out of my control

What an end to the semester it has been. Finals started last week and along with them came the eruption of a volcano in Iceland. There have been no flights for the last 6 days and European travel is just a mess. Can you believe that because of a volcano in Iceland, there have been no flights in Europe for the past 6 days???!!! I didn't even know that there were volcanoes in Iceland. I thought there was just ice. =)

Here is a picture of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Who knows where on earth they got that name.

This really has caused a lot of problems, stress and worry for the students and faculty here because this is our last week and everyone is scheduled to depart Wednesday and Thursday. So far here is what is going on: We have no idea! =) But really it is a day to day kind of basis right now. Flights still do not have permission to fly as of Tuesday morning. But the hope is that things are starting to clear up and they will later in the day tomorrow. We keep sitting here looking at each other going "seriously!?!?!?" As of right now, Craig's flight is still scheduled to fly out on Wednesday evening and arrive Thursday morning. We are praying hard that everything will work out and realize it truly is out of our control. (Not so easy for me who really really likes to be in control) I know that in the midst of chaos that everything will work out the way God intended, but I will be disappointed if we loose out on our trip. I mostly will be disappointed with the $1000 we will probably loose if we have to cancel the trip. Luckily, I am dating a man who is consistently calm in these situations and a lot more optimistic than me right now. We are both just praying right now and realizing that God is in control.


On a better note, I have 1 more final left and am almost done with my junior year of college! Where has the time gone?! I am really proud of my grades this semester and felt like I did a good job even with so much going on here! I am hoping to spend the month of May relaxing, catching up with friends and family and getting ready for full time summer school which starts June 1st. I am more ready than ever to be back in the U.S. and away from travel.

Here are some pictures from last weekend and last few events at Harlaxton. Leah and I stayed in London in an 18 bed mixed dorm hostel. It was quite an adventure! We forgot towels and were too cheap to buy one so we used a sheet to dry off from the shower. Staying classy. We also ended up sleeping in the same bed because we were terrified of the other people in the room who did not speak English and had scary Russian accents. It was fun to get this experience as our last one before we went home! We spent the day shopping, sitting at Starbucks and just riding the Underground and buses. It was fun and I am glad I spent the time with Leah!!

Best friends for life
Love these girls. Travel buddies at Harlaxton
Kat. Love her!
I love my Shay Shay. Can we also check out my fabulous teal ballet flats. Shoes in Europe rock!
Love these girlies!


Best friends bonding at Tiffany and Co. Sorry Craig and Tim, we have classy taste. =)

Love this girl. I cannot imagine this semester without her and I cannot imagine saying goodbye.
Everyone got to sign a wall in the bistro at Harlaxton. This is what Leah and I wrote. She made this toast to us the weekend before and it made me cry, in pub. But we really will be best friends for life.

bittersweet

10!!! days!!! I can't believe that in 10 days, my time here in the UK will be over. This is the last week of school and then we have finals over the weekend and the beginning of next week. Next Wednesday is our official last day. It's crunch time. Tests, papers, finals and then I am out of here. I have been busy packing things up, fulfilling some RA duties and just spending time with friends here. Leah has moved into my room so that we can hang out the next week and half together. I love her and I am going to miss her so much! I feel so blessed to call her friend.

I'm looking forward to this new transition and summer! I can't wait for the warm weather and reconnecting with friends and family when I get home. It's going to be great. I am also looking forward to spending the next two weeks with Craig!! We have been lucky enough to get some time to travel to Europe. It's going to be amazing, I even have a binder with our itinerary, reservations, maps. It's organization at its best. Our trip looks like this, we're spending 3 days in London, 2 days in Munich, 1 day in Salzburg, 2 days in Berchtesgaden, 3 days in Venice and then 3 days in Paris. We're taking the train mostly and then the Eurostar from Paris to London for our flight home. It's going to be the trip of a lifetime and I'm so glad I get to spend it with Craig!


Here are some pictures from hanging out in Grantham!

Having fun at the costume ball!
RA's Harlax10!!
Me and Leah AKA Corbe and Matt!
Best RA's EVER!!! =)
yay!
my old roomies! love them!
Me and Leah after her choir performance at the Meet a Family dinner.
LOVE this girl! Best friends for life!!
Our new room set-up! haha she loves me so much she just can't stay away! =)
Stay tuned for more updates this week when I should be studying for finals! =)

xx meliss

A visit from some family

The end of my adventure is Europe will be coming to an end in 3 weeks. When I was planning this semester at this time last year people told me to "cherish every moment because it will go by so fast!" they were right! This semester has been full of highs and lows, life lessons, figuring out who I am, what I care about, what I want to do with my life. It's been filled with challenges of living far away from people who know me well, making new friends, managing my way in a non-English speaking country. I've learned things about myself this semester that I didn't expect to learn. I'm excited to go home, but I am sad that my semester abroad will soon just be a memory and stories.

Last week, my Aunt Karen, mom, Jimmy and his friend Jason all came to visit! Jimmy and Jason spent the night here at the manor and then we all met up in London! It was so crazy to have so many people from home all in London together. After that, Aunt Karen, my mom, and I headed to Paris then Rome and my mom and I spent 4 days in Cinque Terre, Italy. It was a busy trip filled with ups and downs. More ups than downs, but the travel is just so exhausting. My friend Leah told me a quote that says, "you don't appreciate your trip to Europe until you are at home unpacking your suitcase". This couldn't be more true. In the midst you don't realize what a gift it is because the chaos of travel gets in the way. Europe is definitely not a relaxing vacation, but I think everyone should at one point in their live go there!

We spent 10 days seeing everything we could in Paris, Rome and Cinque Terre! Some of my favorite things about Paris were the Parisian girls in dresses and heels riding mopeds, eating sandwiches from bakeries and walking the streets of Paris, the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night, the Louvre, taking a boat cruise down the Seine and eating at this adorable little French restaurant with a fire burning stove right next to our table and lamb kabobs for dinner. We also loved croissants and ordering cafe oles! Rome was completely different. Paris felt romantic and beautiful, the Seine is just gorgeous with 37 bridges along it. Rome felt medieval and historical, mostly because it was! Our highlights of Rome was our hotel directly across from the Trevi fountain, eating gelatti's about 3 times a day!, the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, The Forum, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican! My mom and I spent Cinque Terre exploring the little villages, sitting on the beach, drinking red wine and enjoying some quality mother/daughter bonding!

Enjoy some pictures!

Me + Cotton Candy + Eiffel Tower=sooo happy!!!
We studied this during the semester! And I thought it was amazing to see artists re-creating the artwork!
During the day, I like it way better at night!

We saw these artists on the way to the Moulin Rouge
beautiful day in front of the Louvre
My brother, Jimmy, came to visit!!
The Louvre! It's amazing.
My adorable mother and aunt in Paris
Rome, can you believe these ruins are still there?!
In front of the Colosseum and one of the last 3 arcs in Rome
Trevi Fountain was right across from our hotel! The legend is if you throw 3 pennies in the fountain then you will return to Rome someday! Lucky me, I get to go back in 3 weeks!
View of the Trevi Fountain from our hotel
The Colosseum, it was really cool!
Beautiful. I like to think that God let Kate paint for the night. =)
Cinque Terre, Italy. 5 beautiful cities all in the mountains off the Mediterranean Sea
I love my mommy!
Our B & B. We had a great view!
It was so cute.