finalities

Anyway, I have less than a week til I go back to England. How do I feel? To be honest, part of me is bloody scared but another part of me is sort of looking forward to it. On one hand, nothing will have changed and I'll be back at my parent's house going crazy. On the other hand, I see many of my friends for the first time in 10 or so months if not longer (in some cases over a year). Mixed feelings really. I want to come back and visit my friends here but money means that may not happen for a while and I'm worried they will forget all about me!! Did I mention that because of my own disorganisation, my journey is taking four more hours than it should? Yes, I have to fly BACK to Phoenix to get my flight to London. Essentially, I am flying west to go east. Yep, stupid but not much you can do when you plan things a week in advance of leaving Flagstaff!

Since being in Washington DC, I have done a lot of sleeping and gone to a few museums to be a geek. I am staying at a friend's really nice hotel type apartment so I haven't spent as much as feared. I think I may be going to Baltimore tomorrow then on sunday somewhere else. New York is looking unlikely sadly due to finances and the sheer time it takes to get there would make it not that worthwile for a day trip. On the upside, NYC will always be there and flights these days aren't that expensive.

Strangely enough, I am going to miss the US, especially Flagstaff and NAU. Despite the ups and downs of the year, I had an amazing time and really caught the travelling bug. I want to go so many places now but as ever, money will probably make some of that simply not possible. I need a job dammit!!

Mexico

I am still alive. Hooray! In Acapulco at the moment which is really cool. Spent a few days in Oaxaca before this and got to Acapulco at stupid o´clock in the morning today. Spent a lot of the day at the beach attempting to get a tan and generally chilling out. It´s really hot and humid here. Prices are a bit higher than they were in Oaxaca but still, everything is far cheaper than the US.

Been staying in hostels and travelling on buses to get around Mexico. The current hostel is actually really nice and lets us have free internet access - bonus! You meet a lot of random types along the way though. In the hostel in Oaxaca, I ended up sharing a room with six other people - was a bit interesting. Here we have a room to ourselves (luck of the draw) which is cool.

leaving

On friday I leave Flagstaff, who knows if I will come back. I am going to Mexico for a fortnight with four friends, we're planning to spend a week in Acapulco then a week somewhere else that I can't pronounce. After Mexico, I am going to DC for ten days, during that time I am thinking of taking a day trip to New York (on my own though) just cos I'd really like to see it while I'm here. I then fly back to Phoenix to get my flight back to London (yeah, complicated way to do it).

It's weird that things are coming to an end here. I have a small problem with my dissertation, in that I have a bad feeling that I will get bored rigid by it. If I'm gonna muck up my degree, at least let me enjoy the dissertation and have the huge disappointment rather than let me be bored rigid and still have the huge disappointment. The end of term has stressed me out, I'm not in the best of moods. I'll update soon.

Vegas and more

I went to Las Vegas last week. Maybe it was because I'm under 21 and can't drink legally but it wasn't quite up to the hype. I liked it, definately an interesting place and all the tacky hotels amazed me. There's something about seeing people glued to slot machines day and night that is a bit depressing though. Stayed on the 27th floor of Circus Circus so had a pretty good view of the neon. Spent most of the time exploring the strip of Las Vegas with my sister. It was definately good to get away from Flagstaff for a few days.

I also went up to the Grand Canyon (again - 4th visit!) with my parents and sister. It's still there, still a hole in the ground and has lost most of it's novelty value for me now. We did go on a helicopter ride over the canyon which was really cool! It looks really amazing from the sky. Though did have to wear huge earphones and I got a bit motion sick cos the helicopter went up and down really fast. Bid the 'rents and Megan goodbye yesterday cos they went off to Tucson to see some family friends today.


I'm so in up the creek without a paddle at the moment.... Why? I have a load of crap to sort out with very little time in which to do it in, here is the list:
1. I have 3 and a half weeks in which to sort out where to go after NAU finishes.
2. I have done absolutely NOTHING related to my dissertation.
3. I have to figure out how to get rid of all the junk I have acquired over the last few months that won't fit into my suitcase.
4. I have to figure out a job for the summer.
Ok, listing it makes it seem a bit better. Yay! Maybe my list isn't so bad although that is a lot to do all the same.

