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Published: January 11th 2008
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As it has been a MONTH since I could last be bothered (I will not lie, it wasn't a case of not having any time) to write a post, I do believe its well time that I write another one, and update you all on my adventures.
Where I last left off, I was on my way to the grand town of Norman, Oklahoma to visit Jay, one of my really good friends from exchange in Germany. They had just suffered from some massive ice storms when I got there, and some people, such as Jay's parents, still didn't have electricity after a WEEK. Luckily Jay's place had some, or there may have not been Oklahoma for me, as I am still in shock that these people lived for a week in sub freezing temperatures without heating. Norman is a really pretty little Mid Western town, but is a student town - they make up 30% of the population usually, so being holidays, there wasn't that much going on. But I had lots of great experiences - going to Supertarget for one. Wow. Imagine a big crazy supermarket, but its Target... Also had some quality McDonalds cuisine... which fits into
Pretty lights
the blown glass exhibit at Oklahoma Art Museum my next statement. Everything in the Midwest is very BIG. The streets were big, the McDonalds was big, the churches (and there were a lot of them) were MASSIVE, the selection of quality beers at the local liquor store which I illegally entered was also quite big. They had Tooheys New, cheaper than what you buy it for at home. Oh no they didn't Ailie. Oh yes girlfriend, they did.
So I spent a really good week hanging out with Jay, and some of his housemates and assorted friends. We went into Oklahoma City one day, where the highlights would have been having my photo taken in front of the newly renamed "Flaming Lips Alley", going to the Art Museum, where they had some really good exhibits, and the Oklahoma Bombing Memorial, which was quite sombre. I met Jay's parents, who both gave me a big hug and said they feel like they know me already.. We went out to dinner to "barbecue", the Oklahoman experience of fried food, smothered in a sticky barbecue sauce. I had some killer ribs and even went a bit crazy and ate some curly fries. Jay's dad joked that it was the restaurant
that killed Elvis.
From there I flew off to Boston to visit my friend Lucy, also from exchange.. Boston had also been hit pretty heavily by snowstorms, and when I got there there were cars buried in snow on the side of the street... We had to jump over massive mounds of snow on the sidewalk to cross the street, but all that being said, it wasn't that cold (acclimatisation, I call it). We only spent the first night in Boston, where I met some of her friends who came over, had my first (and second and third) game of Beirut, better known as Beerpong, which is the national college student sport. I excelled at it by the end of the night (cough). The next morning Lucy, her housemate Jacob and I went into the city, and spent a few hours walking down a street in Boston... I cannot for the life of me remember what it was called, but it was this awesome long street with lots of little boutiques, awesome bookstores, and a really nice Saturday morning vibe. Jacob left us to go home to work, and we hightailed it home to collect all of our luggage
and catch a cab to South Station, because Lucy was moving out and taking all her stuff back home, and I was about to have my first experience of that special little island known as Martha's Vineyard.
After a 2 hour bus ride and a 45 minute ferry, we reached MV, where Lucy's dad and sister greeted us with big hugs and smiles. Lucy's entire family was unbelievably nice and friendly to me, especially as it was Christmas and I was away from home. They all treated me as part of the family. We had a busy week, with Christmas celebrations, parties every night with Luce's friends from high school, and a bit of sight seeing as well. On Christmas afternoon Lucy and I walked a few miles down to their local beach, Lambert's Cove. It was a great idea, not just because we'd eaten way too much and needed to walk it off, but it was an amazing peaceful little corner of the world... There were quite a few other people walking along the beach, and although my fingers almost fell off from the cold, it was a really enjoyable walk.
Lucy's mum also managed to get
the keys to go up one of the lighthouses... That was really fun, and something that not a lot of tourists would really get to do (I know all the important people)... Edgartown, where we went to the lighthouse (there's 7 little towns on MV) is where all of the whaling captains used to live, when MV was a big whaling town, and they have beautiful big white houses. Lucy and her friend Becca also took me down to Oak Bluffs one day, which is the main tourist area during summer... Other than picking up a sweet tourist tshirt for $5 (which I am possibly wearing this very second), we went into a lot of the little boutique stores, and I bought a big wall hanging from a store which sold incence and cool clothing.
On the Sunday, Lucy and I packed up once again, and began our big journey to Canada with the 6 am ferry back to the main land... The bus drive took 7 hours, including a completely useless one hour stop in Vermont at a petrol station... it was quite nice, just being able to chill out and relax. With excitement and apprehension, and not
Well stocked beer fridge
All the essentials for three college boys living together too many boarder problems, we arrived in ........
Oh Canadia!
(more to come later).
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Ally
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I love it how you threw in an 'oh no girlfriend' 'oh yes girlfriend'. Was that for me? Because before I read it, I was thinking those very words! xo