Song Of My Week: Relient K

Christmas this week so thought a Christmas song would be quite appropriate. This is an awesome version of the 12 Days Of Christmas by the amazing Relient K. If you would rather watch a more exciting/funny video of the song then watch the video below, it is very amusing!




Merry Christmas everyone!

Back To The Homeland

Wow. Scotland is white. I have never seen Scotland this covered in snow since I have been living here, it is completely crazy! It does however make a very average looking town like Stranraer into a beautiful, artistic town which is something I also haven't seen since I started living here.

I got back here on Sunday morning after a ridiculously long flight. I had to wait in New York for five hours praying that my flight wasn't going to be cancelled because I had been watching the Heathrow and Manchester ones being called off all day. Luckily mine wasn't and soon enough I was taking off. On the plane I was sat next to a rather odd looking man who had just been on a family cruise in the Caribbean and after a little while talking he told me that he was a stand-up comedian who knew alot of the people I would watch on tv and youtube. He was possibly the most interesting guy I have ever sat beside on any journey. If you are wondering his name is Stuart Mitchell, one to watch out for in the future.

This week has mainly been spent with my girlfriend, Claire, which has been awesome to see her again I missed her alot! On Tuesday though was the one and only John Pickens birthday. This day consisted of us going out for a pheasant shoot which was great fun with idiots like Robert Austin, Blair Wallace, Cammy Shaw, Grant Walker, Mikey Menarry and of course John. This was my first time shooting so I didnt get a gun I just stuck to beating and being a team player with a few cheeky assists. After a long day we then had an amazing birthday dinner thanks to Mrs Lindsay Picken whos cooking I have missed greatly since being in the US, so that was all good. We all then went out to the pub with a lot of Johnnies friends and we all had fun there until the end when some bams started fighting in the pub, nothing to do with any of our crowd, but did put a slight dampener on what was overall a fantastic day! Thanks Picken. It was also great to see a lot of my old friends from school there so was great to catch up, will hopefully see them again soon.

Being home has been great so far but still all I can do is think about the New Year and what GRSP will bring! The excitement and anticipation is too much. I cannot wait for the best year of my life to restart after having a great holiday back home.

Claire is coming to see me again this afternoon, and then tomorrow I will hopefully be having lunch with Kerr Aitken which would be amazing chat to see that boy once again and also will be leaving to go to Liverpool tomorrow for Christmas. I have not even thought about Christmas atall this year, there have been far too many other exciting things going on. Can't wait to see all the family though it will be amazing!

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year all! I'll keep you updated.

God Bless, Andrew x

Song Of My Week: Fanfarlo

I thought seeing as I am very much into music that I would start posting my favourite song of the week. I hope you enjoy.

This week the song I have liked most is Fanfarlo - Harold T. Wilkins from their album Reservoir.

First Half is Over, Can't Wait for the Second to Begin.

This video cannot fail to bring a smile to your face.


Semester one finished today in possibly one of the strangest experiences of my academic life. After awaking at 7 o'clock for my French exam at 8, Christian and I braced the near Arctic conditions of downtown Atlanta this morning to take the 10 minute walk to where our French exam was supposed to be taking place. When we got there a notice on the door informed us that the room had been changed to a room on the other side of campus... great. We were not best pleased. However it was nothing a quick Starbucks couldn't fix. When we finally made it to the new exam room we strolled in to find it full of people and every single desk was taken up. The professor then told us we were to take the exam with no desk and do it on our lap which to us was completely crazy. All I can say is I'm glad that I'm not here to pursue my career aspirations. It was a great feeling to get it out of the way and hopefully I have managed to pass!

This weekend the Rotary Club had it's Christmas party at The Double Tree Hotel in Roswell. After putting on my suit and getting spruced up we headed to the event which was having around 140 people to turn out. The decorations where pretty, the food was excellent and the chat was great! My favourite moment however was the Kazoo Blowing Christmas Carol Competition, which involved a few table blowing into their kazoos (google them) to make a Christmas carol. Although we didn't win and although nobody recognised what song we were playing (it was We Wish You A Merry Christmas and yes we were beyond terrible) I think everyone had a fun time.

The first half of my year is now coming close to an end, which I have to admit is slightly depressing, but although it has gone past very quickly I do not feel I am wasting any time and I have done so much this year that I will never forget and every weekend and week has been filled with activities. I couldn't been doing more than I am. this year I have also met the most amazing people I have and probably will ever meet. This is the greatest opportunity which I have ever been presented and I have taken full advantage of it. I look back on this semester and cannot stop myself from smiling, it is almost like a dream. Life has never been as good.   

