Chapter 2: Day 105: 6 April 2019

Today was a fun day and productive. I woke up early and had my final meeting with Gloria and Patty about wrapping up my internship. It is crazy to think that I am not only done with another study abroad program, but that in less than a week I will be done with my undergraduate degree. After my meeting I did laundry, showered, packed more and realized that I will have to pay an overweight fee for my checked bag on the way home (oops). At 2:30p we had all met in the ballroom for our DURSCA presentations.

The DURSCA presentations are something similar to a capstone project where you reflect on all that has happened over the semester. Since I was in Career Exploration and had an Internship I gave two presentations. It was fun to be able to showcase all of the hard work I was able to do over the semester. After the presentations we had a bit of downtime and then dinner. Once dinner was over we relaxed for a while more before Sarah, Malachi, Kyle and I got ready to go to Why Not for one last time before we left. It was fun to have a good night out with friends.

Chapter 2: Day 106: 7 April 2019

Today I spent most of the day packing, cleaning and putting the finishing touches on my internship projects.

Chapter 2: Day 107: 8 April 2019

Today was a fun day in the city. I started the day with going into the city with Riley and Andrew and exploring Dean Village. The last time I was here I heard about it and wanted to check it out, but did not get the chance to so I wanted to make a point to get there this time. Sadly it was not the nicest day, but it was worth it. The town was just a short walk off Prince’s Street, but it felt like we were stepping to another country. It was a very cute town right on the river that was connected by the Leith Walk (which we ended up walking along until the path was blocked off).

After walking for a while we made out way back to Prince’s Street and decided to find somewhere dry and warm to get some food. We ended up eating at Boozy Cow one last time! The atmosphere and food were good as always and the company was the best. We ate and talked for a long time before catching the bus back to Dalkeith. On the way back Sarah said that there was a group (Sarah, Malachi, Jarod, Melissa and Kate) going into the city for dinner at Bubba-Q BBQ, so even though we just got back to Dalkeith Riley and I decided to join them. I had never been there before but the food was very good. When we were done with food we headed back to the house and spent the rest of the night relaxing, watching movies and soaking up as much time together as we could.

Chapter 2: Day 108: 9 April 2019

Today was a fun, busy and sad day. I spent most of the morning packing everything up, doing my house job and making sure everything was in order for our departure tomorrow. For my house job I had to clean the mail room & printer room. I really do like cleaning so I did not mind it at all, but I was sneezing up a storm when I was finished because of all the dust. When I was with my house job Malachi, Sarah, Jarod, Andrew, Riley, Melissa and myself decided to go out to lunch. We had originally planned to go to Blacksmith one last time, but decided to try something new for most of the group and go to Bucclueuch. The fold was delicious and the company even better! It was great to spend one of our last meals as a group.

Once we were done with lunch we headed back to the house and I played with Jo and Oli for a while. I played hand games with Jo and had an epic battle with Oli. To say that I am going to miss these kids is an understatement. I am so glad that I was able to spend as much time with them as I could. A while later I had to go to my room checkout so we paused the battles and I got my suitcase downstairs and finished the few last minute things we needed to for check out. I will be sad to leave my roommates they were amazing and I loved getting to know them! After room check we turned in our safes and adapters and then we got a tour of the attic and sub-basement! Even though I had gone in this tour the last time I was here I was still excited to explore and see if I found any new areas. The first stop was the attic. This is where they used to house soviet soldiers and you can even see some of their graffiti on the walls.

The next stop was down to the basement to hear about all of the ghost that occupy the house. A while ago they did a reading in the house to see if there was any paranormal activity and they ended up getting a lot of different activity. Henry (chef) was the one who told us the stories and showed us around.  

Then we had a bit of free time so Melissa, Riley, Andrew and I decided to go on a wee walk. It was a perfect day out for a walk around the estate. A while later we headed back to the palace for our final hooray. We got a ton of delicious food and listened to Patty talked a bit and gave Ashley and Dan their baby gift. We hung out for a while before a bunch of us went outside to take some photos and then we decided to slide down the hill on cardboard! It was scary and so fun all at the same time. We played outside for while before having to say goodnight to the kiddos. It was very hard to say ‘see you later’ and when we were about to go back out we ran into Oli and Melanie and Oli just curled up on my lap and did not want to move. It was so sad, but sweet. I am going to miss those kids more than I ever thought possible.

After our ‘see you laters’ we headed back outside to play a bit more and Chris (Jo and Oli’s dad) came out and after a bit of convincing he went down the hill too! Since it was getting later and the grass was dewey the cardboard did not hold up long so we decided to go in. Since it was not too late Kate, Kyle, Sarah, Jarod, Melissa, Riley, Malachi and I went to Mason’s (a small pub in town) for one last drink. I am so glad that I got to meet everyone and that the past few days I was able to hang out with this awesome group. Once we were done with our drinks we headed back, stopped in to say hi to a few people who were sitting by the fire and decided to go mattress surfing. We wanted to do it like they did in Princess Diaries, but we did not have much luck so we improvised. It really was the perfect way to end a great semester. Once everything was cleaned up Kyle and I talked for a long time and we all hung out for a while. Even though we have gotten minimal sleep these last few days the memories are worth it.

Chapter 2: Day 109: 10 April 2019

A bittersweet see you later. This morning a group of us caught a cab and headed for the airport. It was so hard to say see you later to everyone, but I know that it will not be the last time I see everyone. Once we got to the airport Kate, Sarah and I looking though a gift shop for a bit and then met up with Malachi and got some breakfast. Since we were there early we just hung out for a while and talked. After a bit Kate headed out and was on her way to her next adventure and just as she was leaving Emme and Jaime (professor) found us and we sat and chatted with them for a while.

It was lovely being able to chat with everyone and get to spend a few more moments with them. At 8:30a our gate was announced so Sarah and I said our final see you laters and we were on our way.

Our layover was in Newark, New Jersey again. It was a pretty short layover so we went to the bathroom, found out gate and were on our way to Minneapolis. Once we landed we found our parents, got our luggage and we one our way home. Its weird how even though Sarah and I spend the last 4 months together every day I am going to miss waking up next to her.

I am so thankful that I was able to participate in this program again and meet some amazing new people. I hope you have enjoyed following me on my adventure again! Until next time.