Tally-ho!

This is late, but I warned you that it was going to be so don't be mad.
I hope this is going to be a long one, but I am so tired that I may give up half way!

Last week, nothing special happened. Work, frozen mocha's, physio, swimming, gym, work. That pretty much sums it up. On Wednesday we did attempt a group dinner which included strawberries and cream, salad, cheese-filled homemade bread, chorizo, and other random ingredients! A pretty good dinner!
On the Sunday before the one just gone, we held a surprise garden party for one of our friends for her birthday. Her birthday was in fact in February but lots of things conspired against us between then and now! We lured her to the Merrill garden by saying another friend needed her for her photography class...how sneaky. The roommate and I had spent the previous evening (not doing work as we had to lie and say we were doing to avoid hanging out with said birthday girl) making English trifle and lemon bars, along with more strawberries and cream, cheese and meats, while the guys made iced tea and pot stickers!  She was very surprised, and didn't expect a thing so I would say that was a success:)

Now, onto the main event.
This weekend I have been getting thoroughly wet and sunburnt all at the same time for I have been white water rafting! I think it has been one of the best weekends that I have had this year. I didn't want to leave at all! I went on a trip organised by the recreation department and it only cost $95 including food! Bargain.
We gathered at 11.30am on Friday, met everyone, played some names games, got our wetsuits, packed up the mini-van and headed out. Our destination was the Kings River, in the Sierra Nevada Foothills just past Pine Flat Reservoir if anyone wants to look that up on google earth. On the way we stopped at a place called 'Casa de Fruta' which was this massive indoor market full of fruits, nuts, chocolate, anything. We all stocked up!

The journey was about 5 1/2 hours so we didn't get to the campsite, after winding around the reservoir for miles and miles, until around 6ish where we set up camp, cooked some food and hunkered down around the fire, making smores, telling stories and playing games! I have never properly camped before and fully expected to not sleep but I was out like a light, to the sounds of the flowing river and frogs croaking.


Saturday morning, up at 7am, made breakfast, wetsuited up (that took me a long time. I put it on backwards as well which caused some laughs but I couldn't be bothered to change it), then got back in the van to head 10miles up river where we were launching the boats from. There were 11 of us in total so we had two inflatable rafts with us. We doned our life jackets, grabbed an oar and clambered in. These rapids were a class 3, where 6 is impossible, so they were pretty choppy but ok for beginners! We had such an amazing time going down this river. My boat decided to go all British and our guides used 'tally-ho' for forward, and 'halt' for stop. In fact the whole weekend everyone was speaking in a British accent which was hilarious! I tried my American accent after being begged, but quickly shut-up! Along the way we stopped at some big rocks, climbed up about 12-15ft and hurled ourselves off which was pretty terrifying! It didn't look that high from the water! We stopped at an 'eddy' where we had lunch and floated around in the water. The weather was so so hot, around 80 degrees for the Americans and 29 for the British readers. The water was very cold so was pretty refreshing when you were splashed in the face on the raft, and thrown from the boat! And yes I am in these two pictures below if you can spot me;)

We got back to camp around 4, made water slides out of the rafts and just played around on the shore before taking a walk, playing frisbee and just messing around. That evening I was suffering from some severe sun-stroke so was pretty out of it until 9ish when the smores came back out;)
The next morning, we got up and did it all again! This time, everyone was a lot more daring and more people got catapulted from the boat over some rapids! We took an inflatable kayak with us as well which we got to take turns in. I was s**t scared of that but I did it! and I would do it again in a heartbeat! The next activity, I have no intention of doing again; swimming a rapid. We got to one set of rapids and one of the guides asked if anybody wanted to swim it. I said "hhelll no" but after seeing a couple of the girls in front jump in I decided I would give it a go. Unfortunately I decided a bit too late so when I was practically pushed from the boat, I was straight into the rapids, being spun around, swallowed up, spat back out, and repeated. Even though at the times where my head was above water, I just couldn't suck in air, just water! I was eventually rescued and pulled back to safety with everyone laughing at how terrified I looked! I was just grateful that I survived.

We stopped for lunch at the same place, had a round of 'helicopter' which involved spinning the boat around as fast as possible until everyone is in the water, got back in the boats and headed back to camp. We packed up and headed back to Santa Cruz, stopping at 'In n Out' in Fresno and again at 'Casa de Fruta', in between games of 'If I were a tree' and singing along to Backstreet Boys!

There is something about being in the absolute middle of nowhere, with people you have only just met but already formed great friendships with, no technology, no sense of time, just nature. It is so refreshing. The whole trip, not one person said no to anything, we all just grabbed hold of the opportunity and had the most amazing weekend. I thought I wouldn't be a camping person at all but I think I could be converted! I got used to the toilet that is a hole in the ground, no running water, the need to keep food bear proof etc, but, I was dreaming of a shower in the van on the way back! I think we all were! This trip made me re-focus on why I am here. It made me realise that I am in California to have new experiences, not just to study. It made me realise a lot of things actually; say yes to anything, being outside your comfort zone is when you have the most fun, new people are nice, and facebook and the internet isn't the world! There were some guys that pulled up on the second night, pulled out their guns, set up their tents, then got out their flatscreen TV and X-box, hooked it up to the car and spent the evening on that. Lame. You may as well stay at home. You are in one of the most beautiful places ever, mountains all around, and yet you are playing video-games. I couldn't help but laugh at them.

