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Ziplining!

Today, Audrey and Ollie rescued me from the farm and we went Ziplining in Haldon Park, a forest in Devon.  It was such a wonderful day!  The ziplining/high ropes course was set up well and the weather was perfect!  I am so happy to see the sun!!  It has been raining soooo much and even when it’s not raining there’s so much cloud cover that I haven’t seen the sun in weeks.  I am really not exaggerating.  But today was amazing!  It was cool this morning, but as we carried on through the course, it warmed up and the sun stayed out. 

The actual high ropes and ziplining course was so much fun.  They had some pretty difficult obstacles, one really long zip (and some other smaller ones) and what they called “Tarzan Swing.”  On the last swing you dropped a bit before the line caught you and then swung into a net.  It was such a thrill.  

I have been so incredibly stressed with my dissertation overhaul (I’ve had to re-do a lot of my work bc I’ve had little guidance from my supervisor).  And I have been really isolated out here on the farm without transportation.  I really needed to hang out with friends and get off the farm.  It was a much needed break from the stress and isolation.

Alas, the break was only temporary.  I must get back to re-writing my dissertation.

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Christmas in England (at Exeter, Devon)

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Exmouth beach trip with the windsurf society. Tried windsurfing for the first time! #england #HelloExeter #windsurf

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How do you spend your last day in the US? Skiing at #loganmartinlake of course!

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England Day 1

This morning I had to say goodbye to some amazing people (some not so amazing) that I have gotten to know over the last semester.My little group decided to stay on the ship until the absolute final call…There was lots of tears and talk of reunions and meeting up this summer. It is weird not seeing everyone and eating meals with my friends in our “usual” places. But on a happier note, I’M IN ENGLAND!I rode the shuttle from the port to Heathrow with Martha and just looked out the window for a long time and tried not to think of the people I was leaving behind.I dozed on and off until we got to the airport then I helped Martha find her terminal and had to say another goodbye.It took me a while to figure out how to work the trains since they have the underground, above ground and national lines all in one place. But I got it and boarded the train to my hostel.My stop is at King’s Cross Station (for the Harry Potter ignorant, that’s the station that leads to Hogwarts).First of all, the station is HUGE and the adjoining station, St. Pancras (not Pancreas… like I thought at first) is beautiful!!I marveled outside for a bit, but I was starving since I hadn’t eaten anything in over 10 hours.I then began the search for my hostel. After a bit of second guessing and backtracking I found it and got checked in.I called my parents on the best wifi I have used in 4 months and talked for a while, then I was off to find some dinner.I wandered around for a while to see what the area had to offer and someone suggested a burger place.I cleaned my plate and thought about licking it, but it was totally overpriced. After I finished eating, I walked around the area again before returning to the hostel to get ready for the next day.

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Queens of the Court…. 🏐 court of course! (at Exeter, Devon)

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Explore. See. Do. (at Prague, Czech Republic)

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England is extra beautiful today #HelloExeter #england #wanderlust #exeter #nature (at University of Exeter)

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Farm Life

Now that we have released the birds, I get up at dawn and dusk to go check on the birds and make sure they can all get back into the pen.  I could live without the dawn bit, but since I’m just working on writing my dissertation, I can go back to bed for a little while (at least until the rest of the house gets up... man I miss living alone).  On the other hand, I have seen some amazing sunsets over the beautiful hills of Dartmoor.

The birds are starting to really look like adults.  The males are over the hill of puberty and starting to get their adult crows and beautiful purple and green feathers.  Although, they look pretty goofy right now with part juvenile feathers and part adult feathers.  I’ve also learned how to use the telemetry equipment to find dead birds.  (They have the same Marshall system that we used at the zoo for free-flighted birds, so I just refined my skills).  It seems kind of silly, but it’s so rewarding to actually find that little AA-battery sized radio tag in a huge field.  I mean, super unfortunate because that means a bird died.... but that’s how it goes.

I have been beating my head against the wall the past week or so trying to analyze my data and get something I can interpret for my dissertation.  To be honest, I think actually beating my head against the wall would have been more productive.  I hope I’ve gotten it figured out - I know I’m overthinking it... and I want to do stats that I don’t know how to do... but what’s new there - I wouldn’t be Kandace if I wasn’t trying to overthink and overcomplicate things.  But I’m just going with what I have now.  I need to get my results and discussion written and submit a draft.  

