Can I get a Yeee'haaa?

Prepare yourself. This is going to be loooonnggg. I won't blame you if you get half way and decide enough is enough! Though I urge you to keep going...maybe a line dancing video at the end will entice you to stick with it.

Finals were as horrific as I thought. Actually no, Disney wasn't. 100 multiple choice questions was actually pretty fun! And the research paper I had to do for my Islam class was great, I felt really proud of it. Spanish, now that was horrific. It took me the full 3 hours to do, and I have no idea what I ended up writing in my composition about what the best art form is. However I did get a B- in the course so YAY!

On Wednesday I packed up and headed to the airport, bound for Nashville, Tennessee, to stay with one of my friends I know from home. It was set to be a long trip as I had used airmiles to pay for the majority of the flight and so was airport hopping across the country! First stop, Las Vegas, where we had to circle the city for 45 minutes as President Obama had decided to fly in. Just before we took off from Las Vegas, to Dallas, we saw Air Force One take off which was pretty exciting! On the next flight we flew over the Grand Canyon which I had never seen before! A sprint through Dallas airport to a different terminal to catch the next flight, and I found myself in a hot, muggy, Nashville at 10pm!

The first couple of days, not much sightseeing was done as it was rainy and stormy, and my friend had a lot of other commitments at her university; Vanderbilt. This is a private university and is absolutely gorgeous! Buildings dating back to the 1870s gives it a Harvard kind of a feel. As well as all the posh kids walking around in polo shirts and chinos. You can definitely tell who belongs to a frat or sorority! We took a walk down frat row and the houses are just ridiculous; huge buildings with the American flags and their symbolic names in gold on the front, one was in the shape of a castle....

Vanderbilt has such a different feel to UCSC! I'm used to the forest and the ocean and the laid back, hippy lifestyle; whereas here, you are in the middle of a city, the buildings are ffarrr nicer, and all the people are a bit more... i'm not sure what the word is, upper class? hmm, i'll have a think.
Those first few days I got to sample some good ol' southern chicken, fried okra, lime and cardamon ice cream, Chick-fil-a (southern fast food) at a mall, and eat a corned beef omlette at a restaurant called 'Noshville' while looking out at Taylor Swift's penthouse.

I sat in on my friends Bible class where we listened to some hymns, including one that was to the tune of 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' which blew my mind. That night, it was her boyfriend's birthday party, so we all went down to this Asian  market/ canteen style restaurant, ate some Asian food, went and got ice cream (Lemon yoghurt and Brambleberry crisp this time) then headed back to campus. My friend, her hall mates and I played some drinking games in the hallway before heading over to the party at McGill, an accommodation building. It was exactly how it is in the movies! Kids spilling out of the building, plastic cups in hand, music blaring, the best type of house party! These don't tend to happen at UCSC so it was great fun meeting all her friends and sampling the local 'punch'!

The weekend came and this is when the sightseeing began! We went to the Parthenon which is an exact replica of the one in Greece. It looks a bit out of place, but the fact that they built it out of brown stone instead of white, meant that it wasn't as out of place as it could've been! It was a really over cast day so it made it very dramatic. We somehow managed to sneak past the guy on the front desk, so didn't have to pay to go into the building and see Athena in all her golden glory. All the statues were replicas; the originals being in the British Museum, and this gave it a slightly fake, and a bit of a cheap feel to the place but it was cool to see.

After walking 15 blocks in the rain, we got to an art gallery downtown where we decided we couldn't be bothered to pay to get in so hung out in the Christian store next door while waiting for a taxi back to campus! We just chilled in Starbucks (where I actually ordered and drank coffee!!!!) before heading out for our evening's entertainment; a Spanish/ Latin dance appreciation night to the theme of 'I Love Lucy', or 'Quiero a Lucy' to be exact. All the dance troops had gotten together to put on an exhibition of all the different types of dance; Salsa, Tango, Cha-Cha, Samba, Paso Doble etc etc. It was really good fun and everyone was really into it, as only Americans can do,  but I didn't really get the 'Quiero a Lucy' skits they were doing in between...awkeward! The acapella group that my friends boyfriend is in also sung, but in Spanish!

After this me and my friend went downtown to hit up the Wild Horse Saloon so that I could experience some southern nightlife. It was AMAZING. I want to go out and do this on every night out! We paid out entrance fee, got huge black 'X's on our hands so that there was no way in hell alcohol would be passing out lips without us being jumped and hauled out of there, and then headed into the saloon. Lots of people of all different ages ranging from 20 to 80, wearing cowboy hats, boots, eating buffalo wings, drinking cocktails out of glasses shaped like a boot, and occasionally getting up to line dance! We ordered some wings, sat and absorbed the place, then got brave and headed out to do some line dancing to country music we obviously were not familiar with! It was sooo much fun.  There was horse statues everywhere, including propping up the bar, and on the ceiling. I can't really describe it, so I shall let you see for yourself in the video below.

