Easter Weekend in Virginia

With one week to go before I pack up my suitcases and clean my little dorm room here in South Carolina, I guessed it was about time to get back on my blog and start documenting some of my final thoughts and memories. Perhaps, I’m just trying to procrastinate from the mountain of essays that need to be completed in the next week and the hotels and flights I’m still yet to book for my travels, but if I’m planning on sitting in my pyjamas all day eating Trader Joe’s cookie butter out the jar with a very large spoon, I might as well blog at the same time!

You will all be ecstatic, I’m pretty sure of it, to know that I’ve managed to cross off another State last weekend when I was invited home by one of my swimming team mates, Caroline, to Virginia. To say that life has been manic this past month would be a massive understatement. So when Caroline kindly asked if I wanted to venture up to Virginia for Easter weekend I jumped at the opportunity!

Virginia’s mountainous landscape was absolutely beautiful, surrounded by deciduous and evergreen trees. We went hiking on a part of the Blue Ridge Mountain Ridgeway, ate until our stomachs hurt and copiously laughed throughout the weekend. Caroline’s family had recently inherited a lake house on Smith Mountain Lake so I was fortunate enough to get to visit the house on the lake as well. To make the trip even better, Caroline and I went jet skiing! Although it was a little nippy, Caroline acted as my wind shield as I frantically wrapped my arms around her waist holding on for dear life as we sped off into the distance. Who needs a boyfriend to cuddle when Caroline’s around? Although, I’m sure our swim team mates would agree Caroline is not one for cuddling. At every swim meet we’ve attended this year, Caroline and I always end up sharing rooms and I get the same amount of grief from her every time. “Alice you better stick to your side of the bed”, then “Did you just touch me with your foot”, but I just want to cuddle Caroline! It’s actually rather funny! Who would have thought back in August when I met this blonde babe on poolside for the first swim training session of the year that come the end of year we would have become such close friends? This year abroad has truly been made special by the wonderful people I’ve befriended, and I’m sure without them I would have had a very different kind of year.

I don’t want to get too soppy. After all, I still have another month or so left in the States. But, with attending my very last class at this University on Monday I can’t help but reflect what a fun adventure I’ve had thus far. So before I reach for the tissue box and organise my last farewells, I know the friendships I’ve made here in Columbia will continue to thrive long after my Year Abroad ends. That is, as long as I actually get a job after completing my degree so I can afford little trips over the pond!