I gave my best to the country I love, and kept my tears till he was gone - Louisa May Alcott

28th August 2013- It's moments like this I'm glad I'm in the South! 

After having 3 football games in a row, this Saturday was an away game. "I'll do a lot of work!" I said to myself, "I will plan my literature essay, I will do some reading and then I will have a relaxing evening." Instead, I did something better.

Katelyn, Natalie & I went to the LSU Rural Life Museum who were having an open day. It was lots of fun! First we looked in the museum & outside were a number of old buildings - from an old school and farmer's houses to a plantation hospital & slave houses. We went on a tractor ride (the hay we sat on was rather uncomfortable and I felt like I was going to fall off of the back!) and completed a "corn maze".

I even made a new friend today.

In the afternoon, we watched a Civil War battle re-enactment (The Battle of Baton Rouge - which was mainly a naval battle but we obviously watched the ground battle!) It was really cool as the whenever the guns were "fired", it was very smokey.

The Union Troops

The Confederate side had horses...

while the Union side had a cannon (which was SO LOUD when it went off!)

Afterwards WE WENT TO CHILIS. I don't think you realise how great this is to me. The day the chain went bust in the UK was a HORRIBLE DAY FOR ME. So, good food & good company rounded off a great day!

Yum, a tortilla chip.

I have missed this dessert :') It barely touched the sides though, with the 3 of us sharing!

I had to sadly work on my return though - that Literature essay won't plan itself! (Sunday update - I have written my literature essay, it's probably terrible.)

I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by - Douglas Adams

23rd September 2013 - Can someone turn the repeat switch off please?

I've not made a blog post in a week now, so just to inform you all - I am still alive (barely), I still have a lot of reading to do (understatement of my life) and I'm still surrounded by fried food (oven roasted veg? please? anyone? I'M BEGGING YOU!)

I went out again at the weekend. I know, how out of character is that? I shall tell you why - it is the only form of "break" I'm getting at present. You see, when you don't have a car, it is very very very very very hard to go anywhere down here (wait, that might be the understatement of my life) so going to a bar and enjoying a gin & tonic at the end of a hard week is worth the really tragic surroundings (perhaps).

Here, have some pictures of me enjoying life;

Yes, I am still going to football games. Also, whoever said it never rains in Death Valley is a BIG FAT LIAR and waiting in the rain for 2 hours is a terrible experience. I didn't even make it through the first quarter. My patience wore thin.

Looking relatively kept together before going out.

I don't even know what happens - I go out and my hair goes 'helllooooooo 1980s!' This humidity and I are incompatible; I think it's time we broke up. 

That's it - this, I feel, will be my life for the next few weeks I'm afraid so expect a quiet blog. Don't be sad readers - I shall leave you with something amazing. My future husband.

Thirty two years of beautifulness *sighs*

It's just criminal that we're not married already... *more sighing*

Make this the happiest birthday ever – Louisa May Alcott

14th September 2013 - "I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22 21"

They say you should make your 21st birthday a day to remember; the reason I won't be forgetting mine in a hurry is because it was the weirdest day of my life.

The day started off as normal (as a game day can be) - I had a birthday waffle (which is just a waffle on my birthday - think of the calories of having one of those on a regular occurrence !) and then we went to the game.

As you can see, the team were wearing a purple and gold kit today.

I had the world's biggest plastic cup ever. It would have been a beautiful moment had the coke not been flat.

This is when the day took a turn. Now, I tolerate going out - yes, being with your friends is fun BUT the places at home are always grimy and packed. They are no exception here but you have the added bonus of people smoking indoors. I finally had the gin & tonic that I'd wanted FOR A MONTH, witnessed a fight in the middle of a club, for the second time in my life had a chat up line that revolved around my glasses but this time it was from a man in black cowboy boots and danced to rap music because NOTHING ELSE WAS PLAYED. What can I say? I'd heard about Tigerland; I was warned but did I listen?

Jodie was beyond drunk and this is an important fact for the continuation of our story.

Bars close at 2am here which was weird considering that is the time at home things start to get going so we had to find a way back to campus. The taxi phone line was continually engaged and the night bus was taking longer than it should have been. What were we to do? Jodie kept singing LMFAO's 'Shots' yet she wanted to get home instantly. SO, naturally we were walked home by a Marine (I don't even know if he was training or if he was qualified or whatever) carrying one of our fellow international students over his shoulder because this guy was passed out. He gave it his best shot, he really did, but all 6 of us ended up being driven back in a truck which was the scariest experience of my life.

