As of Wednesday I'd officially completed my year as a USM student. Since then has been the mixture of
-relief that work is done
-frustration of packing, sorting things for third year abroad, making sure I'm organised etc
-stress of everything that comes with a year ending, let alone one abroad.

A friend took Anna and I shooting in the woods on Thursday, which was loud and not easy. I tried one shot and it blasted me backwards haha!

A lot of people have left or are leaving tomorrow, I've said many goodbyes in the past few years and I've fallen into the routine of sucking in all the emotion and just hugging someone as if I'll see them in a couple of months. Maybe it's the British in me not wishing to express any sort of feeling. It'll probably hit me at some point and I'll be a watery mess. But I am excited about my last year at Keele! But I have also started having nightmares about waitressing.

Looking forward: I don't return to England for a month and between then and now I am camping in Florida, going to Vegas, Los Angeles then finishing in New York... so a road of adventure.

Looking back: my year spent at Southern Miss has been beyond all my expectations. I've gained so much and changed in so many ways, I can't even begin to explain. In addition to learning a lot about myself and what I've been taught in classes, I've learnt a enormous amount about British culture and what it means to be Southern. Life in Mississippi has been great, interesting, weird... and I've gotten two different perspectives of college living on and off campus. I would strongly recommend studying abroad to anyone, it's the best opportunity I've ever had and something I will remember and talk about forever...

Some pictures of my favourite memories

I've been rather behind on this! Everything got very busy all of a sudden... here is a rundown on different occurrences in my life

St Patricks Day
America with its Irish pride takes this day very seriously. I've never actually ever celebrated it before this year (even though I'm a quarter Irish) but I joined some friends for the occasion, donned some green and drank some beer in a couple of pubs. We also went to the Irish-Italian festival at the St Thomas Aquinas church, which hosted a lot of food stalls, music and fun stuff: it was so busy and had a good atmosphere. It was interesting in that it was attended by hundreds of people not members of the church- in England, it's incredibly unlikely any event would have such high attendees from people who are not members of that doctrine. Some of my friends that I went with who have had a Baptist upbringing thought it was really crazy to have alcohol served at a church event which also made me smile. There's more info on the link above

Assignments Galore
I've had so much work this past week and a half, the end of the semester is really starting to impend with assignments coming at me from every angle.. but I'm really not looking forward to the next 6 weeks passing, even if it does mean I'm free from work. I'm still having the best time here!

Exploring more of Hattiesburg
Even though the town is very small I've still found there's different places to explore. This past week I went to Hattiesburg Zoo, which was actually a pretty cute little zoo. I looked a bit like a plum when I pointed in the water and very excitedly said 'Oh wow! Look turtles!' to which the person I was with replied 'Oh, they're wild... they don't even put them there, they just appear' haha. We also went to T-Bones which is a pretty cool record store cafe, it also hosts comedy nights and gigs.

this monkey looks pretty sad but he did smile at us

Claire turned 21
So we went to some bars and had a party. It turned out to be a French themed party, with Anna and Tanja creating berets out of paper plates, foreign language music and a lot of guys drawing slim mustaches on. Sybs also baked a rather incredible olive and ham bread/cake thing.

Anna being French

Onions et wine

apparently French people don't hug but they aren't all French

So things are well!

So this week is turning out to be quite interesting. Saturday night we went to a party where 4 police cars turned up to break before it was even 11pm due to a noise complaint. Cops busting a party is a cliche! It was a pretty calm gathering and considering it was a Saturday night, not actually that late and in a student apartment complex, I was a bit miffed. British culture maybe very reserved and unemotional but greater allowances are made for people having fun.

Sunday, I went to a baseball game. I much prefer fast paced sports to the stop/start routine of American Football and the organ music makes me giggle. Southern Miss won against Troy- I'm not sure who Troy are or where they come from but woohoo! VICTORY!

