I have got very behind with updating this over the last few weeks but it has been a pretty manic time.
Since I last posted I haven't done much travelling but feel like I've done more in columbia and have to admit it's slowly growing on me. We visited Kensington mansion, a plantation just outside the city which was interesting but made me appreciate how good the national trust is and the sheet amount of old houses we have in England. We were only able to look round the downstairs rooms and it seemed like barely anyone visited it even though it was such a beautiful building.
I've also finally visited the columbia nickelodeon movie theatre which is an arty independent cinema in town with the nicest (and cheapest) popcorn I've come across. We saw Twelve Years a Slave which I can honestly say is one of the best films I've ever seen. I came out the cinema a bit of a wreck; it was so sad but also shockingly violent and watching it in the south just made it all feel a lot more relevant.
November also meant tigerburn time! Basically USC absolutely hates the other big university in South Carolina (Clemson) and so every year they build a big tiger and promptly burn it down to the cheers of the trusty gamecock fans. The whole thing is in anticipation of the Clemson vs usc game which takes place on 'football Saturday' - so catchy- during thanksgiving.
Also during November all my classes really upped their workload and I found myself with even more of a ridiculous amount of reading than usual, as well as a few early exams and some crazily long papers. So when thanksgiving arrived I was very much ready for a break!
We spent the holiday at Paige's in Greenville and it could not have been a more relaxing and enjoyable few days away...meals out, movies and manicures all round.
I also think over thanksgiving I finally turned southern. I ate turkey and marshmallow-covered-yams, discovered my love for the country singer Luke Bryan and at long last began to understand the rules of American football and actually enjoyed watching the match, mainly because we thrashed Clemson.
Returning back to campus after a week of being taken care of and fed delicious food was a harsh reality check made worse by the looming prospect of finals.
I had originally thought that having exams before Christmas would be pretty good, nice to get some out of the way rather than having everything stacked up on summer tests however I completely take this back - I hate finals!
Having multiple exams and papers while trying to pack my whole room up and pack to go home was not enjoyable but thankfully, with copious amounts of tea and red bull, the seemingly impossible was achieved and everything got handed in on time.
I'm now sat at columbia airport about to board my first flight to Washington which I have heard dreadful things about but fingers crossed everything will go smoothly and this time tomorrow I'll be living it up norfolk style.
I can't really believe that my first semester is finished. It has gone by SO quickly - when people tell you your year abroad flies by they aren't lying. There's definitely been high and low points and although I am (so so so) excited for England I know in January I'll be looking forward to coming back for spring term.
Although I definitely will not miss usc fashion choices...
