twentyfirst

First and foremost, a huge thanks to Ian and his family for giving me a 21st I'll never forget!

After the amazing trip to London, I wasn't expecting anything more. However, the sweet surprises kept coming and I ended the birthday festivities at an American themed birthday party...amazing!

Ian's sister Kayleigh and her husband Stuart planned an amazing party complete with USA balloons and flags and hot dogs.

 

I'll also need to notify the US Secretary of State immediately because we have drastically improved relations between America and Scotland. How?

By introducing the game of beer pong, of course!

It was not an easy task by any means. You see, instead of playing silly games in order to consume alcohol, the Scots like to skip the games and just drink. So waiting behind ten cups of perfectly drinkable beer for the opposing team to sink a cup was pure agony for them.

The first few games consisted of Ian and I versus grumpy, sober Scots that didn't understand the rules. Rather quickly, they started to enjoy it and soon the house was filled with familiar sounds of drunk cheers!

Ian's pals trying to figure it out. 

All that being said, what could be more American than hot dogs and beer? 

A Hooters girl!

Kayleigh's friends (who were pretty much the life of the party) came dressed in very American apparel.

We had a nerdy American, a Hooter's girl who doubled as a "thirst aid," and Miss Ralph Lauren who was wearing:

 American flag socks!

We ended the night with my favorites, Gizzie and Andy. Gizzie has promised to marry me so that I can stay in the UK. Might come to that one of these days ;)

 XOXO-Kels

Love from Georgia

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in

   my heart) i am never without it (anywhere

  i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by

  only me is your doing, my darling)-E.E.Cummings

Love hearts in my cappuccino on Valentine's Day.

The past twelve hours have been extremely warm and fuzzy. So, if you are not in the mood to read lovey dovey things about my family and sorority sisters, I encourage you to find another blog.


I received a call from my mom last night. She's always been my closest friend, so hearing her voice is always a treat. 


As usual, the phone got passed around to various members of the family.


First, it went to my youngest brother, Andrew. Andrew turned 11 on Friday (unbelievable). Last night was the first chance I got to speak to him and it was entertaining (like always). Here is the gist of our conversation:

Me: I can't believe you are 11. That's two hands plus a finger! It would be cool if you had an extra finger on one hand, that way you would still be two hands. 

Andrew: My fourth grade teacher was born with two extra fingers. They had to be "suffocated" off. I had nightmares when she told us. 

I die.




Then I talked to Ashley, who is just as funny. 

Ashley: What did you have for dinner?

Me: Pizza.

Ashley: Your birthday is so soon!

Me: Yes, it is!

Ashley: How old will you be?

Me: 21

Ashley: Ohhhh. So you can drink alcohol?

Me: Yeah, I guess that's what it means.

Ashley: Well, you can do anything through Christ who strengthens you. Philippians 4:13.

To add to this fuzziness, I received a birthday care package from my amazing sisters of Alpha Delta Pi.

The package contained two Easy Macs, a Reeses, a taco dinner kit, my favorite razor that Scotland doesn't sell, ADPi-tastic socks, koolaid packets that will be perfect for my 21st festivities, a magazine and, most importantly, letters. 

Right now, I am sitting on the bed, covered in glitter from Andrea and Kirby's letter, crying like a baby. Each person had such sweet things to say. 

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful support system back home. Thanks to everyone for your love. 

XOXO-Kels

Toby, we are not at Mercer anymore.

The Universtiy of the West of Scotland is very, very different from Mercer.

Semesters are called "trimesters," and every time someone says the word "trimester," I think of pregnancy, haha.

Instead of taking four to five classes, students can only take up to three classes. I thought this was odd until I actually sat through a class. Holy workload. For next week's classes, I need to read at least 27 chapters of material.
Oh, by the way, I'm taking Community Care Policy, Disease, Medicine and Society, and International Politics. My professor for Disease/Med & Society is an absolute nutcase. She said the "f word" at least ten times in thirty minutes. She mentioned something about society's dependence on medicine and said that "next time you suck a fecking fag, remember what the doctor has to say." I almost fell out of my chair. Then I remembered fag means cigarette.

Each class meets once per week, so I only have class on Wednesday/Thursday. That is ideal since it costs five pounds to get to the school and back.

The Student Government (SGA) here is called the Student Union. Their headquarters is a three story building on campus that has two cafes and "the biggest bar in Paisley." They pretty much do the same things that Mercer SGA did, however they get their funds from fundraisers. For example, the latest fundraiser was a "Frat Party" that included beer pong tournaments and a keg.

I laughed my head off when I saw the flyer!

The week has definitely been stressful and I am absolutely exhausted. Good thing there's a pretty bottle of white wine chilling for me.

XOXO-Kels