and reverse culture shock is something we're dreading. Reverse culture shock is something I hadn't really considered before the Wooster pre-departure meetings where they blathered on about it, but I think I had experienced it before and hadn't realized it. Generally, it's a difficulty re-acclimating to your own country's culture when you return from travelling or living elsewhere, and you experience culture shock at home. And I definitely foresee it being far more problematic than culture shock on arrival. Dread is the first word than comes to mind, when I think of returning to the US.
And I realize I'm still here for nearly eight weeks, so it's completely pointless to get all worked up about this now, but the flight back to England from France was unexpectedly emotional for me. I think being in another culture for awhile jarred me into reality, that I WILL actually be leaving my home in England in a few short months, and I will have to get on a plane in Manchester with all my belongings shoved into one bag by some miracle, and say goodbye. Which is the opposite of what I want!!! And I think leaving with first years is making leaving seem like an even more foreign idea, as they're always talking about their next two years at York, their classes, their housing, etc., and then I have to remind myself that I'm not going to be here for it, no matter how much I wish I was.
So I'm going head first into my Summer Term, and I'm just going to yolo it up- it is my postcode, after all, YO10 haha. The nice thing about study abroad at Wooster is that your study abroad classes are pass-fail on your transcript, so while I'm definitely still doing work (obviously, I managed a first!), I don't need to concern myself primarily with academics (some people who know me are probably aghast at the thought of me not letting academics drive my existence haha). I can have adventures and spend time with people, rather than hole up in the library for six months straight stressing about work.
And I have some adventures planned! Starting this Tuesday. A friend of a friend in London had a spare ticket to see The Tempest at Shakespeare's Globe in London, so I took up the offer. And on top of the exciting proposition to see a play performed in the Globe (which has been on my bucket list for a while), Colin Morgan is in the cast! For those who don't know, he's the actor who plays Merlin on the BBC series, and I might be a bit of a huge fan of him. So I'll get to see him perform live this week!
I'm also finally doing my HOST UK visit, where I stay with a British family for a weekend. I'm going to Todmorden, which is a quaint little town from the looks of it! And then my best friend from home is coming to London for a summer study abroad trip, so she'll be visiting me, and I'll be visiting her (and hopefully seeing Les Mis in the process), and Joan, my friend from France, will be visiting me as well! Not to mention a surprise necessity to go to the US Embassy, so I'll be spending a bit of time in London in the next month. And who knows what other opportunities will arise? I'm very excited about my final term in York, and I'm definitely going to make the most of it :-)
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