Two Inches Away From Going Home...

No, that title was not some dramatic allusion to me hopping aboard a plane in a minute or two to fly back to the (snowy) cornfields of Indiana. Instead, it is an illusion to this terrifying sight:

Yeah, you see that! That's today's date. And two inches away is the date that we go home. I have ~8 weeks left here. And it is so, so bittersweet. I feel like I've just started to feel comfortable here in England and it's going to be terrible to say goodbye to the friends I've made and to the culture and to the country that I've grown to love. At the same time, I've been planning my classes for my Senior year, getting things sorted for a summer on campus, and having skype conversations that make me so excited to return home. (Plus, I've been ill the past few days with a cough that makes me want to be where things are comfortable). Now that I've passed the midway point of being here I now have to remember and plan for life when I get back home, which makes me excited for it. But at the same time, things here have the ability to be really awesome and exciting and full of experiences that I'll never have again. So, yeah. Life!

Anyways, before I started having existential crises about May 24th, I was having a really wonderful week! Last Monday was St. Patrick's day which was celebrated in Cheltenham by a group of American study abroad students, and probably the only four Irish people who live in this city. To start it off, two friends of mine and I made homemade Bangers and Mash in our flat, which, surprisingly, turned out really well! Afterwards, a larger group of us all went to one of the few Irish pubs so celebrate a best as we could.

With Guinness and good company

It's really always so much fun when ever I go out with the group! It's such a fun mix of personalities and it always ends in a good time when we hang out. 

The next day, I found another new favorite place in Cheltenham that I anticipate frequenting in the next few weeks or so. Let me describe it to you. It's filled with hipsters and people who aren't either 12-years old or elderly. Their music selection includes gems like Mumford and Sons and Arctic Monkeys. They serve coffee, food, and cider. Advertisements for live music line the wall. And there is a tattoo parlor upstairs. And, to top it all off, it's called GRUMPY WHISKERS. It's my new favorite and I spent most of last Tuesday hanging out there reading Paradise Lost and flirting talking with the barista. 

The next few days were filled with nights out with the flat, interesting lectures, creative writing, and Netflix documentaries. On Friday, I went out with a group of girl to celebrate one of their birthdays and we had dinner at one pub before migrating to the Frog and the Fiddle for some drinks. All in all, it was a great ladies night out...

And a fantastic preparation for STRATFORD-UPON-AVON. However, it was a little bit of a struggle to get there. GEtting to our first bus of the morning wasn't a problem, but, silly me, didn't realize that the bus driver wouldn't stop for or call out every stop on his route. So, because of that I was mildly panicking about how I would know where to get off and catch the second one. Thankfully, the bus driver was super wonderful and helpful and told us exactly where we needed to be and what not. Unfortunately, our second bus driver wasn't as helpful and Kelly and I ended up stuck in Evesham for about an hour before  FINALLY catching the final bus that took us to the home of my absolute favorite literary figure!

The whole day was just a series of wonderful Shakespeare-tastic moments, for seeing a wall full of plaques commemorating all of his play, to seeing a several hundred year old collection of his plays, 

Conveniently opened to Hamlet, I night add. 

walking through the house he grew up in and seeing the bed he was born in, 

This bed to be exact

to then go to the place where he built his second home and then see lovely sculptures commemorating several of his plays, 

Like The Tempest, my favorite!

visiting his grave despite the fact that I couldn't lie on it or place flowers upon it, 

I could barely handle the fact that I was 5ft away from the bones that supported the mind that created the texts that I love so, so much. 

and then standing outside of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to explore it. That will be at a later date!)

All in all, it was a fantastic day of Shakespeare loving! I only wish I had more time to see more of the buildings and to shop at the lovely little outdoor market near our bus stop home.

Unfortunately, almost as soon as I got back from Stratford I began feeling ill and I have been drinking copious amounts of tea and taking lots of cough medicine. The next week will be extremely low key as I have a lot of assessments that are due next week at the end of term. Yeah, you heard that right. My term is over next week! 

Wait, that also means that by the end of next week (or, technically, by the 22nd of May when I have my one and only exam) I will have completed my Junior year of University. 

And that means I'll be a Senior. 

SEND HELP. 

Until then...

Love and rockets, 

Emily