One Month?!

One month!? where did the time go? oh yeah into classes....
It is finished! The horrible week of presentations, essay due dates, and tests is over! and I made it! yay!
Unfortunetly in my attempt to get all my work done I have accumulated a HUGE mess in my room which now needs to be cleaned up. sigh. So let's get you all updated on what's been going on.

As you know I had 2 essays due this week each were supposed to be 2,500 words. I learned a few things along the way. 1. take better notes. 2. take notes on every semi relevant thing THEN make an outline. 3. have snacks handy. 4. start the next one NOW 5. take breaks. 6. I have the best sister ever who is willing to read my essays 5 times and coax me into the word count I need.

I also had a test yesterday for my bone practical class. Which made me realize that that class was already over. Each Term I have two 4 week skills classes and this one is already done. I can't believe it I was just getting into the groove and starting to actually talk to my classmates. But I will have part two eventually.

I went thrift shopping! and spent more money than I should have but I got some sweet stuff. like a new  coat and some shirts and leggings. It was rather exciting.

We had amazing impromptu pancake making on Sunday.  We just pulled out resouces and made them and they were amazing. I was very happy.

My friends and I are planning some trips around Europe if we  can manage it. We figure we are here might as well go places. But more on that when they come around.

Anyway there isn't really much to say since I've been working hard on my papers and locking myself in my room most of the time. OH! my house is having a Halloween Party this weekend. Apparently it's a tradition. I doubt I will participate much in it but I will show my face and see how it goes.

I'm not dead yet

Hello! I'm not dead or anything. Just very busy. I have a lot to get done by Wednesday. 2 Presentations due Monday, 2 mid term papers due Wednesday along with my bone practical test. So just wanted to say that I'm not dead but the weather here sucks. Lot's of rain and wind and gloom which does NOTHING for my motivation. Anyway this is just a quick update to say that I'm still alive and haven't gone crazy yet. I have some plans for posts once I have some time. which of course will be after Wednesday. Until Then here is a cute picture of Stitch riding a turtle. Which has absolutely nothing to do with anything.

York Minster

If you see a photo a York you probably have seen the Minster it is iconic.

The York Minster is world renowned for it's stained-glass windows. Currently the East end windows are under restoration but they have in interactive exhibit on that side of the Cathedral that let's you get nose to glass with these amazing works of art. I was blown away by the detail in the stained glass. It is hard to see the depictions in the glass works from far away let alone the detail that is there. But this interactive exhibit was amazing and the restoration process blew my mind. Let me tell you I'm glad I don't have that job. Although it is probably insanely rewarding.
The Mason work of the Minster is just a breathtaking as the glass works. The outer stone work of the Cathedral is also being restored by a team of mason workers with incredible skill.
There are not many words that I can write about the York Minster you honestly have to experience it for yourself. As I was in the Minster I said to one of my friends as I stared at the vastness of the building while the organ played, "If this place doesn't make you feel spiritual I don't know what will."

These are the artist marks of the Masons working on the restoration

These are just a few of the photo's I took. I'm sure I'll be back and take more. It's free for York students! 

What's cook'n?

Hey guys! I don't know if you knew this but I have another blog that I haven't posted in awhile about cooking. http://domestick8e.blogspot.co.uk/

There will be a lot of posts here about my experiments in cooking while I'm here in York and my struggle budgeting, cooking for one, and making things from what I have available. If you are interested check it out! There is also a link on the side bar over there >>>>> under the blog archive.

Jet Lagged

I'm mean it's pretty much how I feel... perfectly.... 

Just a little stressed out and missing being there for people... 5 hour time difference is hard.

Later this week will be about my first day's of class.

A Hiking we will go!

The first full day I was here in York the Bioarchaeology department got together and went for a hike to Rievaulx Abbey. This was amazing for a few reason. 1. I got to go hiking in the English country side. 2. I got to see a really old abbey. 3. I met people from my department 4. I talked to my professors.

Let's talk about the English country side for a moment.Windy twisty roads to get to Helmsley were not the best on the stomach. No worries though I didn't get sick, someone else almost did before me so we stopped the bus. Helmsley has an adorable market square and is Know for it's castle. Obviously called Helmsley Castle. This is where we started our adventure. It's a 3 hour "hike" totaling 6.2 miles and climbing around 206 meters to the Abbey. .... they called this an "Easy" hike....

Helmsley Castle partway through the hike

We took "Cleveland Way" (I know right?!) as our trail. walking through fields full of sheep and horses. I'm not lying the horse actually got in our way sometimes and we could pet them! We dodged a LOT of poop too.

Horse. This one decided to walk on our path later.

Sheep!

I wish I had taken a picture of some of the "Hills" we climbed up and down... Ohio is flat so I thought of it more like a cliff. There were also some stone steps in the woods that come up to my knee that we had to get up. I also wish I had taken photos in the woods but I was worried about twisting my ankle on all the cobbles and I was already at the end of the pack. Needless to say I feel very unfit now compared to the English.

The Moors

We eventually did make it to the River Rye and to Rievaulx Abbey. The Abbey is an amazing Midevil Ruin. I was in awe and just kept doing "it's so OLD" and "I can touch it?!" The Abbey is like a park. dogs are welcome people can walk all over the ruins. There are really no restrictions, no guards telling you not to climb the rocks, no chains blocking things off. You can explore it as fully as you like. I LOVED it!

The River Rye

Rievaulx Abbey from a distance

Having some lunch

For more detailed information about the Abbey and the Hike here is a website. http://www.walkingenglishman.com/northyorkshire06.htm 

Now for what I learned about my department and York. Semesters in the UK are very short. Our first semester ends in December. We then have off until January and seconds semester ends in March. From march on we write our thesis and do research. The main professor for the bioarchaeology department is Oliver Craig. Apparently we are on first name basis with our professors. I had a nice chat with him during our hike since we was bringing up the rear and I was a little slow. 

I learned that their are only about 8 bioarchaology masters students, only 20-30 masters students in all of the fields of archaeology. They do this for a few reasons, first off all the class sizes are smaller and you can have more one on one time with the professors that way. They can concentrate more on you and you can't build a relationship. I guess it's not uncommon to hang out at pubs with your department and professors (as was evident by the stop at a pub we had when we got back to Helmsley). Oliver (or Oli) has an interest in Molecular biology of human remains, which I think is really cool. It seems that there are a lot more aspects of bioarchaeology than I expected.

Another great advantage of going on this walk was that I met other students. Most who went on the walk were professors or PhD students but there were a few other masters student who were from around York or from the UK in general. They have been very sweet and helpful answering my silly questions and correcting all the misinformation I had. Did you know it snows here? the internet said it didn't snow a lot. Apparently it does. 

Anyway I had a great time learned a lot and I really look forward to getting to know these people better and spend a year with them. It was kind of what I needed my second day in York. It made me feel better and got me some fresh air and breathing room. Unfortunately that also meant that I couldn't get anything done because every thing here closes at 6:00 so I had to wait another day to get groceries and a phone card. 

Here is another horse