Week 20

This is my final entry. i did one before i left and i am doing this final one for my first week back at home.


I had a traumatic time trying to get home with delayed flights from Las Vegas to Philadelphia due to the tornadoes across America. This then led to me missing my connection at Philadelphia Airport. what was annoying was this: as we were on the runway at Philadelphia we had to wait for a plane to taxi out so we can taxi in and the plane that was coming out was actually the flight to Manchester i was supposed to be on. Why they couldn't wait 10 extra minutes is beyond me but then again that is the pleasure of using US Airways. I began to learn a lot about US Airways and how unreliable they can be. my 13 hour trip home soon turned into 36 hours. I spent the night in Philadelphia- a city i hope to never see again and then 11 hours waiting for my flight at the airport with Dave and Claire.

Dave and Claire are a lovely couple from Liverpool who kept me company. They were nice enough however i now know about all their pets [bear in mind they are retired!] and even their plasterers dog, Joseph, from 1986. Joseph was a little black dog who went everywhere with George [the plasterer] and one day... no don't worry i won't bore you with the details too! 


Exhausted wasn't quite the word when i arrived in sunny Manchester 27 hours later than i should have done!
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My first week home was strange to say the least. I arrived home to a new car- Mini Cooper and i got to see my horse after 19 long weeks of separation. I did have a slight problem because i'd forgotten how to drive but that soon came back after a few attempts- gave my mum a good laugh at any rate. 
I went for lunch with Jenny on the Thursday and got yet another new phone number, lunch with Nicola on Friday and out for a drink with Nicola on Saturday too. 
When i woke up on Thursday morning i was rather confused as to where i was given Sunday night i was in Las Vegas, Monday was Philadelphia and then Wednesday Fylingthorpe! In some ways it feels like only a week ago i was nervous about leaving for America and here i am 20 weeks later writing my final blog post back in my room.

I have no regrets about going even if the work load was hard and very demanding. I loved every minute of being at Juniata College and all the friends i have made. Would i do it again? Yes! 
Next year i hope to get an intern-ship through BUNAC or something similar for summer and we shall go from there. If nothing else this whole experience has made me realise i can do more than i ever thought i could before.

Final Goodbye Folks!

Week 19

Tuesday morning and I mean morning (12am) we landed in Las Vegas and for our transfers we ended up in a black limo! I wanted to shout down the strip as the driver said we could but no one else would and I didn't feel like looking like a muppet on day one. On the plane we had a real medical emergency which was scary as I hate flying but also exciting as the person didn’t die. I’m not sure what the emergency was.

In the actual morning we went to Roxy’s 50’s Diner for breakfast. I thought maple syrup and bacon was strange but then I got strawberries with my eggs..... 

The weather was warm but windy and given the pool was on the 25^th floor we decided to hit the strip and go to the Bodies Museum and the Titanic one. I went to Titanic and it was amazing. I made lots of friends in there too and the chief artefacts person thanked me for me “insight and intellect” into the Titanic Exhibit. Also, when entering the exhibit you are given a card with an identity on it of a passenger from the ship. I was given Mrs Joseph Peters, 3^rd class citizen on board the ship and I survived! I also got my photo taken on the stairs of the ship 10 minutes before it sunk. Photos were not allowed from guests but at one part you went out onto the deck and could see the starry sky and then the next room had an iceberg in it which you could touch to feel how cold it was.

After coming out of there being a survivor I treated myself to a yard of rum cocktail in a novelty cup. A yard was slightly ambitious drinking through a straw but nonetheless I didn’t let England down. Next we went to the Coyote Ugly bar for free shots which were pretty interesting having alcohol poured into your mouth from a height!

Wednesday we went to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay and yet again I made more friends in another attraction. This time it was at the Piranha stand rather than 10 minutes before the Titanic sunk. I love piranhas they are so cute and very misconstrued animals as they do not eat people, attack people in fact they are highly hunted fish from other aquatic animals such as otters. The Komodo dragon is clearly in love with itself as it poses for photos and even stuck its tongue out! From talking to the aquarium experts it was also suggested that I should go see Donny and Marie as it is one of the better shows on the strip!

From there we went to the CSI: The Experience at MGM Grand where we solved crimes. I picked a different one so we could compare the experiences. It was pretty interesting but I wouldn’t do it again just because it isn’t really my thing. Definitely glad I went though. I made a stop at the House of Blues and resisted the urge to buy anything even though I could have bought every bit of the Blues Brothers stuff.

