Besides leaving my family and dogs back in Bakersfield, CA, the thing I was missing the most in Newcastle was some real girl bonding time. Luckily, I met some wonderful women during Term 1. These SO's made my first 6 months in England so much easier to enjoy. Rachel, Blaire, Lyndzee, Emily, Sarah C., Sarah G., Sara W., and Louise, I couldn't have made it through the term without you guys. You all were there to show me the ropes of Newcastle, there to relieve me of boredom on any given day, and there if I needed to gripe about my husband (not that that ever happens) :). We had some really fun adventures throughout the term and it would take me endless hours of blogging to regale you all with the stories, so I think maybe I'll just highlight a few key events.
First of all, I got connected with most, if not all of these girls through Rachel, my saviour! The night before Josh's student orientation week began, we went to a meet and greet for Term 1 and Term 2 students at Sam Jacks, a local pub. Of course most, if not 99.9% of the people there were students, but I was determined to find a wife! People would come up to me asking if I was a student, etc., and I would respond, "No, but do you know any wives?" To my delight, on the fifth or sixth try, someone said "Yes I do. Let me introduce you to her." From then on, I was a part of the SGU Significant Other's Club.
Early on there was some P90X'ing going on at Lyndzees.
A trip to Leazes Park with the kids.
A metro ride to South Shields Coast with Rachel, Lyndzee, and Jackson.
By October we had gone to a church talent show to see Lyndzee, Sarah C., and Louise perform a musical from Wicked.
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Blaire, Glenda, Rachel, Me
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A rented car and a drive to Hadrian's Wall, Alnwick, Banburgh, and Costco (yes, they have that here).
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| A little windy! |
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| Hadrian's Wall (Sycamore Gap) |
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| Alnwick Castle |
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| Banburgh Castle |
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So nice to be in a car!!!
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And by the end of November, there had been a MetroCenter Mall trip to eat at Nando's Restaurant (my favorite here in Newcastle), a TGI Friday's night, and a tour of Newcastle's Castle with Sarah G.
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| MetroCenter: Sara W., Me, Blaire, and Emily |
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| Blaire, Emily, Lyndzee |
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| Sara W., and Me |
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| TGI Friday's with Rachel for our birthdays. Only 1 day apart! |
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| Lyndzee, Me, Rachel, Blaire, Sarah G., Emily, & Sara W. |
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| Newcastle's Castle with Sarah G. |
Thanks for all the good times girls. I look forward to more adventures in the coming term, and to being reunited with my fellow SO's in Grenada!