Other things I have learnt this week:
1. 9 shots of tequila with no chaser is a really really bad idea, especially when you haven't drunk anything alcoholic for ages (I STILL can't remember some stuff from that night).
2. I am actually starting to feel ready for the return to England.
3. That my friends from the UK do remember my existance (yay) - thanks for the postcards, emails etc that you've all sent over this year.

SPRING BREAK

Spring break was Ok in the end. The Grand Canyon was very cold and damp but was definately an interesting experience. Laguna Beach was ace! It was warm, sunny and very relaxing. We went over to L.A and tried to star spot which was fun even though we didn't see anyone famous. Got very lost in Beverley Hills and accidentally found a house that was allegedly occupied at one point by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. We also found the Playboy mansion but that was less exciting. Got very sunburnt though and saw a few less hunky surfer guys than we would have liked. Also watched far too many crappy MTV dating shows in the evenings cos being under 21, there wasn't much to do as usual.

Have a lot of stuff to think about now though. The 'rents are coming over in less than two weeks, I have a load of crap work to do and I need to figure out what the hell to do with three and a half weeks between NAU finishing and heading back to the UK. Strange how the time has gone so fast, bloody scary if you ask me. Seems that it all happened without me paying enough attention. Such is life.

snow

I am breaking my usual habit of updating about once a week. Why? Well, I am very excited because there has been about 3 or 4 inches of snow which is more snow than I have ever seen before. It's much deeper than the snow shown in the picture (top left) but I needed something to demonstrate the presence of snow. I have gone camera crazy and taken loads of photos (as ever, email me/let me know if you want to see). I went sledding yesterday with a few friends and I think we are going again later. The downside of so much snow is I had no snow gear so had to buy snow boots and waterproof trousers, taking my spending money down further! Still, I love snow so it's all good!

Spring break is coming up. Escaping Flagstaff as well - hooray! The only thing is I need to buy new clothes (one pair of trousers is actually falling apart) but I really don't feel I can afford it with all this stuff to plan for. I can't assume employment over the summer so I need to hold money back to keep me going. Wimbledon always proves expensive with the train tickets and although I will get the money back, I need to allow for it.

theories on life

Some days I think that America really is one big conspiracy. Things seem to be working against you all the time and it gets irritating. For example, I've been cycling up and down campus to all my classes twice a week yet despite that, I don't feel I've made much progress lately in my weight loss campaign. Mildly troubling I must say because I don't want to come back to the UK and find I have put weight on, would be depressing. I think the food here is what isn't helping, the uni catering company go to very little effort to provide healthy food options or even a nice level of choice.

The NAU basketball team managed to make it to the Big Sky Championship and the games were this week. I went with a few friends, looking NAU tastic as ever. The first game went well and NAU won, the atmosphere was amazing. Unfortunatly, the second game didn't go so well and NAU lost despite the atmosphere still being really good. To be fair, if NAU won, there were rumours they'd be playing Duke University (Ivy League = posh ish) and if that had been the case they probably wouldn't have stood a chance.

Spring break is now just over a week away. I'm off to Laguna Beach in California with Antonia and Heather (Swansea uni people), will be nice to get away from Flagstaff. I really need a break of some sort though I've just got through midterm week (one more to go on Shakespeare) so there is less work to do now. I'm working on sorting out my dissertation still, things in that area are very much up in the air at the moment. It all depends on how much information I can get and how much help I can get over here in researching it all.

radical happenings

I did it, I got my ears pierced. My semi radical (well not really but lets overlook that) thing to mark my time here has been done. Wasn't as painful as I feared though in Arizona you have to be over 18 and have to have so much proof of age because otherwise you need your parents consent. Not even mentioned it to the 'rents yet although to be fair that's only cos I forgot.

