A Semester Abroad

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things" -Henry Miller .ig-b- { display: inline-block; } .ig-b- img { visibility: hidden; } .ig-b-:hover { background-position: 0 -60px; } .ig-b-:active { background-position: 0 -120px; } .ig-b-v-24 { width: 137px; height: 24px; background: url(//badges.instagram.com/static/images/ig-badge-view-sprite-24.png) no-repeat 0 0; } @media only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and (min--moz-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and (-o-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2 / 1), only screen and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and (min-resolution: 192dpi), only screen and (min-resolution: 2dppx) { .ig-b-v-24 { background-image: url(//badges.instagram.com/static/images/[email protected]); background-size: 160px 178px; } } -This Raleigh girl is jumping across the pond- A Blog detailing my adventures studying abroad in Lancaster, England.

[kmintheuk]

Holy shit The Queen died

[chonce]

i hope every time zouis fights their bus 1 tattoos burn like harry potter’s scar

[kmintheuk]

Mom+Mema+KMR take EDINBURGH

I was annoying my mom by taking pictures of her so she turned around hahaha

View from the hotel room!

The castle from the hotel room

Me and Mema! Haha so Scottish 

Me and Mema at Edinburgh Castle! 

I miss my pony riding days </3

The Church at Edinburgh Castle - so pretty and old

My Mema at Edinburgh Castle with the view <3

My Mom and my Mema in front of the Castle

Gorgeous view!

[kmintheuk]

MUMMA AND MEMA VISIT!

Can you tell I was excited?

I was SO excited. Just to see /my/ people again. Something familiar. And I was super exciting for all the traveling we would be doing together, stories to catch up on, and to get to show them around this new place that I now consider home. 

I’m going to upload separate posts for each place we visited, with pictures, to make it less cluttered. 

We had a great time together! I’m SO so glad they came to visit, I missed them dearly. 

[kmintheuk]

Favorite English word: Innit (or Enit)

Basically, we have this word where I come from as well, we just don't really type it phonetically like they do here. It's just a shorter form of "isn't it". You just say it really fast. But now I've gotten in the habit of typing it in texts and friends back home accuse me of being a Brit hahaha.  

[kmintheuk]

Hadrian’s Wall

One weekend, my Aussie friend, also on exchange for the semester, got a wild hair and got on a train to go see Hadrian’s wall. We’re both history nerds, and we were soooo excited. Like. So excited. We were chatting about it on the train, about the history of the wall and such, and these boys a few years younger than us were giving us the WEIRDEST looks. Kanye shrug. They missed out on cool history *hair flip*

So anyways, after like three different trains because the Sunday schedule of trains is sooooo confusing and unpredictable, we ended up in this adorable little town called Heddon on the Wall. I mean to be honest it was a little deserted. But still cute.

It was home to the longest portion of the wall that exists today, AND WE EVEN GOT TO WALK ON IT. It was one of the coolest things I have ever done. Thinking about all the history behind the wall and what probably happened right on that ground where i stood and on the wall that I walked on, was mind blowing. 

It was freezing, and windy, but it was SO worth it. 

The start of the wall!! 

The walllllllll!

That’s Sarah leading the way haha

It totally blew my mind how the wall was a few yards behind the fences of people’s back yards. This insane amount of history was just in peoples backyards! It’s part of why I love England so much. History is EVERYwhere. 

Then we took a bus to the village of Corbridge, which was insanely adorable and soooo English. I loved it. We wandered around the old buildings and gorgeous old church, and had lunch in a pub called The Golden Lion.  We then followed a trail that lead us (FOR LIKE FIVE MILES) to an old Roman Fort. We were disappointed to find it had already closed for the day and we had just missed it, (what kind of place closes at 4:00, I mean really) but the pictures we got from our walk were 100% worth it. I was GORGEOUS. It was almost unreal. 

It was even prettier in person. Breathtaking. 

All in all, it was a perfect day trip. 

[kmintheuk]

Holy shite it’s been forever since I’ve posted. I’m working on it now, sozzzzzzzz

[parkdonghoons]

thought i’d put my 2 cents in… purely for banter.

[kmintheuk]

THIS. this. I love this

[kmintheuk]

Favorite English word: Oregano

Okay so yes, buh, we have that word in America too. The difference is though, they pronounce it SO WEIRDLY HERE.

So I say (and I think most of America does the same): OAR-EGG-EN-OH with emphasis on the 'egg' part

But people here pronounce it: OAR-EH-GAH-NOH with emphasis on the 'gah' part.

I still giggle every time they say it...no idea why haha

[kmintheuk]

Ughhhhhhhh

Wagon Wheel just came on shuffle and now I’m all misty eyed while trying to make my supper. I do miss my home state <3

[jamesniall]

[kmintheuk]

Happy Saint Patrick's Day 😏

[kmintheuk]

Favorite English word: Banter

It basically means joking around with friends. It's very contextual. I really don't get why we don't have a word like this in America. I use it all the time now.

I also love Banter's many variations:

Bants

Bant

Bantasauraus Rex

I bank with Bantander

At first I just found it adorable but now I literally use it allllllll the time hahaha

[kmintheuk]

Are you much homesick?

Well, that depends what you define as homesick. I haven't really felt like OMG I WANNA GO HOME or anything.

But of course I miss home. I miss my family and friends, and I'm very grateful for Skype and social media to keep in touch. I miss my town, and random little things, like that special shade of blue of a North Carolina sky or seeing a Cardinal on my back deck. I miss barbecue and cookout and, pardon my being a basic bitch, but CHIPOTLE. I MISS CHIPOTLE SO MUCH. I miss being 'in the loop' of everything going on back home, instead of having to be filled in through Skype sessions and reading WRAL online. I miss the way people back home pronounce my name and the weather forecast being in a degree format that actually makes sense to me. (Seriously, I just see the Celsius number and think to myself, yeah I'm gonna assume that means cold).

But I don't miss these things enough to want to come home or anything. I'm having an amazing time here with amazing people, and with things like Skype, I don't feel too far away from those that I love. I think it's just all about the mindset you have. I know North Carolina and my family will always be home, and they'll always be there waiting for me :)

[kmintheuk]

what's your favorite and least favorite part about your study abroad?

Hmmmmm. Good question!

Least Favorite Thing:

I would say my least favorite thing about studying abroad is that EVERYTHING is more expensive. It’s not just the exchange rate or anything, either. Everything is just pricier, and it takes some getting used to and lots of budgeting. 

Favorite Thing:

I think my favorite thing about my study abroad experience is the people. They’re so genuine and not superficial, as well as extremely kind and accepting. I’ve made loads of friends and they’re all wonderful and so easy to get along with, I just love it. 99% of everyone I’ve met is so easy going, which is totally my speed. 

[kmintheuk]

Reminds me so much of home <3 this is a favorite of mine

[kmintheuk]

More ridiculous selfies. And the ridiculousness just make them even better / funnier. Love it

[kmintheuk]

A brief summary of my experience in Lancaster thus far through random selfies found in my camera roll. They made me giggle