Mandy: Visiting Family

I feel like it’s been a while, so here’s a post to catch up:

Last weekend I had the most perfect weekend with the Anderson’s in Cheltenham! (For those who don’t know, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are the parents of my best friend from GW, Phil, and his amazing sister Steph, who also goes to GW). I am so thankful that they hosted me for the weekend. It made me miss Phil and Steph, but it was wonderful to be with their parents! It’s quite phenomenal how different it feels to be in a real home as opposed to my dorm here or a hostel on the weekends that I’ve been traveling.

The Anderson’s were excellent tour guides as they showed me around the town and surrounding areas. As much as I love London, there is nothing like the British countryside, especially as all of the leaves have changed color for fall. The train rides there and back were stunningly beautiful with rolling hills, fall sunlight, vibrant colors, horses, and sheep, of course! We had great food (including lunch at the best country pub - see picture below), successful shopping, wonderful company, and honestly, it felt like I was with family for the weekend. It was exactly what I needed to recharge for now the month and a half I have left abroad. The Anderson family is so dear to me and I am incredibly grateful for a weekend with them - it had been much too long since I had an Anderson hug. And it was so fun to finally meet their sweet dog Nina :)

This week is my reading week, but I still had 2 classes that I still had to attend that were somehow perfectly placed so I couldn’t really travel. So I have spent the time catching up on reading (I suppose that’s what reading week is actually supposed to be for…). But tomorrow I am off to Brighton for a day trip and one week from now I get to see, hug, and dance with the beautiful Alex Copeland in Barcelona, Spain for a weekend that we have been dreaming about since January. My countdown has officially begun.

This week also included the 5^th of November - Guy Fawkes Day! Friends and I went to see fireworks in Southwark and enjoy the festivities.  

That’s about it for now! Cheers!