Anyway, I survived the ball. My 'date' Allen was really cool although a tiny bit shorter than me and for some reason reminded me a bit of Jon. Had a great time doing crazy dancing with my friends. Considering I was 100% sober, it was great!

you shall go to the ball

Planning for the NAU ball I stupidly agreed to attend on saturday is sort of coming together. In the sense that I have a dress (courtesy of my Mum forcing me to pack it), two contact lenses (finally, I'm not one eyed!) and a purse. Unfortunatly I still need shoes of some sort and probably jewellery. Additionally, all of my friends seem to have started a 'Persuade Hazel to get her ears pierced' campaign. I've been vaguely thinking about it as the thing I should do to mark being here cos I don't ever want a tattoo (loads of people I know are doing that as their radical year away thing). The problem I always have with new things which involve forward planning is that I always have big doubts. It took me five months to get around to changing my hairstyle when I was 15 (that is the only basis I have for the preceding statement though). Anyway, there's a group trip to the mall on friday so maybe I will manage to buy stuff. In other ball related news, the whole prospect of the blind date with some Texan bloke is a bit nervewracking so a few shots beforehand will definately be on my to do list.

I'm feeling a bit less homesick than last month. I suppose now I have less time left here than I've been here for (if that makes sense), these things can be made more rational. Plus the 'rents and Megan are coming over in april and that might be helping things. Though not getting post or hearing from many of my friends from home for a while does get distressing when I let myself descend into those annoying homesickness phases. Still, got to make the most of these things while I am here.

2006 starts

I am back in Flagstaff having got the Greyhound up on sunday. Going by Greyhound was certainly an erm... experience. The lady sitting next to me decided to reveal most of her life story to me during the journey and then the couple opposite joined in to tell me about their trip to London. Among other things they asked if I knew Princess Diana, which castle the Queen lived in and what sort of training Mounties (who are Canadian by the by) went through. I had been looking forward to listening to some CDs and enjoying the scenery but alas, that did not happen.

Since I last updated I have actually done quite a lot so I will try to remember it all as best I can. The remainder of my time in Tucson was quite good, the couple I was staying with were great and really made me feel welcome. New Year's in Phoenix was Ok, I celebrated twice - once at New Year UK (5pm here time) and once at New Year Arizona. I went to this block party thingy with some friends, it was allegedly the 4th largest party in the US but being under 21 meant that I couldn't drink (I liked my new year 2005 from what I remember) so it wasn't as great as my friend had hyped it up to be. In fact it was a bit like spending new year at Hull fair!

After New Year, I went on a Road Trip with a couple of friends. We went to Cuidad Jores, Mexico via Roswell, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. Roswell was pretty cool, alien themed stuff everywhere, even the McDonalds had been shaped like an alien space craft type thing. The TV show "Roswell" wasn't actually filmed in Roswell, much to our disappointment so after seeing all the alien stuff we moved on. We didn't really see a huge amount of El Paso because that's where we crossed the border (by foot) to Mexico. Mexico was pretty cool actually, was nice to be able to legally drink again and have genuine Mexican food. The border town did remind me of a Spanish version of Camden Market with more beggers though.

I'm not on my own here in Flag which I had been a little worried about. Antonia and Theresa are also here so we've been planning a trip to L.A at the end of Jan. At least that's something to look forward to! I got all my textbooks today, spending too much money as a result. Mildly depressing!

Christmas

On a scale of one to bizarre, this Christmas was about an eight. Mainly because it was hot and sunny, on Christmas day. That is something you don't get in the UK. In fact it was like a British summery day except without the rain or threat of. That's probably the best thing about Christmas in Tucson, Arizona.

As you observant types will have noticed, I am now in Tucson. I'm going to try to keep this a brief ish entry cos I don't want to make my hosts feel like I am misusing their PC or owt.

Washington DC was great. Went all over the place really. Including the White House, The Lincoln Memorial, Arlington Cemetary, Jefferson Memorial, Capitol Hill and the Washington Memorial. It was really nice weather apart from being really really cold! I even went ice skating for the first time in ages and ages, I was quite good apart from falling over onto my arse right in front of quite good looking ice rink attendant bloke!

