Ah the '4 weeks left of the semester' mark has passed, meaning a lot of work combined with the emotion of leaving :'( it's all getting busy and stressful!
I've booked the end part of my post-semester trip- LA and NYC.. I've even got tickets to a screening of Paper Moon presented by its director and Tootsie with Geena Davis introducing it- both shown in old Los Angeles theatres! As a film geek, this is very exciting for me.
But I still need to organize what to do the fortnight before...

So in addition to organising fun times there's been stuff a-happening.

For Easter my room mate Sybs and I donned our Sunday best, went to Church and cooked a Sunday lunch

my melted egg

This week also bought some other niceties- I'm being awarded the 'Ed Wheat American Studies Award'! There's a ceremony tomorrow/Wednesday (for people other than me, it's not that special) which is quite exciting- an award! For me! I've never been awarded anything much before.. except a medal of enthusiasm at a sports camp the parents sent me to one half term.

I rarely touch on the academic side of my year abroad but studying at Southern Miss has been a privilege- there are always interesting lectures available which I regret not having been able to take advantage of due to class clashes or deadlines. In the last weeks there have been a Supreme Judge given a discussion, a renown Psychologist visiting and there was a panel talk on The Help: really awesome opportunities. In my classes I have been fortunate to gain unique perspectives on my subjects. In Politics & Protests we've had people from outside given talks- such as a young women born in America who was moved to a Middle Eastern country and rebelled against the strict, sexist, corrupt rule by holding fashion shows which were deemed illegal (I did pay attention, I'm just being flaky on the details as I don't think I've got authority to publish them here), one of my post-grad classmates also worked for the Bush Administration during his election campaign, she's a noted liberal and involved in the Occupy movement so it's all very interesting and opening my mind- I'm learning a lot about the world. In Vietnam War we've had veterans speak and possibly may visit the nearby Camp Shelby to have an understanding of combat- all fantastic opportunities of education that I would not have necessarily gained in England.

Plus England is so tight with given people recognition- I'd never ever get praise in the form of an award there ;)

I may have only heard of Hattiesburg once I was told I was coming here, and despite the fact it's a small town there's a surprising amount going on.

Last weekend hosted 'HubFest' where stalls were set up selling food, drink and miscellaneous items (including jellyfish in glass paper weights :/ ) and bands played. It was a really lovely sunny day and I had fun.

Eight Things I've Learnt This Week

1. It's common in the south for people to call any soft drink a 'coke'
2. Southerners also have a stronger allegiance to Coca-Cola over Pepsi due to the fact it comes from Georgia (though I imagine if you go to North Carolina this changes)
3. Some swimming pools are salt water. I discovered this one thanks to Sybs splashing water at me whilst I was yapping away.
4. The writer of Eddie Murphy films Coming to America and The Nutty Professor graduated from USM in 1972
5. Cockroaches like hiding in cupboards and surprising European girls unfamiliar with them. Guys are no better at dealing with them then hysterical girls.
6. USM has some really great study abroad programs. I've had two presentations in classes this week and they've managed to make me want to go to countries I've never had interest in haha 
7. The reason American chocolate tastes so different is because it is made to have a higher melting point than European. Sybs and I discovered this through gifts we received (thanks to parents and grandparents)...all her Lindt bunnies look dead, then some investigation via google proved Hershey's is designed to stay solid longer. I'd rather have a wibbly wobbly Cadbury's bar
8. American's, or at least a massive proportion on this campus, love Doctor Who. I'm not sure how they all discovered it but I think I've met more people who really love it here than I have back home. A crazy amount. Some with Doctor Who tattoos...