Monday, I received an email from Keele University warning of toxic bead bracelets made from seeds that have a similar chemical structure to a warfare agent and thought 'cripes!'. Then a couple of hours later I received an email from USM warning of a bank robber roaming on campus... confirming that everything really is always bigger, brighter and more dramatic in the states. It transpired into a bit of a joke with a mock twitter page created, a collection of very precise details about the robber emailed out and I found it hard not to laugh when a policeman came into the library with a piece of paper I can only presume had a description of the criminal, holding it in the air as he looked at people. The man got caught after a 'foot chase'.

Wednesday I went to a basketball game. The stadium was pretty empty as a Greek (sorority/frat, not the nation) event was taking place, but it was a good game and we won again! Apparantly it's the most successful season whilst being in Division 1 that USM has had to date.

So that's my week so far...

second week

• The work load this semester is very big! I'm doing more per class than what seems the entire load of last semester. Hopefully I'll manage it ok but it appears holiday mode is completely over. All my classes this term have discussions in them which I'm happy about, as I've said before, the main thing I miss from British Uni are the seminars. My nerdtastic class 'Philosophy through Science Fiction' is very Doctor Who orientated which is quite surreal, I'm surprised at how popular it is over here.
• There's a fresh batch of international students that we've met. We had a pizza evening last week and also met some people going abroad next year. There was pizza with whole cloves of garlic on it which is the kind of thing I imagine my older brother would cook when he's had a bit to drink and is hungry.
• I've been trying out different classes at the gym since I've been back. I tried yoga which I think is overrated and only felt 'in touch with my body' when we spent a few minutes in the 'corpse position' (pretty self explanatory). I also turned up to a class called 'Stretch, Tone and Balance' where I was welcomed by the instructor but also warned that the rest of the group would be a little older. I was expecting people who've just had kids to people my mums age... when they turned up it was too late to leave and they were OAPs. It was rather awkward, but exercise is exercise I guess?
• There have been massive thunderstorms lately, in the middle of the night. It's very hard to sleep through torrential rain and lightening clashing right above you :| today I'm a zombie.
• This week has marked the annoyance that many internationals have felt when Americans describe spaghetti as 'noodles'. Sybs got chicken noodle soup and was almost angry when it transpired the noodles were spaghetti. Noodles apparently describe all types of long stringy egg/flour based goods.
• Here is me with a car unnecessarily big. I do not know the owner of the car but if they don't match the scale of the automobile, I'd be disappointed

Finals

The semester is coming to an end now. Last week we were wearing long sleeves and jeans, now we're wrapped in jackets and scarfs. Winter ! Classes are over but everyone is working for finals. Unlike my friends back at Keele, I still have five days until the semester is officially over and my last exam is on Thursday. It's hard finding motivation but easy finding distractions.

Noe and Rosie have been swapping style tips.

1. Last night we had a party at Tanja/Anna/Claire/Felix's new apartment in honor of the finality of the semester and Rosie leaving (emotional :'C ). We tried cooking a roast dinner but it turned out to be a proper student dish of rotisserie chicken, 'mac n cheese', ratatouille and stuffing- an odd combination. Then we drank sangria, danced and somehow, I ended up caroling their neighbours.

2. I can't really say that the four months I've been here (so far) has gone by quickly because it really hasn't and I think if I had opted to only study the one semester I would be satisfied BUT I am still having a lotta fun and I'm still meeting new people and gaining new experiences. Going home for winter break is going to be strange... the change in time zones, weather, briefly assimilating into British culture blah etc.  I just hope that I will be enthusiastic about returning again to Mississippi for January, but I'm sure if I spend one afternoon in a British high street during sales/watch the news/David Cameron does anything, it will be enough for me to head straight to the airport, regardless of whether my flight is that day or not.

3. There was a free SUSHI making class held at the cafeteria that Rosie and I went along to. The creations we made definitely were not especially authentic (steak sushi, hmmm), but we had fun!

