Wednesday 23 April 2014

As Time Goes By

These are the hardest days of the Semester. The end is in sight, we have three weeks until our time here ends and I say goodbye to George Mason, a little over a month until I leave the States and my Year Abroad comes to an end. It would be wrong to say it’s gone quickly because those first few weeks in sunny Virginia feel like a lifetime ago. But time goes by quicker as you reach the end of the journey, and although all we’d like to do at this point is enjoy each other’s company and see more of D.C. before we depart, there’s the small matter of studying. The assignments and research that have been piling up and been put aside to sort out other issues are almost due, ad not long after they are done its exam time. I have two big papers due Monday and Tuesday, lots of research to complete to help me for my dissertation next year, and three exams in 2 days in my last week just before I fly out… and my schedule’s probably one of the lighter ones.

Cherry Blossom with Kazuki and Joo Hyun

Still, we’ve kept busy as the sun has well and truly come out and Spring is definitely here at last. For Washington D.C. that means the Cherry Blossom festival, when the trees around and near the Tidal Basin bloom into a beautiful sight that has to be witnessed. If you ever consider visiting D.C. this time of the year is the right moment. We’d been waiting to go for a while, as snowstorms and rain kept postponing the peak bloom, but when it finally came it was worth the wait. Spring is the best season for the capital by far, even if there are tourists everywhere!

Through our Global Crossings class and with other International groups on campus, a decades party was held to celebrate the 90s around the world. I wasn't involved with this and didn't see much of it, but I was there long enough to see what a great job everyone did and making a great night. I also now know that Alexandre is the dancing king, and Yusuke makes a great Kate Winslet!

 Representing Europe!
The never-ending dancer
"Nothing on earth could come between them..."

We’re also fitting in our last few nights out while we can, and a 21st birthday celebration is a definite reason to head to D.C. (and not pay the crazy prices for drinks, I thought London was bad!) and practice our beer pong skills. Happy Birthday Emily (and Vanessa!).

Benjamin's mad skills

In my freshers year at Leicester they didn’t organise many events but one they did was to Alton Towers, and 2 years since my last theme park trip I went to Kings Dominion as Mason organised a cheap trip there. I don’t care how old you get, these rides and kind of places will always be fun- I saw an older couple with some serious road rage on the bumper cars. There were some intense rides which left a headache, although that might have been Joe elbowing me in the face as he put his hands up on the rollercoaster… and if we thought the rapids wouldn’t get us too wet, we were wrong on that front! The rest of the day in wet jeans was not comfortable, but otherwise it was a nice break away from campus.


"Are you anxious?"

Then here at Mason they put on probably their best event of its kind since being here, a ‘Wizarding World of Aquia’ Harry Potter themed thing where you could make a wand, drink ‘butterbeer’, get a t-shirt and play Quidditch with the Mason Quidditch team (it’s really a thing!). The poor guy acting as the snitch notwithstanding, it was a fun break which we need at this point.

 I get that people play it as a proper sport, but really?
Loving that butterbeer

There’s a lot of study-related stress going round at the moment and coupled with the fact we have so little time left here and nobody wants to leave just yet, it’s tough going sometimes. But then I remember how lucky I am to be here and to meet these people, and you realise that it isn’t so bad, and I’m still enjoying my time here at Mason and will through to its end.

If I can just get past these assignments…


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