14 days in.

So I'm getting close to the half way point and it's been amazig.  We have been joined by our third partner in crime Brittani and will be losing Marias friends soon.
Last some of you heard I was in Segovia, Spain.  It was beautiful there. From there we spent a few dats in Barcelona, Spain and were there for the cities festival.  Maria and I checked out of few of those events and tried to get into the thick of it and join the locals.  The closing fireworks show was gorgeous and clearly had significance to those who from the city although we didn't understand what was happening.

From Barcelona we took an overnight train to Venice, Italy. Which is absolutely beautiful in the ancient city. We did a gondola ride thanks to a lovely American couple who heard our haggling struggle and agreed to split to cost with us. Ate pizza and gilato too.

Now to Rome!

5 Days in...

Ok so here is how this will work. I can't do large blog posts from my phone but I don't want to leave out those of you who don't have instagram or facebooks. So I'll just post a few photos when I can. Which won't be too often since my phone only really works with wifi at the hostels.

First stop was London.

I

Maria and I at Buckingham Palace in London

Then Madrid

 

One of the gates to the Plaza de Mayor in Madrid

Now Segovia

BABAO: British Association for Bioarchaeology and Osteology

I had written a post about the BABAO conference right after it happened but then I lost it since I'm doing these things from my phone now.
Bit anyway!  It was a great conference.  Educational and fun. I wasn't all that great at networking in person but I did networked the shit out of twitter. the company was great it was really strange to see and hear people you cited and read all the time give presentations. 
The first night there was a wine reception at Durham Cathedral which is no York Minster but still beautiful.  The second night was the dinner and cailade (a Scottish dance) that was a lot of fun. Let me tell you Charlotte Roberts really gets into it. If you are in her way she will run you over. 
Anyway it was a ton of fun and I'm glad I went. Now onto my next adventure!

Goodbye York

My time is coming to an end. 343 days, 3,642 miles, 6 classes, 8 essays, ONE Dissertation of 21,010 words, 100+ Skeletons, 152 pages, 2 panic attacks, 3 late night staircase chats, and of course One amazing house full of memories.
This last year has been a roller coaster of self-discovery, through dirt, tears, laughs, heartbreak, coffee, and adventures I've come to understand who I am and what kind of person I wish to be. I'm by no means declaring that I have a plan, I still have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. I'm just saying that I have grown and changed during my year abroad.
I've discovered...
That I'm not half bad at what I do and that I do, in fact, want to do it for a long time if I can.
I've discovered that I can survive many things. Including depression, heartbreak, a lack of self confidence and English weather.
Iv'e discovered new friendships  can grow fast and be just as strong as old ones. And that old friendships can span miles and be just as strong as when you are together.
I've learned I still suck at grammar but I'm getting better.
I've learned that when life gives you lemons you can make lemon-aid, but then you can also throw those lemon scraps back and demand something better. You can't always improve your life.
Everything happens for a reason,  and you should always take the opportunity to learn from it. I wasn't accepted to Grad School anywhere in the States. Why? well because apparently the Universe had a journey of self discovery planed for me... and I don't want it to stop. I never want this journey to end.
I don't want to say goodbye to York. I don't want to leave Constantine House. I don't want to leave my friends. But although I have to go, and I will go in a puddle of tears kicking and screaming, I know there is another adventure that awaits. I just can't let myself get stuck. (Besides the internet is a thing).
So this is my farewell to York and to all my friends. I will miss pub nights, game nights, movie nights and of course Holidays and my little family at Constantine House.
Now that I have been all sappy and those of you reading from York are undoubtedly crying. Stay in touch Y'all!
As for all at home. I have one more grand adventure left (EURO TRIP!) and then I'm coming for you! So be ready October 22nd! (but give me a day or two to get over my jet lag).

Love
Katie

Sense and Sensibility?