When I am sufficiently braindead from stats, I do a little research on Italy.  I am so excited!!  I can’t believe in less than a month I will be visiting the Colosseum and Vatican City and eating ALL THE GELATO (I’ve been trying to workout in preparation).  And of course now that I have a date to come back home, I am homesick and so excited to get home (being stranded on a farm with unfriendly roommates doesn’t help either).  I am so ready for this dissertation to be done and packing my bags for the US and Italy!!!  

[kandace-exeter]

So, long time, no blog.  I don’t even remember the last time I was on here, so I’ll give a quick summary of the past few months.

I have finished all my coursework, aside from my dissertation write up (which is a huge portion of my degree, but hey, small victories).

I have moved from my flat in Exeter to a cottage on North Wyke Farm in the middle of nowhere, Devon.  We have been raising 130 pheasant chicks and putting them through a series of cognitive tests.  My experiment asked if thwarting expectations influences inhibitory control - basically do slightly cross birds have lower self-control.  Turns out, they do.  Now I’m working on the write up.

We also fit the birds with radio trackers and released them into an open topped pen this past Wednesday.  So they are in the wild, but if they stay in the pen, they will hopefully be protected from predators.  I’m staying on the farm while everyone else moves back to Exeter to usher the birds back into the pen at dawn and dusk.  Sometimes a frustrating (and painful - lots of sticker bushes) task, and I just want to tell them “help me, help you.”

Today, I am moving yet again.  This time I’m moving from the cottage we have been living in for the past 10 weeks to a cottage closer to the farm.  Now I’ll be sharing a house with 3 new people (yay...).  But it’s only for a month.

So what’s left of my time in England will be chasing birds and writing about birds, I’m not sure which will be more productive... ha.  I have officially bought my flight back to the US... by way of ITALY!  My friend, Susanna, and I are going to have a quick holiday in Italy before I head back to the US, and she continues on for a theater workshop thing.  I submit my dissertation on 31 Aug and we leave for Italy on 2 Sept.  Then I will be heading back to the US on 10 Sept!  I cannot believe it’s been nearly a year since I packed my bags and moved 4000 miles away.

I know another adventure awaits!

[kandace-exeter]

Christmas in England (at Exeter, Devon)

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Queens of the Court…. 🏐 court of course! (at Exeter, Devon)

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Explore. See. Do. (at Prague, Czech Republic)

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"Wait, what state is Alabama in?"

Last night was the volleyball club (EUVC) Christmas dinner. My friend Audrey and I got all fancied up and went to have dinner and mingle with many of the players. It was loads of fun. I am so happy we decided to go. I'm so happy I found some fellow volleyballers, especially Audrey who played in college too. It's been a wonderful first term in England. Tonight I'm "Trying out" for the club team here since I might be able to play with them next term since my class schedule has changed. I hope I'll be able to compete again.

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Today, I took a trip to Bath to get some Christmas shopping at the famous Bath Christmas market. It was Huge! Tons of stalls with many different things. I hope I got some gifts that people will enjoy 😊 it was great walking around, but man was it crowded! I was over the crowds after a while so I went to the Circus area and people watched and checked out the houses. The circus is a circular building with townhouses. It was interesting to see how each one had a different door and knocker when everything else outside was very similar to one another. I enjoyed the day, but I was very happy to warm up with a shower and rest my sore, cold feet. Can't wait to give all the gifts!

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Thanksgiving Prep

Tonight I went to see a play with some friends. I've been to more productions in 2 months in England than I have my whole life it seems! ... I guess befriending the theatre practice major next door has made me into a theatre-goer.

And now we are preparing for Friendsgiving! We have a 20lb Turkey brined and ready for the oven tomorrow. I have mounds of sweet potatoes to peel and slice. And I'm really excited to have found friends to share this day with.

I'm definitely bummed to be away from family for the holiday. But so grateful for the friends I have here. I still can't believe I'm celebrating Thanksgiving in England! I expect this to be a very memorable holiday 😊

We have many people from the US, preparing classic dishes. And lots of other folks from around the world bringing all different kinds of food. I want to write down the menu and see just how global this holiday will be for us.

I'm so excited to try lots of new things and familiar things made differently. But slightly apprehensive too. (Susanna says this rice dressing stuff is delicious.... But its just not mawmaw's). I'm so happy to have all this comfort food, but a little worried it will make me miss my family and our recipes.

Or maybe we will be too happy and having too brilliant a time to even consider family recipes! Susanna and I will be in the kitchen all day babysitting the turkey and "studying." I am pretty excited to see how this will turn out! 🦃

[kandace-exeter]

Saw a pretty hilarious show tonight. Jinkx Monsoon and Major Scales, you crushed it!