4. Sybs and I got some belongings for our apartment next semester. It took a lot of self control (and Sybs firmly saying NO!) to not purchase a Hello Kitty toaster ($20? BARGAIN!) the greatest thing was getting a kettle, tea yay! I still don't own a mattress though :s

5. This is a rather silly coupon I was handed in Starbucks.

Autumn

HEY I've entered a photo contest which ends on the 15th- if you have Facebook, could you click on any of these photos (<hover over) and 'like' them? :) 

Rosie, Sybs and I

It's been a pretty eventful week all over town. Tuesday was voting day. The main thing everyone was really involved with was Prop 26, which would make contraceptive pills and abortion illegal in the state of Mississippi. It lost to a 56% No majority and it was very interesting watching it all as an outsider, from a country where the current government altering just the counseling requirements has caused outcry. We kept getting asked to vote/if we'd voted which eventually got a bit irritating as it should be obvious that non-citizens of the US are not eligible for US rights.

Thursday we went to Lazer Tag for Victoria's birthday, the second time in a month and I think I'm pretty lazer tagged out now... I always get a bit too involved with the game and competitive... I may or may not have yelled rude things at a random stranger that shot me.

Friday Sybs and I put the deposite down for our apartment for next semester, which we did with glee because the morning acted as a great reminder as to why we're leaving dorms. I spilled a bottle of bleach and the windows are screwed shut, so we basically had to spend the day seeking refuge from fumes.
We're also excited about being able to cook our own food. I thought the frustration of washing up and the luxury of not finding moldy items in the fridge would be worth the money but the meal plan is so restrictive and in all honesty is not the slightest value for money... there was a 'salad' this week in the 'salad' bar that consisted of grated carrots, marshmallows and glacier cherries. ! Errk.

In the evening we went Downtown to Eaglepalooza, a music event and pep rally. An act called Karmin were suppose to play but were replaced last minute. We got really cold and bought some hot chocolate which I'm certain had liquidated bananas in it. Bananas don't belong in drinks. It was a fun evening and the music was pretty good. And on the drive home we saw an owl! Just perched there, enjoying life. Sybs spotted it but didn't know the word for it so was like "Oh look guys! There's a big bird that is!... a brown bird?! Look! I know what it's called in French!'

The weekend was spent in New Orleans, but that's another blog post...

The differences

Here's me in front of the University. I took scenic photographs for the first time since I arrived here this week

I don't want to be a party pooper but I keep seeing 'Happy Guy Fawkes Day!' and 'Celebrate Bonfire Day!' randomly over the internet etc. and I want to establish that it's Bonfire NIGHT, Americans. And hands off our holiday! It's ironic that usually I am bored every 5th of November; eventually get annoyed with the fireworks and how rubbish they are and how they go on for days/weeks/months either side of the day, but this year I feel like I'm missing out.

On that note, this week has marked the closest I've come to being homesick. I've been so lucky in having met and befriended such amazing people since I've arrived and having so much to see and do that I literally haven't been bored in three months. But I found out that chocolate Advent Calendars are a European tradition and that really threw me off! For what I understand, a few people are aware of their existence here and some posh shops sell them, but for the most part, most haven't a clue what they are.

There really is a tremendous amount of less obvious differences between the USA and UK. I haven't met a single American that has seen or even heard of Bugsy Malone. Film nor school production. It's a musical, prohibition-era gangster film starring children with guns that shoot cream, starring tweenage Scott Baio and Jodie Foster, what more could you want? I don't know how this has managed to come up in so many conversations, but it has! And I'm not sure why I'm feeling the need to spread this news but IT SURPRISED ME.

The biggest difference definitely is how people dress. The only people who wear baseball caps in England are criminals and if any student ever wore one to a lecture, they would be ridiculed by the lecturer and made to take it off. I think people do generally express themselves more through clothing in the UK and I kinda feel conscious sometimes that I'm wearing things a little less conventional here. But when I dressed up for the gym one day in a baggy T shirt and shorts, my room mate Sybs said, with strong conviction, 'You're dressed American! You look 'orrible!'. I'm happy wearing my odd British clothes.