A few weeks ago some of my friends and I made a trip  to Chatsworth House. This is the house that they used in the Jane Austin movie Pride and Prejudice. It was absolutely gorgeous inside and out. I got to try out my new camera and it took amazing photos, even adjusted the light in the dark lit rooms for me. Like magic! We spend the whole day relaxing and having fun. Pretending we didn't have dissertations to do.

I almost DIED when I saw the library

My photos don't do much justice for actually being there. I took so many and so many are not included. The house and gardens are beautiful. 

So after a day off... we suddenly realized it was crunch time. Less than a month now until my dissertation is due. As of tonight I have just finished my the draft of my full paper. GO ME! I'm far from finished though. It's time for endless edits and rewriting until I have it as perfect as I can get it. I'm impressed with what I have accomplished here. I never thought I could do research like this, even with having done I.S., is such a short amount of time and to a degree I'm actually proud of. What's even better is I haven't exploded or killed anyone yet! Even with major hiccups like my Adviser telling me I missed an entire for of trauma which doubled my results and caused all my data to change, 4 days before I needed to be finished with my discussion chapter. I survived that and I've given myself a buffer (in theory) for any other problems that could happen (since they probably will) *knock on wood*.

I also had a visit from a Wooster friend this week. It gave me an excuse to get out of my room and do some things I haven't done in York yet, and share some things I have. I couldn't take all the time off and often had to leave her to her own devices but luckily she didn't mind. We went and walked the wall, This was my second time doing it (first being when in October when I first got here), the weather was much better this time around and things were actually green. We also did the York Dungeon and Betty's. You have to go to Betty's of course but the York dungeon was actually really cool. I would recommend it. It's not all that scary and teaches you a lot about the grim history of York in a really fun way. 

Megan and Brittani walking the wall

I'll miss this city

I didn't do it!

The moon was huge the other night

Before I know it I'll be packing up and getting ready to go on my Month long trip. What is happening?!

"Around" the World in 30 Days!

Once Upon a Time a girl went abroad. She spent a LOT of time doing school work. She worked really hard at it and it was great but it was also not the adventure she dreamed up. Then one day her friend Brittani and Maria had a brilliant plan! travel Europe for a month after school was done!

And that is exactly what we are going to do. For a month after school ends and I get kicked out of my house I'm going on a HUGE adventure! I figure I'm not going to be this way again in a long time so I had better make the most of it.

Below is my super amazing Google map that I made for our trip. The places we are stopping are marked along with some photos of places we know we want to see. Click around! Now you may look at this map and say that is a LOT to do in a month! But keep in mind. We are going to take a lot of overnight trains and that this is all just a mapped out guide. We gave ourselves 5 days wiggle room if we decide that there is somewhere we would like to stay longer or somewhere else we forgot. We also plan on fully immersing ourselves in the culture of each place. Oh and since I know you are all wondering. No we don't speak half the languages. That's part of the adventure! good thing I'll try anything at least once!

I'm so excited to have finally committed to this trip. It's what keeps me writing this dissertation. I can't wait to come home and tell of all my adventures.

Let's go to the Beach!

Mini post!

So the other day the graduate department paid for a trip to Whitby which is on the coast. Naturally my many of my housemates jumped on the idea of going to the coast for a day at no cost to us. In the middle of writing our dissertations a break was definitely needed. We had a fun day in the sun and just relaxed.
First we went to the Abbey because, well because we are archaeologists duh. Also it was in inspiration for the Dracula castle. Then we got THE BEST fish and chips I've had so far. If you are going to get fish and chips you must of course go to the coast! We spend the rest of the day walking on the beach and frolicking in the waters. I have now set foot in the North Sea!

Dissertation update: it's coming along. I have two chapters written and my word count is almost at half. I have all my lab work done now it's a matter of figuring out what it all means. .... goody....

Whitby

We like museums

Whitby Abbey

Mine and Ruth's feet in the North Sea

I risked my camera for these shots... SO worth it.