The Minerva Pub

'Ello!!!

I can't believe that TODAY is my last day!! I'm really sad to be leaving but really anxious to get home too and take an actual "vacation" with Jake and the Montie's at Higgins Lake!

Last night in celebration of finishing up all of our projects, a couple girls and I went with the masters students to a pub called "Minerva". This was definitely the traditional pub, as it has been around since the 1500s!! It was a very small hole in the wall place that you'd normally pass by without noticing it. The whole front half of the pub was full of a variety of musicians from violins, banjos, acoustic guitars, to flutes accordions, and tambourines. The rest of the pub was filled with 50-70 year old men who had been going to this pub ever since they were little. The majority of the night we listened to the "band" play Irish drinking songs while the locals all slurred through the songs together in unison. It's so hard to describe an experience like that...but I finally felt like I had at last seen a traditional English pub.

We ended up "meeting" two 50+ year old men from Italy that spoke Portuguese. We couldn't understand a word they were saying yet they were still talking to us anyways. They greeted us like we were all old pals with a casual kiss on each cheek. It was quite the experience.

Tonight I am attending a graduation ceremony for the Year 4 masters students then probably going out with all the MSU students to our favorite pub The Fresher Professor to celebrate our last night in England.

I just can't believe how much I've learned and experienced on this trip. I had no idea what to expect on this trip and I can honestly say that this trip has and will change my life. I think it's really important to step into a different culture at some point in your life because not only do you learn about this new culture but you also learn a lot about your own culture back home. England is an amazing country and I definitely want to come back. I've never met people so friendly and kind. Every person that I've met has really had an impact on me and I hope that I've had an impact on them as well. I know I've definitely had to clear up America's name a couple times here, but hopefully a few words that I said will change that person's thoughts positively.

This is probably my last blog entry for this trip (I have to leave for the US at 5am tomorrow morning) so I just want to thank everyone for reading, commenting, and keeping in touch with me throughout this trip. You all made it so much easier being away from home in a foreign country so I just want to thank you for attributing towards my incredible experience here. Hopefully I will get a chance to talk with all of you about my experiences and show you my pictures! Until then...I will be back in the US at around 5:20pm tomorrow. Thanks again for keeping me company on my trip to Jolly Old. :)

Warmly,

Tara