20 Weeks in Pictures (Weeks 11-20)

CHRISTMAS UPDATE PART 2: 

Week 11: Getting shaved by a crazy Bulgarian.  A group of students were shaving their heads to raise money for breast cancer awareness and a friend offered to find me $50 to donate if I did it.  She found the money and the skin on my head saw the sun for the first time. 

Week 12: Tybee Beach in Savannah.  Tybee is known for two things- a pier and a swarm of jellyfish that attack during summer.  Luckily when some of the GRSPs decided to come and visit us they were nowhere to be found and we spent a relaxing day on the beach.

Week 13: The Armstrong Atlantic Rugby Team (I’m front row, second from right).  This is before our big grudge match game against the Savannah Shamrocks- the local men’s team- also my first ever game.  We started well with a couple of quick tries but then the Shamrocks brought on their impact subs: Hawaiians with arms wider than my head!  Luckily we were able to hold on for the win.   

Week 14: A whale shark cruises the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.  This is the largest aquarium in the world, with over 8 million gallons of water and 60 exhibits.  We visited it as part of a GRSP trip to Atlanta.  Our other stops included the ‘World of Coke’ factory (A word of warning: trying to drink samples of all 60 Coke products without stopping is NOT as much fun as it sounds...) 

Week 15: Some of the GRSP’s during our weekend in Elijay, North Georgia.  We rented a cabin in the mountains above a stunning lake.  As you can see the ‘Fall colors’ in the trees really started to come out and I went a bit tree crazy- this is one of the few photos in my camera with people in it!

Week 16: With some of my favourite United Statiens: Megan, Tershal and Robert.  Robert was at first convinced that New Zealand sat somewhere above Sweden, but we have moved past that and become good friends.  All three are great fun to be around and helped me celebrate my 22^nd Birthday in Savannah.

Week 17: The unfortunate Thanksgiving turkey, which is about to be carved by my host parents.   Thanksgiving is a big deal here in the USA; a good excuse to catch up with family, to relax and to stuff yourself full of delicious food.  I had Thanksgiving dinners back to back- by the time I was finished eating you could nearly roll me down the road...

Week 18: Tinkerbell and Lawrence of Arabia.  Mia (from Denmark) and I agreed to help out in this Rotary charity auction which raised funds for the local library.  As literary characters we would move around the crowd and charm/demand/plead higher bids from the Rotarians.  Good fun. 

Week 19: Festive Swedes!  As soon as my classes finished in Savannah I joined a car going south to Miami and the Bahamas.  The girls are wearing our road trip essentials- Santa hats and novelty sunglasses.  On the way down to Miami we explored the historic cigar town of Ybor and had dinner with Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia!

Week 20: Our cruise ship ‘The Norwegian Sky’ (the fancy one in the back).  It was my first ever cruise and it lived up to all expectations.  There was unlimited food (a good start), the chance to explore Nassau and the Bahamas, and even a private island so we could sun ourselves in the middle of winter! Oh and did I mention the unlimited food...

Hope y'all had a great Christmas- wishing you the very best for New Years

Craig