I made a stop at the Bellagio fountains; I could stand there all night just watching them.

Thursday I headed out to get tickets for a show, I ended up with Jersey Boys for Friday night. I then spent the day by the pool and then the night we ended up going to the top of the sky deck at the hotel and then to Bite, the new show at the Stratosphere. It wasn’t my choice or my idea of a good show but the music made up for it. They used Judas Priest, Queen, Rolling Stones etc all the oldies which was good fun.  

Friday I saw The Jersey Boys at The Palazzo which was amazing. The audience were singing along and there was a really good atmosphere all round. The show is definitely worth seeing and worth every penny. I haven’t seen many theatre productions just Lion King, Jersey Boys, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Billy Elliot but The Jersey Boys is my favourite I think so far although Billy Elliot isn’t too far behind.

Saturday I spent the day around the pool and at night we went down to Fremont Street. We went to this restaurant which was actually very British so i had chicken Pot Pie which wasn't bad and very tasty! We stayed for 2 light shows and I watched a band murder some of the greatest songs ever written. i have to say Fremont Street attracts the strangest of folks! I don't just mean by costume but in general, i definitely prefer the strip but its nice to visit Fremont Street. The band did throw some Mardi Gras beads to me to add to my collection! 

Sunday i got up early had breakfast at Roxy's 50's Diner, watched a bit of Grease whilst eating then by 9:45am i was sat around the pool getting some sun. Sunday evening was spent eating at Hard Rock Cafe, I prefer Hard Rock as a place but for food Planet Hollywood has a better selection. 
Monday was the last day and i left Vegas in the morning!

Week 18

This week has been strange knowing it was my last week. 

Tuesday and Wednesday I spent my time packing, getting forms signed and trying to get organised for Sunday’s departure. Thursday I went up to the Cliffs that look down the Valley and the river. Jewel, Ukine and I went for sunset but unfortunately there were too many clouds but even so I got enough photos. It was a good way to end my last week here at Juniata College to be honest and I am glad I waited so long to go up there. When we arrived in January they were covered in snow and pretty dangerous to go see.

Naturally with it being graduation on the Saturday rain came and graduation was moved inside therefore I could not go and watch as I would have needed a ticket.

It is a strange feeling leaving Juniata College; I have made so many friends and had a wonderful time here. One semester really isn’t long enough but I feel I have made the most of my time here. I’m not sure which feels most like a dream: going home or being here.

Although home is not home just yet Sunday Rudi and I left Juniata College and embarked on an adventure to Philadelphia and then Monday to Las Vegas. This is my third time in Las Vegas but I am still excited to be here.

Having not done much this week its very short entry. Posted from the Train Station- another reason its rushed!

Week 17

This week was my last week of academics at Juniata College. Wednesday- Friday was spent working pretty much non-stop; and having to say goodbye to people which was hard. However, Friday I was free! I had handed everything in and was officially done for summer so naturally boredom struck! I was lost with nothing to do; I had basically done a 16 week marathon with work and now nothing. It felt so weird.

Saturday was breakfast at Tops Diner with my professor again and we also went up the mountain to see the lake to get photos. It was the same professor that took us last time, she is definitely someone I will keep in contact with and we have arranged to Skype each other too.

Saturday was also the last night Monica and I would have together so we went to Mimi’s for late dinner and our last Mangopolitan and then onto Memories, a bar we had avoided the entire semester and I am so glad we did. It wasn’t as nice as Mimi’s or as clean but hey, we tried it.

When I first arrived in Huntingdon, the other internationals and I went to Johnnys Bar, which was a dive and apparently that was the bar to avoid. On Saturday I took Monica in for a brief look around and it was pretty much a weed pit in there and you could barely see for all the smoke in the room. We left pretty fast.

Sunday Monica and I went to Tops Diner for breakfast as Sunday was the day Monica left. I hated her packing up the car and leaving it was very emotional and horrible to say the least. We have promised to keep in touch and we’ll meet again, I don’t know where and I don’t know when but we will meet some sunny day so it’s all good.

On Monday Phil and I went to buy Donna some flowers for taking us to breakfast twice and generally being a fantastic professor. Jewel and I in the evening went to see the Peace Chapel. The Peace Chapel was the senior gift of 1989 designed by Maya Lin who also designed the Vietnam War memorial. It is a long climb up the mountains and even a longer one when we got lost coming down. It was a hot day though so it’s not like we got cold.