Back in Bath!

My second semester has begun! Wow, it's almost impossible to believe that I've spent four months in Bath already, and that I'm halfway done with my time here. I could stay forever! Winter break was very relaxing and something I definitely needed, though. It was wonderful to go home and see my family and friends, and also to be in a truly familiar place for once in a long time. I got to celebrate Christmas again, despite it being the beginning of January, and it was great to see the tree up and decorated and listen to Christmas tunes! Mimi, PopPop, James and the boys came up to Dad's house to celebrate with us. It was a lot of fun! I also got to go down to Florida to visit with Nana and Daddy Tom, as well as spend some quality time with Mom and Nicholas. It was a vacation within a vacation! Getting to see my friends was also a highlight, and I was lucky enough to get out to Franklin and Marshall for a weekend to visit. Even though I miss everyone tremendously, I'm very happy to be back in Bath - I missed it! I'm so lucky to be able to study here for a year...

I'm taking three classes this semester, as well as an internship. My classes are:

1. Tudor and Stuart England - probably my favorite topic to study, ever. This is going to be a blast.

2. Mythologising Shakespeare - where we take Shakespeare's plays and looks at the myths and legends he uses within them. Some of what we will be reading include The Tempest, The Taming of the Shrew, Antony and Cleopatra, Hamlet, and Julius Caesar. We will also being see FIVE plays performed, including The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream. So Excited!!

3. Irish Nationalisms - A look at the history of Ireland and Northern Ireland and their many attempts to become independent nations. We get to go on a weekend trip to Dublin in May for the trip.

My internship is at the American Museum of Bath, which looks at the cultural history of the America from discovery to the Civil War. It will be very interesting to look at it from a British perspective! I'll be doing different things, including learning about curating and giving tours. Should be fun!

So far, the new students seem really cool, although it's weird to be the de facto leader of everyone, since I already know where everything is. Everyone will get comfortable soon enough, I'm sure.

I also really like my new house. I live now in the center of Bath, right near the Abbey, in a flat with two other girls, Hannah and Sarah. We have our own kitchen, bathrooms, and I have my own bedroom as well. I love it!

We have a trip to Stonehenge, LacockBut, it will be nice to see all that again - hopefully it won't be raining this time! Other than that, there isn't much to report so far. Classes start next week, so I'll be able to let you know how those go then. Until then, cheers!