Spring time makes me giddy and slightly stupid.

It's the end of my first week of second term of my second and final year at Buckingham! Time is a flying by. Still having a ridiculously good time, and  my new roomie has certainly made this experience even better. Danielle (aka The Honey Badger as she's been nicknamed after watching the silly YouTube video) is a constant source of amusement and laughter. This is the first time I've ever lived with 3 other girls and it is an experience to say the least. Certainly have had to be more accountable for my actions, including who I choose to date, as apparently everyone has their say! I'm not complaining as they only have my best interests at heart and let's be honest, dating a 20 year old boy from Northern Ireland was a terrible idea. The third break up (yes third) has finally stuck. I very intelligently deleted his phone number (well got my sister to do it) as my brother pointed out very accurately how horrible of a drunk texter I am, so this has prevented much stupidity. I do of course recognize his number now as he occasionally texts me but thankfully the phone numbers in this country are 11 digits long, so I haven't memorized it. But other than my boy drama I've had a great term! Highlights of which was spending St. Patty's day in Dublin and the weekly pub quiz.

Nicole, me, Dani, Brett and Mandy

 My term ended March 16th and I then had two weeks off. Ever since I got the term dates for this Uni in 2010, I knew I was definitely going to spend St. Patty's this year somewhere in Ireland. 5 girls (the girls I live with plus my sister) packed up my station wagon (they call it an estate, but it's a station wagon) and headed off on the 4 hr drive to the ferry. We had to drive through Wales to get to the port at Holyhead and I had no idea how gorgeous Wales is! And so many castles. I definitely need to go back there. We made it to the ferry on time but turns out, boats, not a great choice!! I knew that I would get motion sick since I've been on many ferries but Danielle did not and the poor girl spent almost all three hours in the washroom. My sister and I both get the same type of motion sickness, and having realized from going on a cruise in Dec 2010 that getting drunk actually helps, that is exactly what we did. We each drank 5 little bottles of wine en route... Needles to say, we were hammered. This proved almost to be a disaster, as I was then the navigator off the boat (someone else took over driving obviously) and the GPS seemed to be a bit confused! But we eventually reached our hotel/B & B after what seemed like the longest journey in history and out of relief, drunkenness, and whatever else was going on in Brett's head, as soon as she entered the front door she drops her crap and goes "fuuuuckkkk". The proprietor, Mary, was NOT impressed. Nicole, Mandy and Danielle had to talk her down from maybe kicking us out then and there. Apparently strict Irish Catholics do not like girls like Brett and I. She even made a comment to Nicole along the lines of "how do you put up with this?" in regards to my activities... Oh well! She ended up being SUPER nice to us the rest of the weekend as we were far from the worst/drunkest/loudest of her guests. We got up at a decent time on St. Patty's and made our way downtown with the intention of watching the parade, but it started raining and none of us felt like sticking it out, so we went to a pub and got to the drinking. And we kept that up all day. Nicole's brother, who lives in Sweden, came to Dublin as well with a friend and we managed to meet up with them also.We made our way down to the Temple Bar area at one point and it was frickin insane. Too. Many. People. We went in to the Temple Bar, had one drink and got the fuck out of there. I got grabbed like 10 times, some guy tried to lick Brett's face, and another started giving Danielle a massage, and there was nothing we could do about it!! We literally couldn't move!  Sadly my dear friends hit the wall around 7 and opted to go back to the hotel and get food, but at that point Brett, myself and the two boys started in on the Jameson's! It was a good night. It was funny seeing the change in the crowds out and about from the day to night. During the day the only Irish people to be found were behind the bar, but at night, all the tourists too tired/drunk (like the three girls!) were mostly gone home and all the locals were out. We nearly got in two fights thanks to some drunken angry Irish and Brett. All and all, it was a successful St. Patty's. On the drive back home we randomly stopped in the town with the longest name in the world. Those crazy Welsh! 

Town name

After getting back from Dublin I essentially spent the next two weeks lazing around, catching up on TV and eating... Made one trip to London to go out and visit Brett which was great. Love that city. Everything else is normal, hockey, school, and behaving like a typical student. Looking forward very much to some warmer weather! Bring on shorts and dresses! Was very jealous of the short heat wave in Ontario, and will fully admit to being happy when it got cold again. I am very sad to be missing yet another amazing Canadian summer, but it should be my last. I was actually considering staying in the UK, specifically moving to London, after I finish my degree, but it looks like it will just be easier to move back to Canada. It would be another 3 years to become a fully qualified solicitors here, whereas back home I should be able to do it all in a year and a half. The prospect admittedly makes me a little sad, as I'm not sure if after 2 years I'll be totally finished with this place. I love it here. But it wouldn't be the same since my friends would all be spread out. Scarily enough I may end up in Brighton if an opportunity comes to fruition, otherwise I'll definitely be looking to move to Toronto. Time for city living! If I end up in Brighton, I will be doing the exact opposite of most commuters, spending the week in the country and the weekends in the city. So that's my current thinking for the future. We'll see what happens! I still love being a student, but I am ready to start my career (about time eh?!). 


Hope all is well back home and from wherever else people are reading this!


Ash x