As Christmas and my flight back home are just around the corner I am filled with excitement! Seeing all of my old friends and seeing my family is going to be amazing, I cannot wait. Although the weather is looking not great for the weekend I'm supposed to be flying home so please pray that I make it... (I know Mr. Kerr Hugh Thomas Aitken will be ;))
Anyway the rest of this week will involve Christmas shopping, packing, relaxing and getting ready for my trip home. Hope you're all doing well, see you soon!

God Bless, Andrew x

Finals!

Life at GSU this week has been stressful for most of the people here due to this being exam week, however for us GRSP's stress has not been an issue. Christian and I have only one final left now on Monday which is French and I reckon my little sister Beth could pass with flying colours (I better not fail now....).
On Monday around 25 of us went to an Ice Hockey game at Phillips Arena. We were placed in a fantastic executive box with free food, drinks and fun! This would be the last time I would see all of the GRSP's before 2011 so we all had a great time with each other and to make it even better the Thrashers won in overtime 3-2.  This could not have happened without the amazing Bob Hope, Christians host dad, who managed to get the box for free from one of his many contacts, thanks Bob!
Since it is the end of semester I have packed up most of my stuff ready to move out for Christmas and ready to go back to the UK which I am terribly excited about, hopefully the 4 million inches of snow Scotland has just now will have disappeared so my flight can actually fly.
Today I will be going for dinner with my host family and then tomorrow is the Roswell Rotary Christmas Party so this should be excellent fun.
Life now is slowing down with Christmas and home drawing near life is as good as ever, the excitement of seeing my family and my gorgeous girlfriend gives me lots to look forward to. This is honestly the best time of my life I cannot imagine ever having more fun!

God bless, Andrew.

Blog Numero Wan (One) 3rd December 2010

Hello there I am Andrew if you don't know me and I am on a Rotary Scholarship for this year in Atlanta, Georgia, I am from Northern Ireland but I am representing Scotland on this trip as that is where I have lived for the past 12 years. I am studying at Georgia State University right in downtown Atlanta (i.e where a lot of crazies live). I live in student apartments with my good friend Christian Chalk from lovely Wrexham, Wales. We have good fun. I also have two other suite mates from the US but they aren't very talkative and to mine and Christians shame we only discovered one of our their names two weeks ago... However we all live in relative harmony and life is gooooood. Anyway thats the boring bit over, let the bloggin' begin.

  

As I only decided to start blogging four months into my trip there is far too much stuff which has happened for me to recap on so I will not be going over the past but don't worry because the future is going to be just as good and most likely MUCH better! All I can say is the GRSP's are amazing. The most fun people I have ever met.

Where do I begin..... ATHENS last weekend. Amazing. Dave (host dad) had tickets to the Georgia vs Georgia Tech football match (americano) and it was going to be awesome. First of all we got there and went straight to the biggest tailgate I've ever seen. There were around 20 people all standing beer in hand next to approximately one million plates of food. I got introduced to a few people grabbed a hamburger and took a seat listening to the insanely loud country music from this guys trailer, life was good. Next thing i know a rather dodgy looking bus arrives and 30 more people climb off, looking rather worse for wear, and head straight to our tailgate. Within a matter of minutes all of the food is gone. They like their food these football fans do. 

Next up we went to the GRSP tailgate which was lot smaller but the people there were much more attractive. We spent a little while there talking to the guys and having general good chat while watching Anders and Anton try too cook possibly the worlds largest steak on the worlds smallest barbecue, for you guys who did not see this it was a hilarious site. 

The air was cool, the night was nigh and gametime had arrived. Our seats were in section 600 which is the highest you can get and right with the away fans. We were wrapped in blankets, jackets, gloves and scarves... It was freezing! The game was not very pretty but Georgia ended up winning, YAS.

That night we all stayed over at UGA and had a blast. That night consisted of raving, Garething (bailing) into bushes, general hyperness with everyone and almost no sleep. The next day we got a ride home in a Mustang and ate Ramen.

The rest of this week has been filled with exams, shopping, chatroulette and my first basketball game. It was ace defo shall be back. 

Next up a relaxing weekend with the hosts and a football (soccer) match on Sunday then the GRSP go to the Thrashers on Monday! 

CANT WAIT.

Talk soon. Andrew x