Anyway, I could go on and on about this weekend, so much happened but I won't bore you with all of it! Those who have to talk to me on skype will get those little gems;)

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.  

You name it, I ate it.

Thanksgiving has come and gone however I am still feeling the effects. I need a wheelbarrow. Or a gastric bypass to prevent this from happening again! Too much good food.
Although I have initiated thanksgiving feasts back at home due in part to having an American brother-in-law, doing an American studies degree and pumpkin pies are just so damn good, nothing could have prepared me for a proper American thanksgiving.

My roommate invited me to join in with her family for the holiday and I eagerly accepted. It wasn't until I began to hear stories about her family,seeing a drawing of her HUGE family tree and getting to know her a bit more that I started to become a bit nervous! I'm a quiet British girl. I love my family to bits but we are a small family (I remember everyone's name for a start) and we are not a particularly loud family either, especially my home with my parents. My roommates family are one big loud American one! She has 32 cousins. I have 5 and 2 of those are 1st cousins once removed (or 2nd cousins, i'm not sure).
I have to say that they all welcomed me with open arms and made me feel comfortable straight away, even if there were some members that I had no idea what they were saying because they talked so fast!
We left Santa Cruz on Wednesday night and stayed at my roommates house in Sacramento. The following day we drove up convoy style to her aunt's new house in the Sierra Nevada foothills. It was gorgeous! Huge stone fireplace, open spaces, country kitchen, neighbours a mile away, perfect.
The house was descended upon with grandparents, aunts, cousins, in laws, everyone, on her 'moms' side of the tree. Plates were lined up on the kitchen counter...yams, mashed potatoes, broccoli salad, cranberry sauce, biscuits (like bread rolls), a Turkey to feed the 5000, and that was just the main course. The appetisers went on for hours: cheese and biscuits, smoked salmon, salami and cold meats, pickled asparagus (the only thing I did not eat!), piped cream cheeses. I was full by the time the Turkey came out of the oven!
The 40 or so people held hands round the kitchen and gave thanks and then we dug in! The following few hours was a vicious cycle of eating, pain, lying down, eating, pain, napping etc. OH and also a long long game of hide and seek with a 7yr old and a 12yr old. I had forgotten that feeling of extreme excitement and twitchiness that you get when you are a kid and hiding under laundry baskets!
Dessert- 11 Pumpkin pies. How did I have room? I didn't. I forced myself to find room!
We drove home and then a few of us went out to a pool bar (as in snooker) for a while to 'work off' some of the food in preparation for the next day. Her dad's thanksgiving day. Lord help me.

But first, Black Friday. The sale day to end all sale days. After playing pool, it was about 1am so we decided to swing by Walmart to laugh at all the crazy people lining up to buy plasma TV's at a reduced price! I was shocked at how many people were there. It was like a marathon. People sprinting down the isles, snatching at DVD players, dragging small children who were half asleep to the mile long line to pay, this wild look in their eyes. I silently chuckled to myself at the insanity of it all. The picture shows the lines at Walmart at 1am!
I had been looking for a new camera for a while so while we were in Walmart we went to have a look at some to see what the sale prices were like. I found a really nice one for $200 but a guy came up behind me and whispered "Target are selling these for $99. I bought 3. GO". Go we went. I turned into one of those crazys that I had just snorted about. Running out of Walmart, jumped into the car, drove full speed to Target while praying that there was one left. Barely waited for the car to stop moving before I lept from it and ran, pushing past hoards of people with a similar intent. We arrived sweating and puffing with wild eyes in front of a stack of 200 cameras. I laughed at myself. While I line hopped to the front with my new toy. I feel like my dad.

Getting tired of typing so will make the rest brief. Day 2 was similar to the first day: food, and more food. The highlight was definitely playing with matches and nearly setting the house on fire, and my introduction to smores. Toasted marshmallows sandwiched between graham crackers with chocolate. It doesn't take a genius to know that this was like eating heaven. A 'slumber party' followed with my roommates 12 year old cousin complete with popcorn and movies! I have definitely been in touch with my child side this weekend! As if I hadn't eaten enough food, we stopped by 'A Touch of Britain' to buy maltesers, smarties, dark chocolate kitkat and mince pies. Although we don't celebrate this holiday, everyone being with family and friends made me feel a bit homesick, so I have decided that I am thankful for skype and facebook!

I am about to cry at the prospect of the coming 2 weeks. Too much work, not enough time. In the next 5 days I have 2 presentations, a 10 page paper due, and a Spanish composition and oral exam. Kill me, kill me now. Preferably by stuffing pumpkin pie down my throat. That will be a nice way to die I think. Or to be hugged to death by Soxies.