Today, Swansea felt like Troy to me. It was raining, cold and windy. It didn't help that I had tons of work to do. So I sat in the library, looking out a window. And although I'm in Wales, you cannot beat the views from the 4th floor of Folsom.

I love the people here. Everyone is much more friendly than RPI. Everyone wants to have fun, and everyone wants to experience new things. No one walks like they are on a mission to get to class, no one runs when they are late. It's a nice change, that I will miss.

Everything that RPI has lacked for me, I have found here in Swansea.

The week that my family was here was excellent. We got to do a lot around Wales before we went to London. We visited Gower and had perfect weather there. We also were able to go see a few castles which were very exciting. That is what Wales is known for.

We got to go to all the tourist attractions in London. Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Trifalgar Square, Parliament, The Eye, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral and more. The last day my brother and I went to Notting Hill for the Portobello Market, which was one of my favorite places. We got crepes on the street = delicious!

The underground was my favorite part of London. Not that I haven't been on subways all the time in NYC but it was more exciting! I could ride around on them all day. They are a lot cleaner and more exciting than the subway in NYC. Only a couple mice, no rats!

It was my birthday and Tim's while we were in London so that was exciting! We went out to dinner at some cute places and out for drinks at different bars. It was overall, a wonderful week, a great thanksgiving. I cannot wait to come home in 2 weeks. Although, I am a bit worried about packing everything up again and getting it all home. It might not fit in the suitcases that I have. I sent some stuff home with Riley, but I don't think that I sent enough home. It could be a problem in the end!

I finally have schoolwork to do. Unfortunately, it is all at once and all due within the last two weeks. So it's a little overwhelming. I haven't had to do any work since May, so I think my brain is in shock!

More importantly, I leave for Paris on Thursday night!

My parents got here late on Friday night, and of course all bars and pubs stop serving food at around 8. So to begin their stay in Wales, we got Chinese food. But the next day we got up and it was sunny, thankfully. So I took them to the Gower, which is one of the most beautiful sights here in Wales. It was a very windy day, but we had a great time. They rented a car for the week and they got a jeep. Most roads in Wales are meant for little compact cars. Parking spaces are not even big enough for SUVs. So it is very interesting to watch my dad try and drive here. He gets nervous!

When you go out to dinner here, you go up to the bar and order your meal and you pay right then. And they give you a spoon with your table number.

Riley arrived yesterday and we went to a Christmas Parade here in Swansea. Christmas starts on the 18th of November, because they don't celebrate Thanksgiving. Anyway, it was a bizarre parade and it rained the entire time!

Sarah, Matt and Tim get here today. I'm excited!

The past weekend, I went to Ediburgh which is in Scotland and it was a beautiful city. It was extremely cold and windy but so much fun. The bus ride there was 11 hours and we got there at 10Am but couldn't check into our hostel until 2. Our hostel was about 30 minutes away from the city, so we had to take a bus in. We went to the Edinburgh castle which was huge and we spent a good chunk of the day there. We went to lunch at this really cute pub and I had fish and chips, my favorite! We also went to the Cathedral in Edinburgh and it was gorgeous inside. Our last night, a couple of us went to a pub, and got Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. It was interesting tasting. Almost like meatloaf but spicy and not really the same texture.

Anyway, I had a really good time there, and we did a lot of fun things.

I saw lots of men in kilts which was kind of exciting!

Today I had a lacrosse tournament in Bath. We played really well. We lost one, won two, and tied two. So we ended up coming in third out of six teams. It was great! I had a lot of fun with the girls and they were teaching me all sorts of rules for driving. I got some great tips for my dad, for when he rents a car here. The slow lane is on the left. It is illegal to talk on the phone, smoke, and eat while driving.

All of these people will be here in two weeks! I can't wait.

For the past week, I was in Copenhagen with Melanie, which was an amazing time! We met in London, and then took a plane to Copenhagen. We got in really late but we went out and met some of Melanie's friends. We went to this bar called Elephant and Mouse, which was so cute. My favorite place that we went. For lighting, they had wine bottles with candle sticks in them.

The next day we went to the Carlsberg Brewery, which was an interesting experience. We had lots of free drinks!

We also went to the Round Tower which has the best view of Copenhagen from the top. In order to get to the top, you have to walk up a ramp that wraps around the tower. The rumor is that the king at the time didn't want to have to walk up it; he wanted to ride his horse. So a ramp was neccesary. It was a great view from the top! That night we went to one of Melanie's friends music festival. It was a mix of Danish bands singing in English and Danish. There was also a DJ that mixed some interesting music. But none the less, Melanie and I danced the whole time.

One night we went to Melanie's friends place and made chicken parm. It was delicious. It was really fun to be around Danish people. I liked just sitting and listening to them talk, even though they were probably talking about me! I learned one word. Tak, which means thank you. I said that a lot. I still say it every once in awhile.

Melanie and I watched some movies, and ate lots of candy! We went shopping and Melanie took me on a tour of Copenhagen. It was such a beautiful city. It is my new favorite. We saw the palace, the Danish guards, Parliament, the new opera house, the little mermaid. We ate a lot of different food, but my favorite was the Shwarma. It's like a pita with lettice, tomato and chicken or beef and there is this dressing, which I'm not sure what it was. The best part about Copenhagen was that everyone rides bicycles. The bike paths are bigger than the sidewalks. The bikes are cute, with baskets in the front and bells. There is rush hour for bikes!

I flew home on Tuesday, and got back to Swansea at about 7pm. It was an interesting trip home. My train ticket included about 3 changes. One included taking the Tube, and I had absolutely no idea which one to take. So I just kind of jumped on random trains until I got to Paddington Station, which was a gorgeous train station.

When I got back, all the Americans were gathered in one of our flats for a Halloween Potluck Dinner. It was nice to get back and see everyone, after having being gone for an entire week and I got a free dinner!

Halloween was an amazing day. First we had a lacrosse game, that we lost. But it was a home game, so it was nice to have fans! Then we got ready for the Pumpkin Carving Contest that was in my flat. We had jack o lanterns and costumes. And then we went out to Wind Street and had a hilarious night! I was one of the fanta girls with Kaitlin and Rebecca. Obviously, I was green.

The night before I left for Copenhagen, a bunch of us went to a wine and cheese party at a cute little club that overlooked the busy street. It was so much fun!
This weekend, I have a lacrosse tournament in Bath and Sunday there is a festival that I am going to with some of my flatmates.