Goodbye Milwaukee, Hello Vegas, Goodbye Vegas, Hello Virginia!

So, i think the title captures my life for the last couple of weeks - it has been a whirlwind!!! It has been a time full of highs and lows, and a definite rollercoaster ride but i survived it and am now here in a rather humid and thunderstormy Virginia! I have got to say, i NEVER pictured myself being here when i first set off for America last August, but this really does feel like the right place to be and the right thing to do. Beginnings are always daunting, and endings are always horrible, but America is where i should be right now, and, as always, i am loving almost every minute of it!

Mine and Janine's last photo before i left for the airport

So, as predicted, leaving Milwaukee was TOUGH but unlike most people, i do feel like i got some sort of closure on that section of my life. The last week in Milwaukee was a crazy whirlwind of attempting to pack all my stuff into one suitcase, getting my hair cut, and trying to absorb as much of Milwaukee and see as many people as physically possible! I spent time hanging out at peoples houses (or people hanging out at the dorms - poor them!), getting ice cream from Cold Stones (one of my favourite places!) and going out and having fun in the evenings. Then, i had an awesome 'leaving' night out on Friday night with (almost) all of my most favourite people - we went to Alterra, and then to The Black Rose and then downtown. It was a slightly drunken night but very much fun - it made me wish so hard that i had more time to hang out with these people, but leaving was inevitable. I don't want to relive the goodbyes - they were constant and sometimes very emotional, and it got to the point where i just didn't want to say any more, as everyone knows that your friendship afterwards will never be the same again. But, its over now, and as much as saying goodbye hurts, I am still glad that i spent that time with the people i did, and i will never forget the fun we all had! On Saturday night, whilst everyone else left, i spent the night at Janine's house - we went to Bayshore where i bought shorts, and ate mexican food, and met up with John and Emily and their 'crazy about British people' friend by the lake front which was so much fun. And then, in the morning, i left Milwaukee for good. I was sad on the plane, but it felt like closure. And i know that i will keep in touch with the people i want to keep in touch with, and that we will meet again one day. It all feels like some surreal dream that i stepped into and i am left thinking 'did that really happen???' but i am so glad that it did!

James, Jack, Jess and Myself at the Grand Canyon

So then it was time to go with Jess, James and Jack to VEGAS!!!!!!!! I was initially a little apprehensive about going, but i am SO glad i did - it was an amazing vacation, and just what i needed! We did some awesome things - a night out in bars and clubs on the Sunday, looking at all the amazing hotels (and the fountain show and the pirate show!) and going to see Cirque de Soleil on Monday, riding in a red convertable Mustang, going to the grand canyon and doing the sky walk, seeing the Hoover Dam, having dinner at a revolving restaurant 106 floors in the air looking over the lights of Vegas on Tuesday, even more Hotel viewing and watching the boys do the 'sky jump' on Wednesday - it was AWESOME - definitely the kind of vacation people dream about!! We had very little sleep but that made it even better - it has definitely been my favourite vacation in a VERY long time. Memories to treasure, lol :-) The only bad thing was i got conjunctivitus in one of my eyes, which made it watery and stingy and sore, but, after ignoring it for two days or so, it went almost away, which meant no expensive doctors treatment, yay (and it's all better now :-) )! It didn't impact on my experience too much! I was glad that leaving Vegas wasn't difficult though (although overnight flights are DEF not my thing!) - i am so done with difficult goodbyes for the minute!

So then it was onwards to Virginia, the next part of my American adventure, a part that i never thought would exist! I arrived at Roanoke airport after little to no sleep, and after a two hour drive, was thrown straight into the Stage Management side of things, which was wonderful! Here i am kind of sharing a room, kind of not (my area is the walk through area to a room off to the side, so although the sleeping area isn't the same, we still share a door!) - luckily, i am used to the lack of privacy after this year! Everything here has felt like a wierd dream - the weather is humid which is affecting my hair BIG TIME, and there are bugs and lots of thunder storms and just about everything i am scared of lives here, eeek! But it is very beautiful, and the landscape reminds me of the UK :-) And, as always, i love SM-ing (although i think i am missing doing charity work again... i will have to start up some good old volunteering when i return to the UK!). Not having a car is going to be interesting, as we are in the middle of nowhere, but hopefully i will find ways round things, i am pretty adaptable! As always, a new place is going to take a little bit of time to get used to, but i can tell that this is going to be a very comfortable summer and i am going to like it a lot here :-) I just can't wait to get properly into things!!

Anyway, that is all for now - i will update again soon!

Ciao ragazzi xxx