Tucson has been good as well. It's hot and sunny all the time, except at night obviously. There are also cactus everywhere, even Phoenix doesn't quite have so many. I think I have seen enough cactus to last me a lifetime but then I suppose I should expect it seeing as Tucson is in the main Arizona desert type area. The people I'm staying with have been really nice to me although I did have to go to church on Christmas Eve with them (first non wedding/funeral church service I've attended for at least nine years).

Off back to Phoenix on friday. From there I think I'm spending New Year with one of my friends although she hasn't replied to my email yet so that isn't confirmed. After that it's either back to Flagstaff or a bit more travelling depending on my mood and whether I can persuade anyone to come with.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was really good, was nice to get out of Flagstaff and go somewhere warm, ie. Phoenix. It's now well below freezing in Flag except it's dry cold so I don't notice it so much then I nearly catch hypothermia by sitting outside in the cold at 9.30pm with my friends waiting to see "Harry Potter". Ending up in hospital really isn;t on the to do list right now especially since I have to pay and stuff.

The meal was basically like a British Christmas dinner - turkey tastic! I made sure I took a smaller portion yet I still felt absolutely stuffed afterwards! Everyone around the table had to say stuff that they were thankful for, luckily nobody really minded what you said (I believe I was thankful I still had all of my toes). The pumpkin pie we had for pudding was much nicer than the pumpkin pie I had helped to make with the find a family people a few weeks ago - bonus!

Whilst down in Phoenix, we also went to see "Rent" with Zach and Eric. I'm not usually a musical type person but I really liked it. Zach and Eric, who are both Musical Theatre majors, both said that they liked it and they are fans of "Rent". We also went on a mall crawl the day after Thanksgiving, one of the busiest American shopping days of the year. We only managed two malls and I wasn't really in a shopping mood but it was good fun anyway. Zach and Eric hosted a mini fiesta on the friday night which was really cool, got very drunk though so I can't remember much. I do remember the entire room breaking into song at one point (everyone there was a music student except me, Antonia and Amber).

San Diego

As it was Veterans Day (a bank holiday), my friends and I decided that a trip to San Diego was necessary. After all, I had never left Arizona since arriving here, it was about time I went to California.

We drove there. Yes, drove. Nine hours of car fun! We drove to Phoenix first to change cars (Amber's dad lent us his very comfy Chevrolet Impala for the trip). We (well I) managed to make the CD player jam withing ten seconds of leaving the car park of the mall where we swapped cars. I felt bad about that the entire trip! On the journey from Phoenix to San Diego, I saw no less than three dead cows and several really big cacti. We were all knackered by the time we reached San Diego.

We stayed with Amber's grandma, Nonnie so free accommodation! Bonus! She was really nice, a combination of my Gran and the old lady who used to live diagonal to me when I was living in a maisonette (back in the day). She was born and grew up in Britain so welcomed me and Antonia (the other Brit on the trip) by playing "Rule Britannia" on the piano and forcing us to sing! Doesn't help that I don't actually know many of the words to that song!

On saturday we went to Seaport Village which is on the San Diego harbour front. There were loads of really cool shops. Including a hammock shop!!! Unfortunatly I don't have anywhere to put a hammock and I don't have the tropical island with whale music yet. Nevertheless, it was definately my favourite shop! There was also a really nice seafood restaurant. I had fish and chips, probably the nicest chips I've had in the US - they actually had some potato content!!

On sunday we went to Mission Beach. There were so many hunky surfer guys, it was fantastic to just lie there watching. There was this random guy called Ryan from Georgia. He was really flirty and very pervy, it took me absolutely ages to get rid of him! That kind of thing never happens to me normally, but we don't do younger (he was 19) and we certainly don't do guys with tattoos saying "Mom" on their chest!! I went into the sea with him (before I realised how pervy he was) but got soaked so had to go buy some dry clothing for the remainder of the day. He left once he realised that I wasn't really that interested and none of my friends were either. Apparently he found a more willing (and nearly naked) sixteen year old (by this point I had gone to buy dry clothing).