We took a walk down Broadway, the main bar and music venue street to soak up the atmosphere. Every place you walked past was just crammed solid, and live bands doing a mix of country and pop/rock; of course, I heard Journey and some Dolly Parton. It was a such a brilliant night! I just wish I could of afforded those $500 cowboy boots, but at least I made a friend...

Ok, that is quite enough. I still have two more days left in Nashville with activities including the Pancake Pantry and The Country Music Hall of Fame, but you will have to wait until next Sunday...rules are rules.

Hello, Hola, Bonjour Finals.

That is it. Winter quarter over. Apart from final exams and stuff, all the classes have finished and all that stands in the way of me and Tennessee are 2 exams and an essay. Which is obviously why I am on here, writing this blog!

My friend from South Carolina/England went back to university on Monday which was sad. We had had a really great time, especially Sunday. It was a gorgeous day so we got up and went down to the Boardwalk by the beach to ride some rides (actually we only went on these sky-ride things as they are so expensive!), play mini-golf, and chill out on the beach, working on our tans. Or in my case, trying to cover up my burns from the day before! We then walked downtown to stock up on all different kinds of nuts from the best shop in the world; Nut Kreations. They deliver anywhere just in case you wanted to go and peruse their website! It is alike a shop of pic-n-mix nuts and dried fruit. I have been in there so many times that the owner knows me personally! We stopped and got some dinner at a diner type place (all organic and natural of course) that provides trivial pursuit cards on each table in case conversation runs dry...we immediately turned it into a competition! I don't want to reveal who won, or who won mini-golf...i'm still bitter. Not even the thought of a deep-fried Oreo would stop me being a sore loser. 

At about 9pm my roommate and the guys came and picked us up and went to Seabright beach to build a bonfire in one of the pits there. It was such a calm and mild night and we just hung round the fire, making smores, playing guitar, and relaxing before the final week began and studying for exams was going to have to take place! All in all, a great end to a lovely visit:)

All that happened during the week was studying, and more studying. Oh and rain, lots and lots of rain. It started on Monday and did not stop once until this morning. When it rains here, you know about it. It sucked because all you wanted to do was curl up on the sofa with a book or a movie but instead you had to bundle up, get out the rain gear and traipse around campus to class. Though I suppose it meant that the sun was not taunting us from the library windows. It also meant that I had to battle the rain to get to a bone specialist appointment in Capitola. I got my roommate to pick me up though, then get frozen yogurt;)

Yesterday I finally got my zipcar account approved! Zipcar is like a car rental service but the cars are already in certain spot on campus (well they have them all over the country) and you reserve a car for a length of time online then  use your card to unlock the car and the keys are already in there. It is pretty expensive, $8 an hour, but is great if you just need to drive to the store or something. It was so liberating driving by myself around Santa Cruz! I definitely felt more like I lived there. Though it was a bit scary. For starters the steering wheel is on the wrong side of the car, and the cars are driving on the wrong side of the road! And the overtaking lanes are opposite, and you can turn right on a red light! What is with that? Surely red means STOP. Also, all these cars are automatic, they are go-carts essentially. I kept bashing my hand against the door as I went to use my left hand to change gears. Talk about negative reinforcement through pain. I felt like Pavlov's first attempt before he realised reward was a better way to go. Anyway, after that experience, one of my friends was house-sitting/ cat-sitting for her cousin in San Jose so me and the roommate got in her car and drove to go visit and have a 'study-session'. Yep, hardly any studying got done which is bad seeing as I have an exam tomorrow. Instead we passed the time rolling on the floor with the cats, names Aloha and Ahn-Nyeong (pronounce anyong) which mean hello in Hawaiian and Korean respectively, watching funny clips on youtube, and pretty much everything else. We got back at 3am. So guess what I have to do allll day... 

Oh well, Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday! I am so unbelievably excited y'all.  

Whale Blow Me Down!

Do you realise how hard it is to think of a suitable blog post title to do with the word 'whale' and it not be 'whale of a time'? I struggled with this one. I will do better next week, I promise.

 Crazy busy week. I mean really. I have been dreading this week for ages now as I had three Spanish exams and my Disney project was due in pretty much all at the same time. Stressed doesn't even begin to cover it. On Monday I had to memorise and present (some of) the history of Chile entirely in Spanish with no notes, no nothing. This didn't go as bad as I expected though my speaking skills in this language is pretty shocking. I can read it pretty well, and write it, but I sound terrible actually saying it. I can't roll my r's for a start, which my teacher thinks is hilarious. I sound like a demented cow trying to make the sound! This is why I think french would be a good language to learn; the accent is so much easier! Maybe this will be a summer project?
Spanish written exam on Wednesday. Blah. Hopefully a B, probably a C.
Then a spanish oral exam on Friday where my partner and I had to watch six Spanish movies, and prepare to talk about them in all tenses etc. It wouldn't of been so bad if the movies were any good. They all made me want to slit my wrists! I have watched a woman swallow 62 drug pellets, go to the toilet, then re-swallow them, a man try to plug the bleeding of his girlfriend from a botched up illegal abortion, and a 30 year old woman having a threesome with two 16 year old boys. Not cool. I'd rather be watching Castle, or How I Met Your Mother, or even Antiques Roadshow.
The Disney project was good; I have artistic friends who helped me a lot! Yes my friend did carve the tree out of clay, from scratch, he is that talented. I just glued the 'hair' onto it.