'Stranded in the middle of Baton Rouge & we're not quite sure what is going to happen' selfie.

To bring this birthday into its conclusion...well, it was memorable? And I'm not going to be drinking again. Ever. 

September 15th - Booked my tickets to Washington DC for fall break. So excited! I hope there isn't a hurricane now to kill my excitement and force the university to cancel the holiday!

There were some memories, though, that never faded - Cassandra Clare

7th September 2013 - The day I planned an essay, got ahead in my reading and enjoyed a football game!

Tonight I experienced my first American football game. I exclude the games I have watched on television because there is NOTHING like being in the stadium, surrounded by fellow students chanting for your team to win!

At the stadium with two hours before the game was due to start; hence, empty seats!

We arrived early because we wanted to have good seats - mission a success - and luckily the cheerleaders kept us all entertained with their routines before the game started.

They threw out LSU t-shirts at the beginning of the game and guess who managed to get one? (Kindly caught by Anna because I'm tragic at these things.)

They were also really entertaining throughout the game - whenever LSU scored a touchdown (which was often), the male cheerleaders ran around with flags.

Before the game, there was a short performance by the band and colour guard, and afterwards, they even set off a few fireworks. FIREWORKS - did not realise that was even in the budget...

The Alma Mater song as well as the National Anthem are sung before the game as well.

During the game, there were a number of hand gestures/borderline dance moves that the students did matching the attempts left to run ten yards; so there was one for 1st, 2nd, etc. At first, it was all confusing as everyone obviously knew what they were doing and I felt like I stuck out a bit but they were very easy to pick up. You also had to "roar" at the other team when it was their turn on the offense to try and put them off!

I feel like I should post a picture of the actual players rather than everything else that was going on around us.

#GAME DAY SELFIE!

Ultimately, the first home game of the season was a success, and LSU won 56-23. I feel rather immersed in American life right now, and look forward to next Saturday for not only am I seeing another game, it will be my 21st birthday...

Why thanks for the welcome, I had a great time!

The most glorious moments in your life are not the so-called days of success, but rather those days when out of dejection and despair you feel rise in you a challenge to life, and the promise of future accomplishments - Gustave Flaubert

3rd September 2013 - The light at the end of the tunnel kind of looks like Robinsons squash

I sort of survived my first week of college. Sort of. If you thought my blog post last Tuesday was bad, I fully exploded on Wednesday. On the bright side, that was bottom, the only way was up, I've completed reading this weekend so I'm feeling kind of on top of things. I also had pancakes for breakfast; who wouldn't feel better after pancakes for breakfast?

The feeling of betterment came on Thursday actually; I had a really good literature lesson where I managed to bring up transcendentalism and went to lunch with Charlotte, Alice & Natalie only to be joined by William and Kate.

Okay not really, but it was like they were almost there.

Friday I was driven very kindly by Katelyn, who I met first term last year when she was completing a semester at Sussex, to World Market. I have dubbed it the magical place. Why is it magical I hear you ask?

BECAUSE I FOUND SQUASH. Okay, it's not orange which is clearly the most superior flavour but it makes a change from a choice of water on one end & fizzy drinks on the other. I also treated myself to chocolate digestives, hobnobs, maltesers, a ripple & a yorkie bar. Look, I really miss British chocolate; there, I said it.

On Saturday I went to...MY FIRST AMERICAN HOUSE PARTY where the beer was absolutely terrible. I'm not even a beer person; why was I drinking beer? Turns out, I am a natural at beer pong (what hand eye co-ordination PE TEACHERS?)

Look at us all, attempting to enjoy a party... 

Today I received back my first piece of handed in work; a journal for English. I had to read it aloud as an example which was a weird feeling considering I panicked so much a week ago about handing it in. I also paid a visit to the radio station on campus today which was really interesting to see in action!

Also the greatest news ever - I'M SPENDING CHRISTMAS IN CHICAGO! Yes, the bestie (Abi for future reference) and I are spending Christmas day, in a hotel room, wondering where we can find the chance of a yorkshire pudding (nowhere) and what to actually do in the state (I'm leaving that to her) but from Christmas in Illinois to New Year in Massachusetts, it's going to be a great experience...once I've written about a million essays/assignments/journals/picture descriptions/exams/it never ends/please make it stop.