Note to self, next time someone digs a big hole in the sand, DO NOT volunteer to be the one buried up to the neck in sand. Whilst it was incredibly funny, it was also quite painful and really really difficult to get back out again! I had to go jump in the sea fully clothed in order to get the sand off me! Once again I was soaked, bad idea!! The sunset over the Pacific Ocean made up for being drenched and slightly cold though. Really really pretty, took some amazing photos even if I do say so myself!

The journey back on sunday wasn't half as exciting. We were all knackered, I slept for almost all the journey between Phoenix and Flagstaff! Going to San Diego was exactly the break I needed though. Right now I am trying to type up my research project from hell so it's back to earth with a bang. Fortunatly my alternating essay with this has kept me motivated until now so my happiness level is still comparitively high - yay!

plans

Guess who's off to San Diego, California next weekend? Yes, that would be me! Not only that, but will be cheap cos all I'll have to pay for is a share of the petrol (or 'gas' as I should say) and food cos we are staying at my friend's grandma's house. Bonus!

I'm never in a writing mood when I update this these days. Sorry for that but I will do my best anyway and I'll see how I get on. If this entry seems disjointed etc, then we know why.

Last week was Homecoming at NAU. Festivities started with a huge bonfire outside my hall of residence. I went with a few of my American friends. We took loads of photos (let me know if you want the link), I've even got a photo of me with some firemen - woo! On saturday there was a parade. The theme was 'Return to Mount Olympus', in other words anyone who was anyone was wearing a toga. In fact, it was toga-tastic! There was also an American football game, this time NAU's team was really bad and by half time I was truly truly bored so I left early. I was later told that things did not improve and NAU lost very very badly in the end.

I went to Sunset Crater again yesterday with my find a family. They also baked pumpkin pie, an American tradition apparently. I suppose as pies go it wasn't too bad but it definately isn't on my top five pies list or anything like that!

more adventures

Halloween is a big thing in the States. When I stupidly revealed the fact I have never been trick or treating, my friends decided that we would go. Me and fancy dress are not that well acquainted (aliens and pirates aside) so the whole prospect of dressing up was very daunting to me. In fact I didn't know what I was going as until the last minute.

Who did I go as, I hear you ask? Well, I dressed up as a typical all American cowgirl ( maybe I will upload the photos onto my MSN space). Amber dressed as Hermione Granger but Theresa decided she was too old and that she would be our chaperone. Anyway, we found a suitably residential area and off we went. My attempts at an American accent never got any better but then again, Amber's British accent made no improvements either. We got loads of sweets - enough to last a month if not longer seeing as I'm not a big sweet eater.

I had an appointment with my adviser yesterday. She dressed up as Minnie Mouse. It was very amusing and slightly surreal to be advised by Minnie Mouse. Not that it was particularly helpful seeing as I still have no idea what to do my dissertation on...

Went to Sedona on saturday on another trip with the NAU international office. It was actually really nice. The whole thing was a lot more relaxed because there was only twenty of us going so the lady running it was a lot more relaxed about everything. Sedona is really really nice. My photos of the place look almost like postcards. Of course, I did buy a few postcards for the obscure relatives I barely speak to just in case they are concerned about me. It feels weird that it is still sunny and warmish in late october, early november.

more stuff I've been doing

I went to Lowell Observatory on friday. For those of you not clued up on the world of astronomy, Lowell Observatory is the place where some astronomer type first discovered Pluto (courtesy of a telescope). It's in Flagstaff as well, I never realised that til I got here but I suppose you learn something new every day don't you? Anyway, because my eyesight is shite, I can't really see many stars usually despite the fact the skies here in Flagstaff are really clear. As a result, I was really impressed when I managed to see so much courtesy of the wonderful invention that is the telescope. For $3, we got a talk on stars (that I nodded off during), a look around some exhibit type thing and then to see in three of the telescopes. The first telescope was pointed at some constellation beginning with 'P' (I've forgotten anymore) that is sort of in a triangle shape, not that I can tell these things because to me stars are just loads of white dots. Anyway, the next telescope was pointed at the moon (I got really dazzled looking at it), it was amazing - you could see the craters and stuff like that really well. The third and final telescope was the proper big one in a dome thing (it even got rotated while we were queueing to look - how cool is that), it was pointing at some more stars (I have no idea what constellation though). It was great fun, even for someone like me who has a history of not being very scientific.

