April, May, & June Catch Up

Substack, I could never forget about you! I've been going nonstop for a few months and finally have caught my breath (read: slept for 12 hours the past three days).

Hi! I am alive! Here’s what I’ve been up to:

• April was for Dublin (AKA doing finals and finishing the semester, but really just side questing): Highlights include some nights out, coffee and lunches with friends, and seeing Pride and Prejudice 2005 in theaters twice.

• Copenhagen, Oslo, and Bergen: I had a two-week break before summer semester started so I used it to travel. I convinced Mikayla (one of my church friends who I also saw P&P with twice) to go to Copenhagen with me. We stayed in a fun pod hotel and ate our hearts out on pastries (honorable mention to the cotton candy burrito at Tivoli). The weather was lovely, the food was delicious, the company was amazing, and the fashion was everything and more! I then ventured to Oslo for a couple of days where I mainly museumed (lots of Munch) and enjoyed time outside in parks and gardens. I then took the train to Bergen and did a fjord cruise. Izzy and Ashton took a senior trip across Norway, so we met up in Bergen for a couple of days. We saw goats, experienced a national holiday parade, ate so many hot dogs and drank so much Dr. Pepper, lounged in parks, and laughed so so much. It was such a much-needed reunion with some of my best friends.

  

  

  Assorted photos from Copenhagen and Oslo

  

  

  

  Bergen in pictures

  

• Classes have started and I am taking three modules this term: Multi Element Behavioral Supports (MEBS), Research Methods, and Identity, Sexuality, & Mortality (ISM). ISM is my favorite since it’s more theory, conceptual, and abstract. I am also loving research methods. I am working on a cool research project with Calina (one of my best friends in the programme) about disability and access to reproductive healthcare services. It’s a much more intellectually stimulating semester than the spring (but I got my grades back and I did well despite like never being in the country).

• Lauren in Ireland: Lauren visited at the beginning of the semester and we adventured! We went to Wicklow with some of my friends and toured a textile mill, did a big slide in the forest, and a scenic drive. She adventured across Ireland while I was in class, but we did take a weekend trip to Cork. Don’t miss out on the Cork Butter Museum, I loved it there. I also played the bells at a church which I am sure the neighbors absolutely adored and kissed the Blarney Stone. We did the Viking Splash Tour, which was so goofy, and saw Tina the Musical (where it became evident that I really did not know much about her at all; luckily, Lauren put up with my silly comments).

Adventures of Sydney and Lauren

• Manchester weekend: I had a flight discount to use by mid-June so I decided to go to Manchester (since it was close-ish) and I could book a tour from Manchester to Chatsworth House (every P&P lover’s dream). I went to a ton of museums and especially loved the fashion exhibit in the art museum. There was a beautiful library that I visited, as well. Also very important to note that I found Coconut Dr. Pepper in Manchester, tasted just like home. Chatsworth House was stunning and I spent a few hours reading in the gardens, which was so Elizabeth Bennet of me.

  

  

  

  Sights from Manchester and Chatsworth

• London weekend: In March, Marley and I suddenly decided to buy tickets for Beyoncé, it did not disappoint. I flew in on a Thursday and immediately went to “Here We Are” at the National Theatre. It is one of Sondheim’s last works (and debatably unfinished) and had a stacked cast (Jane Krakowski, Martha Plimpton, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Harry Hadden-Paton, and so many more). On Friday I brunched with Caroline and went to the Wallace Collection. I visited Abbey Road and sat in Kensington Gardens for a while. I ate dinner with Thea and it was just the ideal day. Marley flew in on Friday night and we touristed on Saturday morning (of course visiting Borough Market, my favorite). Saturday night was for Cowboy Carter and the cutest worker in the shop found me since I’d asked her about the buttons they were selling and she knew they were running low so she snagged me one; it was so kind. The show did not disappoint. I was in awe. I am so glad I went.

  

  Cowboy Carter

• Nain in Ireland: Nain and Alli came to Dublin on their fun European adventure. Nain managed to get a ticket to the Charli XCX concert so she got to come with me and my friends. I went to some different pubs with them for live music and visited Christ Church Cathedral and the Oscar Wilde House. Nain and Alli are seriously some of my favorite people to talk to and I am so glad I got to catch up with them. They also brought the good weather with them, so we got lots of good park time. It was the dreamiest few days.

  

  Nain Time!

TL;DR: I was so busy and as a consequence got sick a few times and fell so behind on life (seriously, I haven’t written in my journal since March and the junk journal pile is making me look like a hoarder). If you have been victimized by my 103 unread text messages, please don’t take it personally! I’ve loved traveling so much and seeing new things—I feel like I’ve successfully taken advantage of living here. I am also so grateful that my friends chose to visit me. I feel so loved even though I am so far away from so many people I adore.

However, the homebody in me is so excited to have the rest of the summer to myself. I am currently doing a massive load of laundry, going to meal prep, and rounding the night off with an everything shower. Then my weekend reset will be over and I can start the week off well-rested and ready to get stuff done and to be in real life for the first time in like a month! I am in Dublin for the rest of the summer, and maybe even longer if I find a job here. I have tickets to a few more concerts, loads of classes, and hopefully a lot of nice nights outside with friends.

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CHAT TIME

• UMM so now I’m in Ireland for the rest of the summer and figuring out my life. If you were victimized by my unread messages, let’s schedule a FaceTime because I miss you dearly and have done so poorly at having meaningful conversations with you these past couple of months (aside from memes and tweets). Seriously let’s have an in-depth catch up.

• The Bear, TSITP, Hacks, TLOU, RPDR All Stars: Drop all of your thoughts and text me when you watch them. I am stoked.

• Summer music: I am currently playing the new Haim album on repeat and Audrey Hobert’s singles. Of course I am loving the Lorde drops, but I am also digging revisiting her old stuff. CMAT’s “Take a Sexy Picture of Me” keeps getting stuck in my head, so I may need to spend more time digging into her stuff. I also listened to Fearless and Speak Now and it felt so childhood summer and brought me so much joy. What are you listening to right now? I still feel like I am missing a song of the summer, what are you thinking it is?

• If you are looking for a good pop culture think piece, here’s one a friend sent to me that I enjoyed very much.

• What are you cooking this summer? I have gotten really into gourmet toast (the Penthouse knows ALL about my Tony Caputo moment) and some summery pastas, but I need more inspiration. Also, I am very into sweet potatoes at the current moment, so if you’ve got good recipes for those, send them my way.

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I’ll try to not fall off the face of the earth again and hopefully will have fun things to tell you sometime soon. I tried to fit as many pictures as possible in, but you may be better off just stalking my Instagram. Have such a lovely summer!