• I did end up going on an impromptu trip with some American friends to New Orleans for Mardi Gras on Sunday. Southern Miss students get Monday & Tuesday off as we're so close to NOLA and I'm guessing in the past, many years ago, class turn out after the weekend was minimal so they made it a holiday. I didn't actually see a parade though! I've spoken to a lot of people who went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and few of them saw one, or at least remember seeing one, so maybe it's not all that important. I visited the uptown area which I appreciated as I feel a bit French Quartered out... it's  fun there but definitely a bit of a tourist trap. The morning after we ate breakfast at 'Camellia Grill', a very American diner organised rather like a bar. I enjoyed a BLT sandwich and the surroundings..

•  Felix and I, the British among our circle, introduced pancake day to the other Europeans and Americans, unlike many other things of English tradition bought over here, Lemon and Sugar went down well. 

•  We've booked Spring Break. Us European girls are going to Texas... Corpus Christi via Houston :D March 9th, so two weeks time!

I've been so busy the past couple of weeks, we've all agreed there has been a dramatic shift in classes this semester, more enjoyable but tougher workload. I have been up to fun stuff too though

A week and a half ago was the Superbowl which was an interesting experience. The game itself was pretty boring but the adverts were fun (they really should be considering the companies are spending millions for half a minute) it was a funny experience, we watched it in Mugshots-a sports bar with an Orwellian amount of TV screens- and people really hooted and cheered at the commercials. I felt very British. I also ate a lotta food. Being off the meal plan has given me back an appetite.

just TVs within a couple of metres

Hattiesburg also had its own Mardi Gras parade pass through on Thursday. It was much more family orientated than I imagine New Orleans to be... I caught a bead necklace with my ear. Well, one was thrown and I was busy taking a photo and it landed on my ear, but I still think skill is required there.

It was actually a lot busier than I expected it to be! I'm not sure if I have it in me to go to New Orleans this Mardi Gras weekend... I know it's a one-time-chance thing but NOLA is messy-crazy on a regular weekday morning, every time I've been there it has been mental. I imagine Mardi Gras would be as shambolic as going through an antique shop on a skateboard, backwards, wearing a suit of armor, holding a fish tank. I'm happy to have a 4 day weekend though :D

Next Tuesday I will be celebrating pancake day. It's one of my favourite days, or at least it was until I found out that while Britain hosts a day of fun by eating pancakes prior to the 40 days and nights of lent, the rest of the world throws carnivals and parades. England, the land of not pushing the boat out.

I also came across some American Cadbury's items in Walmart. The packaging concerned me a great deal and if I saw them in a shop in England I'd imagine them to be fake.

American creme egg Left, British (I bought some with me) Right)

surplus stock from the 80s?

Anyways I'm having a lot of fun still. This semester is turning out to be very different to the previous but still very, maybe even MORE enjoyable! I'm already jealous of the students coming from Keele here next year.

I've heard from many people that the weather in Europe is terrifyingly cold and icy. I'm very glad I'm not at Keele, the land of cold, right now. I'm still quite unamused about the first time I visited it with the Mum, after I'd accepted an offer.. "brrr it's cold here today!" I turned and said to her, "Oh! It's always really cold here, didn't you know that?" she said with a mad grin on her face.

Well Hattiesburg certainly isn't cold, it's actually reminiscent of British mid-summer right now...

... with Manchester rain. We put our laundry in the dryer, ten minutes later Noah's Ark 2 began and we haven't collected it yet :|

 

But life is more than just weather... this week I've had a LOTTA fun (and did a lot of work, don't worry I am studying)

I'm so glad we got an apartment, it has allowed us to have people round whenever we want, the opportunity to bake cakes AND we can walk around our rooms past 9pm without a creepy note appearing on our door asking us to be silent from the people below.

My friend Jill asked me to try out an American accent, I'm not as good as it as I thought

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

back in the 'burg

After leaving my friend Claire's London apartment at 7am GMT and arriving in Hattiesburg at 2am CT- 24+hours of traveling- I'm happy not to get on a plane again for a while!