On Wednesday one of my friends from home, who is studying on her year abroad in South Carolina, flew in to come and stay for a few days! I was really excited to see her and show someone how gorgeous Santa Cruz is, but to be honest, I was a little apprehensive. I do not like mixing friends, or lives. It is a strange feeling having someone come and see a completely separate life you have created for yourself! We have talked about the year abroad for aggesss. I remember sitting on her bedroom floor in the dorms dreaming about our year abroad, and now we are living it, and she is here and I am here and we are over half way! Time goes so fast. But I digress.
It has been really great having her here! She has kept my stress levels down and we have spent lots of time chilling out, watching movies, going on walks, drinking and eating, and enjoying the sunshine:)

The two of us, and one of my friends went on a whale watching tour on Saturday morning which was AMAZING. Anyone who knows me knows that I am completely obsessed with whales, especially Orcas. To the point where my best friend had to talk me out of getting a tribal Orca tattoo (I thank her for that now!). I have seen Oracs in the wild twice but this was for a different kind of whale; the Gray Whale. This species of whale migrate from the Bearing Sea down to Mexico for the winter, and back again, straight through Monterey Bay. We clambered aboard our boat, Velocity, and set sail in the sunny, though slightly chilly morning weather, all nicely wrapped up and in prime position at the front of the boat. It wasn't long before we came across our first of 5 whales! The sense of awe you get when you see them so up close, and in the wild, is both humbling and euphoric at the same time. You just can't take your eyes off of them. The boat of 60 people goes completely silent while we just watch and wait as they come up for air before diving back down for 2-8 minutes. I started to get too snap happy and was watching the majority of the time through my camera, but decided to put it down after a while! Well, that was when the sea became so choppy that we were falling around all over the place and I couldn't keep my hands still! I got a few good photos, they aren't as active or playful as Orcas but it is great to see the famous fluke and heart shaped spray! None of the photos will be of us however. Stupidly, I didn't really put any sun screen on as I was cold and didn't really think about it....the consequence-sun stroke. We spent the rest of the day curled up on the sofa, playing The Office DVD board game, napping, trying to rehydrate and looking like traffic lights. My head is on fire.

She goes home tomorrow, so we are going to spend the last day riding rides at the Boardwalk and having a bonfire on the beach! That is, if my face doesn't cause any traffic incidences between now and then.

Bizness timmmee

Title of this blog is homage to a new song by a band that is new to me that I have just fallen in love with. It is perfect to listen to when the sun is shining:) It is called 'Bizness' by Tune-Yards so go check it out! Not to be confused with the Flight of the Concords guys' skit on Business Socks, though if you haven't seen that, go check that out too!

A very quiet week regarding fun stuff. Lots of work. That side of my life has not been quiet at all! I am almost finished with my Disney project with fewer tears and tantrums than I expected but I am glad to almost have that behind me! I will show you my wonderful creation when it is finished. I have to present it in section on Thursday and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday I have spanish exams which have been killing me. My friend who is on her year abroad in South Carolina is coming to visit on Wednesday for 6 days and I want to have as much work done as possible so running myself into the ground this week so we can relax next weekend: whale watching, beach, boardwalk, food, sun, it is going to be marvelous!

Today, three of us went to see a play called The Thinning Veil on campus, written and directed by my Disney lecturer. It is this new kind of theater style where it takes place in two locations, linked via cameras, microphones and screens. Dangerous. Very dangerous. Too many things can go wrong when relying on technology in a live situation. I was preparing for the worst but in fact there were not that many glitches, a few sound mishaps and a camera shutting off every now and again but I appreciated the style. The story itself was based on Greek myths; Homer, Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus, so of course there was a bit of incest, a lot of violence and strange, unpronounceable names. To be honest, I wasn't really sure what was going on half the time. I got the basic gist of revenge for murder, family feuds, war, sexuality etc but as it was told in a more modern setting there were injections of facebook, blogging, texting and random clips of George Bush declaring war on Afghanistan. There was quite a lot to do with the Middle East underlying the story; oil, weapons of mass destruction, rape and persecution. From what I got from it, I don't think my lecturer is a supporter of American involvement over there, and is not a republican! I enjoyed it though. It had a dark, mysterious mood going on with cast members dressed in black rags, hissing into the audiences' ears which is really really uncomfortable but was great for the play!
Speaking of the theater department on campus, it is MASSIVE. There are many different theaters, including a few outside ones, like this one that I came across in the woods:

Again, the weather has been really hot recently, so much so that I had the balcony doors open for a while, went into the bedroom and found a bird sitting on my roommates bed! He wanted some shade obviously. Well I need to get back to espanol. I can't wait for Wednesday and this week to be over! I will leave you with random flowers that I thought were pretty. Oh and check out the last picture and see if you can see the cyclist enjoying himself as he goes over the hill!