'Back to school, back to school...'

I can't believe it's been two weeks since my last post! And two weeks since our spring break ended. I have to admit that I was in Lala land my first week back to classes just as I had predicted. I turned two of my essays in on Monday and then tried desperately to churn something out for my final paper due that Friday. Basically that week consisted of me sleeping, drinking copious amounts of ineffective caffeine and staring at my computer screen. I don't know why I torture myself but by now it's become an unavoidable part of my writing process. I ended up unintentionally pulling an all nighter and watching the sun come up on Friday morning. I took a two hour nap then headed to campus to turn that last cursed essay in. Not my best work but at least it's over...for now. I have another paper due for that course in a month. Blah. I got to Skype the family Friday afternoon, or at least those who were already at my grandparents' house for the big anniversary party. It was awesome seeing everyone but it was a little sad not being able to be there.

Freedom, alas, is short lived. Due to my essays I let my readings fall far behind. I'm about half-way through half of the novels. I'm slowly catching up. I did go out on Friday night after turning in my paper. I finally got to check out Propaganda which is an indie/alternative club everyone seems to like. It was really fun even though I was running on 2 hours of sleep and was definitely ready for bed by the end of the night. It was also one of the loudest clubs I've been to and I swear my ears were ringing for days. I ran into some of the Broomhall boys but needless to say we didn't do much talking. We need to catch up boys!

I'm not really sure what I did last week. I think I spent most of the time trying to get my mind back in school mode. I was so out of it the week before that I ended up messing up my timetable and missing a seminar. Lectures were also a little messed up that week having 2 courses canceled. One of my teachers was stuck in Geneva because of the volcanic ash. Awesome!

Wednesday I went out with the house to Corp--a school dance night where you have to wear 'uniforms'. They go every week and I hadn't been a while so I decided to go. That place is so grimy but it was a fun night being with all of my housemates.

Thursday I think I read and spent the day planning another weekend trip. Thanks to connections and family friends, I'm staying with a family in Bath, England for 2 nights next Thursday and Friday. I actually leave Wednesday night after classes but since I'm getting in late I decided to stay in a hostel the first night. Emily also said she loved Bath so I think it will be good to have 2 full days there. May be I'll splurge and have a spa day in the natural hot springs, although it doesn't seem as fun doing it by yourself. I really hope the weather is nice. Saturday morning I'm taking a train to London to meet up with friends and heading back to Sheffield on Sunday. I predict an awesome weekend. Monday we supposedly don't have school so that will be homework day. I really wanted to visit Emily in Florence the weekend after but there seem to be no cheap flights that work on my schedule. It would be so much easier if Sheffield had an airport as well.

Friday, Paige and I walked around city centre. I wanted to go to the train station to buy advance tickets for York on Saturday since the website doesn't like my credit card. We somehow ended up getting kind of lost but got to see a new part of Sheffield. I did finally get my tickets. We also stopped at the 99pence store to pick up supplies for the house. We actually failed our house inspection because our ovens weren't clean on the inside and the floor wasn't mopped very well. It actually was mopped but someone walked on the wet floor with dirty shoes! Brilliant. Paige and I worked so hard cleaning the kitchen all for not. Although it could have been worse I guess. Our house seriously can't stay clean for more than a few hours. Oh and our shower curtains were dirty, and we have to put them in the washing machine with bleach. I swear they were like that when we moved in. So as you can probably guess I also spent the week doing a lot of cleaning for the inspection Friday morning.

Saturday, yesterday, I spent the day in York--about an hour train ride north of here. It was a beautiful day! The first day I walked around without a coat in England. My reason for going was to meet up with my cousin Lauren who was there for the day before going to Scotland. I got in before she did so ended up walking around the small center of this old, walled, Viking city. It is so cute and there are tempting little shops around every corner where I picked up a couple of things. I got some good deals though so I don't feel too guilty. Then I met Lauren at her hotel and we wandered until we found a place for afternoon tea. We actually ate at El Piano, a tapas bar that had all vegan friendly and gluten free food. Even the food was served in bio-degradable wood bowls. I had some amazing chai tea and hummas and Lauren had her first falafel. We caught up on each others travels and enjoyed the amazing smells from the kitchen. I had an open-return ticket so we decided to wander around a bit. We saw the beautiful abbey and walked on the stone wall. It was getting late so Lauren walked with me to the train station and waited until the train came which was really nice. I was about to step on when the doors closed and half the people were stuck on the platform. We didn't know what was going on but waited while they rocked the train back and forth. Very strange. They finally opened the doors and Lauren and I parted ways. The weather was still great in Sheffield and I enjoyed the 45 minute walk back home. The city was also buzzing with life as people celebrated St. George's Day. I have not idea what that is. I ran into Jon on the walk back and he was headed to our house for a pizza party. News to me. I guess Lauren and Daniela decided to make pizza dough and then everyone brought their own toppings and made personal pizzas. Paige didn't make one so they were nice enough to give me the extra dough and share toppings. Surprise, homemade pizzas certainly taste delicious! Thanks for making the dough ladies!

Today I have a scholarship reception for the American scholarship I got through Sheffield. I'm supposed to dress smart casual, whatever that means. I'll let you know how it goes. I think there are supposed to be performances so it sounds entertaining at least. Well I have a lot of work to do before my Bath/London trip so I should probably get to it.

Cheers!