And if you look to your left you will see...

One of the things I am most grateful for by studying abroad through BCA is the way that the programme provides several trips across the country to take us to we'll known British sites and increase our knowledge about what actually is British. Last weekend we went on the second trip of the term that took us Americans to the marvel that is Stonehenge, the windy city of Portsmouth, and the quaint town of Salisbury.

However, the beginning of the trip already held the signs of complete and utter disaster (not really, I'm just feeling dramatic in my writing today. Bear with me.) as I was unable to acquire my one and only necessity: a cup of coffee in the morning. Normally, such a lack of caffeine would leave me in quite a grumpy state, but on the contrary I was in the cheeriest of moods as we began the coach ride to the Salisbury planes. After a brief nap and several jokes about how old Stonehenge is, we suddenly saw our destination in the distance.

And on the right you will see a prehistoric mystery. Casually next to a busy highway. 

Soon enough, we were battling chilly air and fierce winds to make it from the coach to the small museum that attempted to reveal to us the meaning of Stonehenge. And even sooner enough, we were nestled on a tram that drove us from the museum to the actual site of the stones. As we approached, some BCA-er's and I continued to speculate the meaning of Stonehenge. Our theories ranged from a quaint image of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn sipping wine and having a picnic to the stones being a portkey to the Quiddich World Cup. We would soon be regretting our jests.

However, we soon forgot all of our theories when we finally got to stand before the stones themselves. I've always been interested in studying and learning about the mysteries and history of Stonehenge and, as a result, it has always been a hope of mine to one day visit the site in person. As an added bonus, the English weather decided to be absolutely wonderful and full of sunshine, blue skies, and green grass for the occasion. 

What is the meaning? We can't know...

Stonehenge is one of those things that you hear about so much and see so many pictures of that when you're actually there you kind of have a moment. It's like meeting a stranger and yet feel as though you already know them. I don't know, maybe this is just my sleep-deprived brain talking (I am currently writing this now after my trip to London.). 

Anyways, while we were enjoying the sights, we were also enjoying the fierce winds that could support you if you leaned into them and allowed for many cinematic photo opportunities. 

And next to the ancient rock formation you will find the American tourists

At this point we noticed a few grey could forming in the distance, but because of our time with British weather we didn't think much of it. We could survive a brief rain shower. And besides, the clouds we far enough away, we would make it back to the tram before the weather hit. Next thing we knew we were crouched next to a wall in an attempt to evade the hail that the Stonehenge gods were throwing at us. While most people would be absolutely infuriated after being soaked by the most awful weather possible, I couldn't help but laugh at the absolutely ridiculousness of the situation. And Rebecca and I kept laughing all of the way to Portsmouth. 

When we made it to Portsmouth, we were almost blown away by the wind and we were most definitely blown away by the views of the Southern Sea. 

Due to the high winds that we had faced all day we were unable to stay near the shore for long (they literally sucked the air from my lungs every so often) and we soon made our way to the hotel we would be staying at for the night. We were originally supposed to explore the Dockyards of Portsmouth but our plans had to be changed because of the weather that had forced the Dockyards to close. At this point we weren't sure what we were going to be doing in the morning, but we were simply happy to be in a hotel and lying on comfy beds. 

The rest of the evening was filled with clothing that needed to be dried via hair dryer, a few hours watching the Olympics and cheering on the Norwegians (this is what happened when you are friends with a proud Norwegian-American), delicious pub food, Cards Against Humanity, and lots and lots of laughter over the ridiculousness of the day and the hilarity of the photos we got (thanks wind). 

After a delicious (and free!) breakfast at the hotel, we made our way to the D-Day Museum at Portsmouth where we spent our morning. While WWII is historically important in America, it never had the same resonance that it had in the UK -- something that we discovered while visiting the museum and speaking with our BCA leaders. Being there and learning about something we all knew about from a culturally different perspective was really eye-opening and I'm so glad that we had that opportunity. Moments like that are, to me, what studying abroad is about. Not only are we here to have fun and explore but to also learn about a new culture (no matter how similar it appears to be to America's). 

Soon enough, we were on our way north again, but rather than taking the coach straight to Cheltenham it was decided that we would make a stop in the city of Salisbury to take a break, eat, and explore. Out of all of the smaller cities that we have visited (not that I've really been to many), Salisbury is my favorite. Aesthetically it looks like you would expect a lovely, English town to look like. Older buildings, gorgeous stone churches, cobblestone roads, and plenty of signs of the town's long history. 

We chuckled a lot at this

 

This is probably the most stereotypically English photo I have taken 

However, our favorite part of the stop at Salisbury was the chance to visit the Cathedral. 

Oh, and that last picture. That was take on our way to the temporary cafe that was housing one of the remaining original copies of the Magna Carta. Yeah, that Magna Carta. That was written 800 years ago. It was casually in a cafe where you could buy a scone and gaze upon critical British history and chew thoughtfully on both pastry and knowledge. I still can't get over it.

Anyways, we quickly booked it back to the coach and were soon on our way back to Cheltenham. It felt odd returning to Regency that night after being away for only a weekend. At that point I had officially been in England for a month and things like our flat were finally starting to feel familiar. However, things still aren't home-like yet so it still felt a little odd.

The school week began the next day and flew by quickly. I witnessed a student have a go at one of my lecturer's over Andy Warhol (don't ask, it was rediculous), edited a Renaissance text, watched the Olympic's Opening Ceremony (a week late, I know. But it was so, so wonderful!!), finished all I needed to do to reapply for my RA position back home, and celebrated Valentine's day with a dinner with my flatmates (however I made a point to ignore the holiday as best I could otherwise).

Yesterday I had the most fabulous time in London (my new favorite city), but I will save my description of that for another time. This post is quite long enough, and I still need to upload my pictures to my computer. But until then I plan on just taking it easy and planning out some essays that I need to write in the next few weeks (yikes!).

Love and rockets,
Emily