Things I love That Exclude the Weather...

The past week in England, I've learned so many new things about myself and my surroundings!
     I've learned that when you run in a city like Bath, the top of the hill is always further away than it seems. I've been exploring the city and I can see this beautiful park from the top of my house. I decided to take a nice little run up that way and see if I could get to the top of the hill for an amazing view. However, I left my house and I live on a really really steep hill, and I always thought I lived near the top. Nope, that's false! I ran uphill for 14 minutes which is along way to be on the same hill! The, I reached the top and there was no view because it was a fenced in golf course! I still had a great run though, it's such a beautiful area that I didn't even mind the crazy hill workout.

Beautiful rose bush in the garden

      Perhaps the most interesting thing I learned this week was how to make apple juice. You probably don't know this but I'm volunteering in Bath by working in the botanical gardens in the park right next to me. It's so peaceful there and the people are all very welcoming and just happy! Even when it started to pour...the old woman said, "Oh looks like it's tea time!" I thought she was kidding until we all went into the little shelter and drank hot tea and ate cake! It was great getting to know the local people and doing something new and exciting. Anyways, making apple juice was very challenging. First you have to pick a lot of apples, like maybe 20 buckets. Then you have to cut them and make sure there are no worms or bugs in them. After that daunting process, you put the apple slices in a grinder...Twice to make sure the pieces get chopped up evenly. After that, you put the buckets into an ancient apple press to get the juice out. Although it took awhile to make, it was AWESOME! So rich and tasty, more like apple cider than pure juice. I loved the whole experience.

Me and Allison after bearing the pouring rain at pub night.

      At gardening, a plant bit me! I thought I got stung by a bee, but I didn't! I got a rash on my arm around these little bit marks from a plant's oil that bit through the skin! It was very painful, but the girls I was with said it happens to them all the time to them so I would be fine. So I guess I learned to beware of this biting plant in my future gardening skills.
     On Tuesday night, we went to watch a football (soccer) game at a local pub. Although the day before I thought I learned my lesson about the rain, I really didn't. Even though the weather said that there was a 0% chance of rain....We got stuck in a crazy downpour 20 minutes from my house! It was pretty miserable but I think I'm finally used to it. Along with this, on Friday we went out to a club and I didn't bring a jacket because there's nowhere to put it. And, I decided to straighten my hair so it would look a little better! It failed because as soon as we went outside, it started to rain. So I had a realization that I should always expect and embrace the rain, because there's no way around it and I just shouldn't waste my time doing my hair. At least now, I can say my lesson is officially learned which is a relief!

This is from inside the estate. It's a beautiful garden! 

     On Friday, we went on a field trip to the Bowood House, an old estate that is set on a 4,000 acre property.That was incredible because we got to walk around with our professor and explore the old, Victorian house for hours. I really like that every class goes on study trips on Fridays, because it's a great chance to explore England and see places in the country side that i would have no chance to see otherwise.

Bowood from the back, across the lake. It's so beautiful there 

    











     The highlight of my weekend was seeing some friends from Gettysburg! They came on a field trip from London and stayed for the weekend so that they could see Stonehenge and Salisbury and Bath. I saw Ryan, Nick, and Kelly and it was so nice seeing familiar faces after the past few weeks. I met up with them Friday and we went to a pub together, then they came over my house and we just out and talked. So that made my weekend very interesting! This is a picture of Kelly and I! I was so excited to see a sister of mine in a foreign country. It was so cool that we could take this Sigma picture will in England!

     The only thing I've started miss is the ability to drive. Even though I can walk everywhere, yesterday I went to the grocery store and had way too much to carry back with me! I had my backpack and even so, it would've been nice to just drive home instead of walking for 20 minutes. Perhaps next time I'll just take a cab! Besides grocery shopping, I love walking    everywhere because it makes the city so much fun to explore!