A real thing that is causing difficulties is my strong accent which is often a little too British for everyone to understand. I know my French friends have had trouble understanding me and Sybs, spent the first few days nodding and smiling to everything I said- but a lot of Americans also have to get me to repeat things and I've found myself at times talking in a ridiculous Keira Knightley-esq diction to actually communicate with people. Below makes me laugh and expresses a lot.





The other British people haven't had such problems, although the other person from Kent was talking loudly at a party and someone asked me what language he was speaking, haha. Maybe it's the Kent accent? I don't know? But my 'bonus bucks' (credit on my student card to be spent on campus) has been dwindled at Starbucks and there's something about how I say the name 'Maddie' when they take my order, that doesn't easily register...

I quite like Mattie, maybe I'll keep it.

This isn't even a real name..

Just writing noises now

I'm not actually offended by this all, nor even particularly irritated. I know when I return to England for Christmas break I'm going to be fed up that my accent is no longer special and soon get bored of all the things I'm missing slightly and will be eager to return for Spring Semester.

And American chocolate is so bad that even if Advent Calendars were big here, I'm not sure that I would buy one.

This is Halloween

This weekend we went to New Orleans for Halloween, which was pretty darn crazy. It's not the first time I've been there nor the last as we have a school trip next weekend too, so I won't go into much detail. Being at Southern Miss is a good location for its proximity to NOLA and it's a very different world to Hattiesburg.

But anyway, rather than tell of my experiences of Bourbon Street I thought I'd share the spooky occurrences that are very darn relevant to Halloween.

We stayed in St Vincent's Guest House on Magazine Street, around a 20 minute from the French Quarter.
A grand, Gothic building which greeted us with the charming words "St. Vincent's Infant Asylum" on the highest tower; turns out the place served as an orphanage in the 19th century! It really was something straight out of Guillermo del Toro movie.

Inside there are many photographs of nuns and orphans. I thought the kids all looked cute but they scared my friend Rosie, who had difficulty looking at them. I do admit that the black and white pictures of children receiving dental examinations/hair cuts were a little unnerving.

The building has also served as location for some movies and TV shows, the most recent being R.E.D which starred Helen Mirren, Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman (yet another trip which has bought the Oscar winner and I closer together) and also, the old flick Candyman. Which says it all.

Now I'm not one that really believes in the supernatural and I'm incredibly skeptical about ghosts- no matter how creepy somewhere is, the presence of ghouls is not something that worries me. In fact I'm not even one that really jumps at horror films and was really enjoying the unsettling nature of the place, pretty much unphased by the location and its' history, giggling at its nature and winding Rosie up....

Until I took a photo of an ORB! We were taking pictures of the place and I took two in a row, same conditions as each other, orb presence in one, gone in the other. As someone that enjoys photography (gutted I didn't bring a camera this weekend) I can assure you that it isn't glare from the flash, moisture particles, rain or anything the like

ORB!/ No Orb

EDIT: after looking closer at the no orb photo there's two faint ones in it, possibly indicating more ghosts but more likely indicating that it was some camera thing, chortle.

This is my face after noticing the orb in the pic.

(oh yeah parents, I dyed my hair red for Halloween, surprise!)

It made me laugh but Rosie did not appreciate it. We got talking to a guy that lived there and he said he'd sometimes come back to his room to find furniture moved around... Scooby Dooby Doo, where are you?

Another creepy happening was the theft of my pajama shorts! We went out for food, leaving many valuables, but everything was left untouched, indicating some odd body just wanted my PJ bottoms? We can't work out who it was because there were only two females in our dorm and they seemed nice (and also preoccupied with getting dressed up). I was pretty gutted as they were awesome shorts. Oh well.

Why we keep staying in accommodations that would be fantastic locations for horror stories, I'm not sure but the Southern Gothic reputation definitely has been delivered.

Fall Break

This week has been a lot of fun. I've done no work but it's been A GAS. We made friendship bracelets, I cut my room mates hair,

Everyone had Thursday and Friday off this weekend for Fall Break, rather than take a trip somewhere we thought we would explore Hattiesburg some more. Since arriving 6 weeks ago, we had only been Downtown once so we decided to change that.

