The collection

As some of you knew, I have been collecting a pin from nearly ever city I've been to in England and in Europe.  I bought a United Kingdom poster around the beginning of my semester here, and I've been slowly putting the pins in.

So, with the exception of tomorrow's possible trip (which is a place so small I might not even get a pin), this is the end result of my UK explorations:

The finals and the final trips -- oh my!

In the end, my finals turned out okay.  Unfortunately, I had two exams in a row in the end -- drug design and genetics, and I made a bad call by doing unbalanced studying.  My drug design final was worth 88% of my grade, the genetics one 60%, but I was doing so well in genetics that I really only needed about 15% on my exam to get a decent grade.  I think drug design went well because I studied like a maniac, but genetics... there were typos everywhere in the exam, and everything I had studied wasn't on the exam.  It was like someone punched me in the face.

But whatever.  It's over, and I can't change the past.  If I need to, I'll retake it at UIUC.  I'm not happy with my performance, but I think no matter what I did, I would've been unhappy in some form.  C'est la vie.

As soon as my exams were over, everything seemed to be on fast-forward.  There was the Leeds Summer Ball, which turned out okay, but still fun.  Yanfen and I made a spontaneous decision to go to Cambridge to visit another friend (we literally had to make the decision the day before we left), and we spent about 2 days there.  I LOVE CAMBRIDGE.  As soon as we got there, it just felt comforting and like home.  It was absolutely beautiful, yet still had everything I loved about Leeds too.  I wish I could live there, because I thought it was that amazing.  However, part of that feeling might have been because of the people I was with.  As I've mentioned before, it's the people that make the trip for me, and our friend there was an AMAZING host, and I had a great time.

Yanfen then packed and left for Illinois, and I stayed in England.  Devonshire Hall, my home for the past few months, had its own ball.  We expected it to be pretty bad due to some complications in its planning, but it ended up being a blast!  It was the last time I saw most of my Dev friends, so it was also significant for me that way.

England has been an amazing home for the past 5 months.  I have absolutely loved my time here, and it does feel like a second home to me.  I've been trying to absorb as much as I can before going home this Saturday.  

This past weekend I went to Northumberland with a friend to do some hiking.  We spent Saturday in Durham and Newcastle, then Sunday and Monday hiking along Hadrian's Wall (wall built in Roman times, edge of the empire).  It was incredible, and for just three days, I feel like we accomplished a lot.  We stayed at a hostel called Once Brewed in between Hexham and Haltwhistle, and it's about a 1/2 mile away from Hadrian's Wall.  On Saturday it was a dark, drizzly day, so hiking was a little slippery at points.  For just following along a wall, it got amazingly steep at some points.  It was about 7.5 miles going from Once Brewed to Steel Rigg to Housestead's Roman Fort to Vindolanda and then Once Brewed again.  There was a pretty massive bull that was terrifying, and lots of sheep poo everywhere (complete with sheep to pop down some more).

Sunday was a beautiful day with sunshine, and we hiked west to Cawfields Quarry, then down to Haltwhistle following an amazing trail (about 6ish miles, but we took some side walks along the way).  Haltwhistle is apparently the geographical center of Britain, which was cool, but it was a tiny town.  Then we took the train to Hexham to see the Abbey, eat some fish and chips, then head home to Leeds.

I go home in just a few days... so I really need to pack, but I might take one last quick trip tomorrow on my own to Haworth to see the town where the Bronte sisters lived and see their house-turned-museum.  I'm just not sure how to get there exactly, but it should be fun trying, right?

?!

At this point in the game, I just sit in my room, look around, and think, "How on earth did I pack all of this 6 months ago? How do I pack it now?"

How do I pack up my life in Leeds into a suitcase and go?

We'll tackle that question later.  I just spend the past 3 days in Northumberland, mostly hiking along Hadrian's Wall.  Real posts to come when I've had some sleep.

Revision *sigh*

My history exam went fine.  And then I spent all afternoon trying to figure out if I could apply for a scholarship, and it doesn't look positive right now.  I tried.

I've been trying to study pharmacology/data analysis all evening.  Each time I study, I wonder why I decided I could handle a final year class in a major that's not my own.  (Which reminds me of a funny conversation I had with a British girl before my history final -- she couldn't believe I was an engineer and in the class, haha.)

Studying, especially when everyone else is done, makes me homesick.  The rainy weather and cold might also have to do with it.

I go home in 23 days.

Am I taking my O.W.L.s?

I had my first exam today, and it was definitely a different experience.  I was totally expecting a style of testing similar to UIUC, but it was so different it was kind of creepy.  First of all, I'm not allowed to use pencil at all, which is okay, because that means no one can change my answers.  However, I also took my music exam in the same room as 400 (or another huge amount) of people.  My seat number was 270, and it was in alphabetical order by module.  There are several exams going on in the same room.  There are proctors that make sure you're not cheating, and none of them were anyone I recognized.  It was like taking a giant version of the ACT or SAT.  Or my Hogwarts O.W.L.s.  I had to keep my ID on my desk so proctors can double check it (and they do), and before the exams start someone goes by with an instrument to detect any type of cell phone or pager.  Leeds is DEAD SERIOUS about cheating.  There were even posters about cheating and the consequences in the area where you put your bag down.

The first picture is of the Sports Hall, which is where I took my exam today.  I also take an exam in the Great Hall (I'm not kidding), which is the second picture.  I have another exam in the Sports Hall, but luckily my others are in regular classrooms since my class size is so small.  What's kind of nice about the Sports Hall, though, is they put carpet down for exam period, so I don't have the weird gym floor.

My exam today went pretty well.  I'm more nervous about my others, but having the little time between each exam makes me feel a little better too.  I can't handle loads of time to revise.  Stress helps me focus.

I will (hopefully) not post for awhile because I'll hopefully be studying dutifully.  It's very possible procrastination will occur.

Geeky baking

This might become my favorite blog this summer.  Lots of recipes and pictures for geeky baking.  Not all science, but I definitely favor those.

http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/2009/12/science-cookies-gel-electrophoresis.html

Food to eat before leaving and at home

I feel so unmotivated today, that I can't even play a video game.  So, while Skyping with a friend, we started talking about food we wanted to have again. So, here it is (in no particular order).

Food in Urbana and Champaign
1. Coco Mero -- frozen yogurt
2. Custard Cup -- snowstorm
3. Woori Jib -- Korean barbeque
4. Courier Cafe -- milkshake, burger, pesto
5. Art Mart -- cookie
6. Noodles and Co. -- pesto cavatappi
7. Jamba Juice -- duh
8. Evo's -- Indonesian rice and milk tea
9. Cunetto's -- spaghetti (St. Louis, but close enough)
10. Dos Realas -- mmm... real Mexican food

I also just want to have some real hash browns. I am getting a little tired of potatoes here, but it's just not the same.

Food to eat before leaving UK
1. Gourmet Burger Kitchen -- delicious burgers
2. Nando's or Charco's -- peri-peri chicken
3. Gregg's -- sausage roll?
4. Shaky Jake's -- milkshake!!
5. La Cafetierre -- Mediterranean food and smoothie!
6. Either Dry Dock or the Library -- screamburger
7. Fish and chips in a pub
8. Old Bar
9. Strawbs
10. Flames

I like food.