Week Nine: Personal

Entering Panama

On Saturday 10th march I set off with some of my new friends for my first ever spring break experience!  As we loaded the Jeep on a beautiful spring morning my excitement increased at the thought of a week on a beach in Florida.  However I had the 8 hour drive to conquer first!  I have never been a good traveller, and realistically there is no where at home that I ever go that is more than a 2 hour drive, so the idea of 8 hours stuck in a car was not at all appealing.  Thankfully the car journey flew by with various food stops, and at 7 that night we drove into Panama City, where we would spend our spring break.


Our hotel was right on the beach, with a beautiful view of the sea.  Initially on Sunday it was a bit cloudy but warm, however Monday to Friday were warm sunny days, which we spent lazing on the beach and swimming in the sea.  It was so relaxing to be able to spend the days lying in the sun and playing beach volleyball, or swimming in the sea and collecting shells.  It was a perfect way to spend the week after the hectic few weeks which have just passed.  We also ate out at numerous local restaurants, and I experienced various forms of fish which seems to be the local food source in Florida, from crab, catfish to calamari and shrimp.

View from the hotel

One of the highlights of the week was the free concert on the beach by one of my favourite country singers, Luke Bryan.  I have always loved country music since I was a child and in America my love has tripled as country music is everywhere!  On Tuesday I headed down to a restaurant by the beach where I queued along with thousands of other college students to see Luke Bryan.  Finally after about an hour we got out onto the deck where he was playing, and I spent two hours standing in the sun on a beach in Florida listening to one of my favourite singers play.  It probably was one of the best afternoons of the trip and I am definitely going to try and see him again before I leave!

Unfortunately St Patricks day fell on the Saturday we were due to drive home from Florida, so I didn't really get to celebrate it.  However everywhere I looked American's were wearing green T-shirts and hats and making more of a fuss about the holiday than we do at home!  On the way home we stopped at Burger King, where we were given green ketchup and green drinks, I was half expecting my chips to end up being green.


Despite an amazing week away with some amazing people, I found myself slightly homesick for Oxford, and I was extremely glad to finally make it home late Saturday night, despite the large amount of washing, revising and work which lay ahead of me!  Although this does make me wonder how homesick for Oxford I will be when I finally leave, as a week away caused me to miss it!