Losing my accent ...

Sunday's trip to Durham was fantastic! I went with my flatmate, Sarah, who loves Durham and hasn't visited the town in ages. We stopped off at Starbucks in the morning for a holiday-flavor latte (yes ... they have all the holiday flavors here, too! So excited!), then hopped on a noon train from Newcastle to Durham. It only takes 15 minutes to get there, so we had a great chunk of the afternoon ahead of us. Durham is SO unbelievably picturesque. We wandered through the city center and along the riverside up to the Durham Cathedral which is, in a word, stunning. This tops all cathedrals I've seen thus far - seriously. The stained glass windows, architecture, statues, everything is just so gorgeous. Then we headed into a pub and out of the cold for lunch, then back up the hill to the Durham castle. We took ourselves on a (semi-lost) self-guided tour of the castle, which turned out to be much more fun than a usual stuff tour-guide version. Shopping in Durham was fun, too, and we found a few fun little boutiques with adorable clothes.

The weather here has started to turn horribly cold. I had 5 layers on (including 2 huge sweatshirts) at rugby training Monday night, was running around, and was still absolutely freezing. The wind is the worst part, though. Luckily it hasn't been too wet yet, and I'll be gone by the time all the snow arrives after winter break. I'm really glad I got to tour around Newcastle while the weather was still warm enough.

My flatmates commented today that I'm starting to lose the edge off my American accent. It's definitely not as strong as it used to be. When the girls from Rome came to visit, they told me that my inflection is different, and that I ask questions like a Brit. I've even started to pick up on all my British flatmates' sayings ... I can't even imagine what I would sound like if I was staying here for a year.

Tomorrow is a rugby match at home. I should be playing for the 2nd team again, which makes me really happy. I really liked playing with all the Fresher girls I've been training with, plus it's just a lot less intense than the 1st team. I'm all about having fun as a team, not about winning. Then, the entire school almost is going to watch the Newcastle Uni men's team take on the Poly (our rival school) at the Newcastle Falcon's stadium. It should be INSANE. I'll be splitting my time between sitting with the womens rugby team and my group of latmates and friends. Then, it's out for the usual Wednesday night rugby social craziness. Who knows what will happen when the clock strikes midnight ... the team celebrates birthdays like no one's business. Half of me is dreading leaving the teenage years, then again it's one year closer to being 21.