Starting tomorrow I'm going on a diet.

This weekend was an epic weekend.

At 5:30 PM on friday, we all met in front of Pollack Halls to board the bus for Shap, a place that was unknown to most of us, and that I had only googled five minutes prior. The bus ride over was amazingly beautiful, pastoral, green, with many, many frolicking sheep. We got to the car park as I realized I had underpacked like whoa, as I was freezing. We (two other people and I) met our homestay parents, Brian and Ann. Brian looked like an older Liam Neeson, and Ann was Helen Mirren. They had brought two cars, thinking the bags would take up most of the room. They didn't.

We arrived at their house, which was a bed and breakfast in real time. They fed us wonderful chicken and potatoes, along with several glasses of wine, and I went to sleep in the first real bed in almost a month. I slept like a baby, a sated, tired baby. In the oirning, we had tea, coffee, toast, eggs, sausage, bacon, yogurt, and general english breakfast food. This was both days. I also watched the British Supernanny and Are you Smarter than a 5th grader.

In the morning, we climbed a fell (hiked), and I pined for comfortable shoes. The view was spectacular, and I took blurry pictures. Ann and I talked about the weirdness of horse people as we descended. We went to mini-stonehenge (really, really old rocks), and then, not two hours after breakfast, we got ice cream. Kessig was next, and I bought several postcards there, a mug, a water bottle, and batteries.

We had fish and chips for lunch. I ate my weight in fatty food, and then was comatose for a few hours. We went home (where they made us tea and biscuits...who are these people), studying, and we were off to Cockermouth (yes.) It's a little town outside of Bassenthwaite (these towns are named so English...ly) with a lot of pubs and restaurants. The host kids and I went and had a pint, chinese food, and another pint in that town. Brian was pleasantly happy, so happy that he rode on the hood of his friend's car for about fifty meters.

The next morning we went to see a little waterfall (after black pudding--crunchy.), got coffee, and then boarded the bus, saying goodbye to them.

Ann and Brian's kids had left the house (graduated) and their pet chickens were all killed by a fox. They only had one left, and they said it was terrified. Even though they had never done it before, I think we had the best time out of anyone. These people are parents. They acted like mom and dad throughout the experience. They were so much like my parents I felt at home instantly. My room was like my room at home.

It made me realize how much I miss home, but at the same time, it cheered me up a little.

Now, to class!