I feel as though I've just run a 2 month marathon. I've been going non stop since April and have finally reached a break (however brief it may be - 1 month) until I'm off yet again. A brief summary:
Parents visiting London was absolutely wonderful
Parents visiting London was absolutely wonderful
- White cliffs of Dover, Leeds Castle
- Afternoon tea at Harrods
- Phantom of the Opera and Lion King in the West End
- Sunday roast
Wrote 2 essays:
- One on youth in the Middle East
- One on using the term Revolution to define the events beginning with the Arab Spring in the Middle East
Left the day after handing in both essays for Morocco!
- Wow, just wow
- Rabat, beaches, loads of tea
- Wonderful friends who treated me just like family
- Couscous on Friday!
Came back and studied for 3 exams
- I haven't had an exam in 6 years!
- Comparative Politics of the Middle East, Arabic writing and Arabic speaking
Left the day after my third exam for Barcelona
- Much needed relaxation and sunshine!
- Gaudi
- Stayed in a yacht in the marina
Came back and studied for my final exam
- Culture and Society of the Near and Middle East
- This is the one I was most nervous for, making sure the right amount of theory is mixed with the right amount of ethnography
Had a friend visit from the States
- Celebrated his 30th birthday
- Dinner at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in the Mandarin Oriental, my first Michelin Star (1) dining experience!, liquid nitrogen ice cream
- Visited Windsor
- Saw the Damien Hirst exhibit at the Tate Modern
The day after my friend left, I left for a wedding in Oxford and 3 days in Bath!
- So amazing to walk around Oxford and punting in the rain
- Bath is absolutely beautiful and was perfectly relaxing
- Roman baths and wonderful spa day
- Pies at the Raven, Sally Lunn buns, and a little Texas dining experience!
So, now that I'm back I have a month to get to work before I leave for my research trip in Israel and have just over three months to write a 10,000 word dissertation. I think the hardest thing for me when I was writing essays is that I focused on multiple things at the same time, so the thought process was jumbled and easily lost track of. For my dissertation, however, I will be able to concentrate just on my topic and will really be able to focus on thinking through my argument and piecing together a good paper. Something I'm surprisingly looking forward to.
My summer will be filled with getting back into running and dance, job searching, writing blogs (I mean it!), fun stuff around London (Royal Ascot and Wimbledon) and a few more travels (Israel and Ireland...I just can't stay in one place too long). I do look forward to getting back into my routine!
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