This semester Sybs and I have moved into an apartment. Technically it's 'off campus' but it's actually closer to where my classes are than when I lived in dorms... and considerably cheaper! $575 shared between two each month and water is included. That's at least 1/3 less than what I would pay in England! It's also nice to have a room to myself, windows that open and not to have the rather revolting meal plan forced upon me.

I'm quite please at how we managed to decorate the place, it came unfurnished but Walmart supplied us with a cheap sofa bed and lamp, plus some wall stickers were on sale in Barnes & Noble. Quite minimalistic, we decided it was vaguely 60s in style and I felt this was an excuse to dance the twist.

my bedroom view- we have a pool!

Shopping for food has been a bit tricky, one thing that is clear from the grocery aisles in Walmart is that Americans like their meals quick and convenient- 'Just Add ______' kinda thing. Fresh goods weren't so great; I bought a squash (which the cashier had to ask what kind of vegetable it was) and an avocado, both of which were overpriced and appeared to be wood disguised as food.

Classes started yesterday, I think I've got a good bunch- Vietnam War, Politics & Protests, Intellectual & Cultural History of America and Philosophy through Science Fiction. One of my assignment options is to start or join a political movement... I've got over-passionate about projects in the past so I think I should probably avoid that as I imagine it might reflect strangely on my university back home if they hear I chained myself to something. I think Philosophy through Sci-Fi may blow my mind a bit.

So I've been here less than a week, settled well and everything is going good!

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.

Thanksgiving

So last week I spent 5 wonderful days up North celebrating the American holiday of Thanksgiving. I was so glad to get out of Hattiesburg.. don't get me wrong I've had a lot of fun here, but it's a very small town and my assumption that there is little to do without a car in Mississippi has kinda been proved right.

In relevant fashion, I traveled via Train, Plane and Automobile across the country on Wednesday (I realised I actually was in 5 states in one day-MS, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Rhode Island (whilst on train) then arriving to Connecticut)

 I stayed with Alex and Harriet (and a friend of Harriet's) who I knew from childhood. They moved to America several years ago so it was a unique Thanksgiving in that it was mainly non-Americans in the household... JUST LIKE IN THE OLDEN DAYS! We also made headdresses

We had bucks fizz- or 'mimosa' by the American name (which I kept calling osmosis) in the morning. They got up so early to cook the turkey and followed a Delia Smith recipe. It was pretty darn amazing! Definately ate perfectly over these days and my stomach has not enjoyed returning to cafeteria food.

It was really interesting sharing details about college life in the South compared to Boston. A dry campus and visiting hours surprised them and I was surprised to discover Greek Life is pretty much a Southern + California thing. Having spent such an extensive time in one part of the country, it really opened my eyes to how absolutely different the other half is. This sounds obvious but you wouldn't imagine how different the cultures contrast.

Whilst in Connecticut I got to visit my Great Aunt Pauline. She was a GI Bride and moved to America when she was 18. It's a long way to go when you're that young and she still really misses England. It was really lovely to see her and I was surprised to discover she hasn't really lost her accent!

Sunday was spent wandering around Boston where Alex and Harriet live/study. I have really missed being in a City. I don't have the ability to walk around Hattiesburg, it's pretty flat, far from anything and with a slow pace. It was great for 3 months but I have found myself frustrated at how limited I am and really loved walking the streets surrounded by skyscrapers and people. It was a very beautiful city!

It was interesting being somewhere though where my accent was never talked about (in fact, everyone had accents!) Alex worked as a tour guide on a boat over summer so was able to give me a lot of interesting information about the city! I also got to drink tea, eat (non-American produced) Cadbury's and Wagamamas...it was nice to be able to indulge in British goods that I have thoroughly missed whilst exploring a new place.

Above is a video of some of the sites I saw (made using some awkward Ipod app called Videolicious hehe)

I've also added photographs to flickr- which there's now a link to on the side>>>>>