Wednesday we went on a random adventure and wandered about. We found an antiques mall- Calico Mall, opposite Hattiesburg Amtrak station- full of strange and exciting things...

There was also a vintage clothing section downstairs which has some interesting bits and bobs...

...it's by the same people that run Polly Esther's Vintage Clothing Store which is on the highway right next to college and has possibly the best vintage clothing to be found anywhere! Lots of bargains and pretty items- a lot better than the above.

On Thursday we went to the House of 1000 Psycho's on East Pine Street. It was very creepy and good prep for Halloween (which I'm am very much looking forward to), there was a lovely warning before we went in that the weapons were real and we had to sign a legal waiver to enter (BET YOU'RE HAPPY TO HEAR THAT MUM?)

(The waiting lobby)

On Friday we took the bus downtown. It costs 50 cents a journey, which is roughly 30p! A child's fair in England is probably more than double that. But it does host a strange crowd, including a man that looked like the evil dude from Ghostbusters (who looked into my eyes and I'm pretty sure took out my soul) and a lot of people wearing T-Shirts that preached the apocalypse. We went to the African-American Military Museum and ate at the first place we had BBQ on our first visit ever downtown (2 months ago now) it was called The Shed but is now called the Bottling Company, which confused us.

There was also a music event in the park

Then we went to a monster making event at Southern Fried Comics, a comic book shop downtown. SO MUCH FUN! I started painting mine very ordinarily until I looked around and realised it was pretty boring, then realised I wanted to make an Elvis Presley...but alas, it was too late as Elvis never wore orange and I'd already started slapping the paint on, so I decided on the next best thing: an Elvis obsessed Clarence, played by Christian Slater, from the movie True Romance

Then we went to a pub called the Keg and Barrel, then we went around a few of the bars downtown.

Saturday and Sunday... I'm not sure what we did but we had FUN

Trip

Back from the trip this weekend, it was so fun! Had an amazing time.

We stopped off at the B.B King Museum on the way to lunch, which was a pretty emotional place. As a bit of a music nerd, I loved it but I think anyone would appreciate the place, it documents more than just B. B King's rise and influence but the connecting events that have had an impact on life for African Americans and overall was a great reflection of how society has progressed in one persons life.

I ate so much real Southern food. I had fried green tomatoes, alligator, elk, catfish and Mississippi Mud Cake (not all together). Alligator didn't taste of anything much, but then it was deep fried, it had a rubbery consistency and a generic white meat flavour. MS Mud Cake, which I ate at the Ground Zero Blue's Club, was possibly the best dessert I have eaten in my life, and I am not exaggerating. My roommate Sybs got their Fried Brownie slices and said they were equally great. Considering she's French, from a land of fine food, praise from her really is a stamp of approval.

We hung out at Ground Zero Blue's Club, in Clarksdale, also known as Morgan Freeman's club. It was a really awesome place, the band were amazing and as mentioned above, the food was brilliant. The customers over the years have been let loose with marker pens and there's all kinds of graffiti and names tagged across the walls and tables (and unlike scribbles that would be in anywhere in England, they were all clean, fun comments) The co-owner came up and wished us a good time which was really great! He said Trevor McDonald had been filming a documentary there a couple of months ago which I'll have to look out for when I'm back in the UK. He also told me I was a good dancer, which really, I think we can all interpret this as Morgan Freeman supporting my decision to take up a career as a dancer, right?

We stayed in old sharecropper houses.  Probably the most creepy, historic place I have ever gone to sleep- when we arrived we kinda decided how we were all going to be taken down if we were in a horror movie (very suitable location) but when we got back to them at night we were all so tired we collapsed before we had the chance to analyze the likelihood of local serial killers and had a rather fantastic night slumber.

 

And lastly we stopped off at the Delta. We sat and watched the river flow.

Overall I had an amazing weekend! Really has been amazing, I would recommend seeing anything of the above if you ever have the chance!

I have added photos from the trip to my MY FLICKR