And this month I am happy to say that I WILL BE VISITING BIRMINGHAM FOR MY SPRING BREAK JUST AS I'VE PLANNED ALL YEAR!!!!
After working late shifts every Saturday night at a burrito joint in Isla Vista all fall quarter and with the help of some generous Christmas contributions from my family, I saved up enough to buy my own ticket to England...and at a very reasonable price: $586 total roundtrip!
(Sidenote: I have taken up a new job in retail since fall quarter)
I'll be done with my exams on Tuesday of finals week so I'll be able to get away earlier than I expected which allows me to spend some time with Paul's family before I go to Birmingham and catch all my friends during their last week of spring term before they break up for their Easter Holidays. Basically, the timing is PERFECT!
I'm going to be able to see a few shows being put on by the department and the theatre societies I was part of as well, one of them being one of my all time favorites: The History Boys!
And I will even be making a getaway to London to visit with Samantha Dakin and see my friend Orlando James play Hamlet for his Drama Centre third year performance.
There will just be so much to do and I cannot wait!
Now you're probably wondering what I have been up to since I got back to Santa Barbara.
Well, I've been adjusting for the most part. It was not easy to come back. At all. But the place I moved into had some lovely girls living in it which made it a little easier.
I forced myself to get out of my room and get involved with things. I auditioned for a student film, actually, and got cast in a fairly large supporting role. Through the film I made many new friends, and actually became closer with some old acquaintances from freshman year. It's called Until the Very Last Moment and will be premiering in April. You can stay up to date on the post-production of the movie and other works of the director, Steven Ray Morris, here.
That pretty much what I was doing in terms of acting fall quarter. That and I was in a Solo Performance class where we learned some of the basics of solo performance art. For my final performance I wrote and performed a piece about the Velvet Revolution in Prague.
The rest of my time was taken up by work and Psychology...and trying to stay up to date with everything that was going on with my friends in Birmingham through the wonder that is Facebook.
Youtube was also a good comfort when I wanted to watch or listen to some things that would remind me of England and my time there.
Like this little commercial that was playing on television a lot during my last weeks in B'ham:
This song seriously transports me back there every time I hear it.
This was a video that my friend Ed sent me the beginning of Fall Quarter and I ended up watching it quite a lot:
You can't get enough of British humour. Which is why I would also watch this music pop quiz show called Nevermind the Buzzcocks quite a lot as well. I even got one of my housemates sucked into it.
Here's one of my favorite episodes with Amy Winehouse: (if you have 30 minutes, watch it)
Don't worry though, I did do [some] work!!
I have also been staying involved with the Education Abroad Program by going to some meetings for prospective EAP students that want to go to the UK and telling them what to expect as well as offering advice. There was even a workshop that they offered to EAP returnees that were having a hard time readjusting to student life at UCSB. I attended with 5 other girls and it was basically a support group for those going through the reverse culture shock blues. We all went around the circle and talked about our experiences a bit and why we wanted to go back...I actually started crying. But it was a comfort to know that there were other students that were going through the same things I was.
Basically the fact that Paul was coming to visit for Christmas really kept my spirits up during the fall. It was probably one of my best Christmases.
Here it is in a nutshell...
IN THE BAY AREA:
Took him to Chinatown...
The Golden Gate...
Sausalito...
IN HUMBOLDT COUNTY:
Obviously, took him to visit Confusion Hill on the way home...
Taught him how to prepare crab for Christmas Eve dinner...
Took him on lots of hikes and walks ('cause I've realized in Humboldt, that is basically all you can do to entertain your guests...)
Showed him a small-town New Year's celebration...
BACK IN THE BAY AREA:
Took him to Fisherman's Wharf...
Took him for a ride on the streetcars...
And finally, Pixar Studios.
A very eventful and fun holiday, I think. It was really hard to say bye and go back to school. At the airport Paul said, "See you in a couple of months, yeah?" and at the time I didn't have my ticket so I tearfully said "Maybe," and he obstinately replied "No: I will see you in a few months."
I'm happy he was as hopeful for my spring visit as I was. I'm really glad it's going to happen now!
Winter quarter has been a very good one for me actually with the anticipation of my visit to England and I've been doing some theatre as well...more than I expected actually. I'm in a dialects course and a film/stage acting class through the Film and Media department and I've been cast in a few scenes for the directing class throughout the quarter. Don't worry, I WILL complete my Psych major.
It's almost 2 weeks now until I fly to Heathrow! Paul's dad has kindly offered to pick me up from the airport to drive me to Gloucestershire. There I will celebrate his birthday with him and Catherine (I somehow always manage to visit the Coates during events that call for celebration- Alan's retirement, Catherine's father, Harold's, birthday, and now Alan's!) :)
The next day he'll drive me to Birmingham and that evening I will be seeing The History Boys featuring my former Oleanna co-star, David, in yet another professor role.
I can't bloody wait!!!
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