I joined a few of my friends for a wiffle ball tournament yesterday. It's like baseball/rounders but with a ball that has holes in it. As with most sports involving hand/eye coordination I was terrible at it but I did manage to hit the ball more than once - yay!

I like lists

Why I have had an unlucky week:
1. I have been set a 15 page research project to complete by the 28th October, yet it is only worth 100 out of 795 points (I get 145 for turning up) and although I've decided not to get too stressed about it, I am still hugely intimidated by the prospect.
2. I have learned to crochet but I keep adding stitches and can't be bothered to undo them all so now my scarf has a slight triangular shape going on.
3. I broke my reading glasses frame somehow and now I am the coolest kid on the block because my glasses are held together with masking tape, how embarrassing (not only that but going to get into huge trouble with the 'rents for this one).
4. I reacquired my random stutter in a class today - highly embarrassing because I didn't manage to say what I wanted to say when I was trying to say it (well that makes sense to me).
5. I owe my Dad rather a large sum of money for my rent yet for some reason, HSBC online won't let me transfer it across to him - grrrrrrrrrr!!!!

Still, I have loads of teabags now so if all else fails and life collapses around me I can always have a cup of tea. Tea makes everything better apparently. An American couple took pity on my tea less state and sent me loads of boxes of the stuff to distribute to all the Brits I know here at NAU. Bless them, very sweet.

news in brief

I went to downtown Flagstaff today. It is so much like those western film towns in some parts except slightly larger and with less gunfights. Anyway, there are loads of really cool obscure shops in downtown so we spent ages browsing around the shops. Some of the shops were quite like the ones in Camden so it didn't feel too strange. I did see the scariest rottweiler ever though and I'm not great around dogs at the best of the time so that did put a slight air of fear on me for a bit - I'm such a wuss!!!

list

I haven't really mentioned the stuff that I have found slightly odd about America so here goes:
1. The road crossings - on campus the traffic lights make peculiar bird call type sounds to signal that is safe for blind people to cross, what's wrong with a normal beep?
2. People keep thinking I am Australian, I'm not!!
3. The blank/amused looks I get when I use terms which are perfectly normal like corridor or jumper.
4. The fact that there really are people the size of airships who ride motorized scooter type shopping trolleys around Wal Mart.
5. The sheer size of portions that food in restaurants is served in - bloody hell, do they want me to put back on that three stone??
6. The university gym - intimidating cos there is stuff I don't know how to use!
7. Driving on a different size of the road, yes I am still looking in the wrong directions!
8. The blank looks when I respond 'you too' to the statement 'have a nice day'.
9. My American friends always crochet when they have nothing better to do and have promised to teach me, I always thought only old ladies did crochet...
10. The uni workload.

missing home

The main things I'm missing is the socialising with friends and drinking legally. That's not to say I haven't had some 'apple juice' on a few occasions but of course I am good so I may not have. Anyway, moving on swiftly, I've now heard from one person actually in Hull and I don't really mind whether people remember to contact me though it would be nice if they did!

Anyway, been hugely busy again with all my classes. Work comes in big loads all at about the same time but so far I've managed to keep up and the marks I've been getting back haven't been disappointing. In fact in my first English paper, I got 5.5 out of 6! I was well happy because I had been expecting a low mark as it wasn't written as well as I would of liked. I have to read 'The Jungle' by Upton Sinclair though and so far it is not a pleasant read, if you had to read it, you would understand.

Went to Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell on saturday with the international office. The dam is apparently the second biggest after the Hoover Dam but to be honest, dams aren't really my kind of thing and the grand tour didn't really start any enthusiasm! However at Lake Powell there was a beach so got to paddle and do a spot of sunbathing. Unfortunatly I managed to get a bit burnt - ow! Not sure what I'm doing this weekend, maybe I will go and buy myself a new coat cos it's getting a bit cooler and I currently don't have a coat. Since it snows properly here, a coat would probably be really sensible in preventing hyperthermia!