Monday, May 16, 2011

And it's all over... Well the study part at least (written on May 16)

Somehow my semester at Purdue is over. I'm still trying to figure out how time disappeared quite so quickly. As I write this, I am sitting in Chicago's Midway Airport, wearing my Purdue hoodie and preparing to fly to New York to start the next adventure. Tears have been shed as I said goodbye to new friends, including my favourite bar staff of course, and left my wonderful little home of West Lafayette.

My time in the Midwest has certainly been an adventure! From the first weeks where snow plagued the campus with, apparently, unusual harshness, to the beautiful sights of spring, I've had a brief glimpse into another world. West Lafayette is a city created around Purdue University, and as such everything is designed with students in mind. It's a lovely campus, especially when it gets a little warmer, and thankfully everything I have needed has been in walking distance.

Since returning from my trip to Nashville, the focus has undoubtedly been on spending as much time as possible with friends, and enjoying the experience till the final day. School has been noticeably easier in the United States than what I'm used to at home, though I should probably be careful to say much whilst I await the release of my final grades, which has been a bonus as it allows me more free time.

In a couple of hours I will board my flight to New York where I am going to be based for a few days before starting a trip with a company called Trek America. It will be a three week camping trip through the Southern states, beginning in New Jersey, and passing highlights such as Washington D.C., New Orleans, the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas before ending in Los Angeles. After that I will spend a few days in San Francisco before returning to Christchurch. I am looking forward to seeing as much of the States as I can, and particularly spotting the differences between what I have experienced in Indiana, and how the rest of the country operates. I will try and post a couple of updates while I am away, but I am not planning on spending too much time online so anything I do will be sporadic.

But to end, a few pictures from West Lafayette.
Cactus night: Mika, me and Galen.
A blurry picture of our Easter dinner.


Mika before our easter egg hunt.

Dinner at a local Mexican restaurant: Anna and Katie.

One of the fountains at Purdue.

James, me and Ben.

James, me, Ben, Sinead, Monica, Mika and Jonna.

University Hall - slightly different from earlier in the semester!

Our most famous former student.

A sculpture with the bell tower in the background.

The bell tower.

My hallway.

My floor.

Purdue!

My door

The final dinner at Anna's house: Henni, Jonna and Anna.

Anna.

Family portrait: Jonna, Mika, Anna and I.

My room - very tidy as I'm about to leave!
My desk etc.