Back once again...

Hey there folks! Sorry I haven't updated this since shortly before Christmas (what am I playing at?) but it's not as if I haven't been writing elsewhere!

Since my last blogging experience around 3 months ago I have been up to so many things, it really has been crazy! My time in Tennessee is slowly but surely coming to end, after all they do say 'time flys when your having fun.'

When writing news stories or when I am speaking with friends or family I always try and describe things in a vivid manner, but to describe my time here at the University of Tennessee in such a short and to the point way really would be impossible. I have loved my time here and to see the months turn to weeks and weeks turn to days of my time left in 'Big Orange Country' its becoming hard to understand.

Back in August when I arrived in Tennessee I said to myself - this is going to be a great experience and I intend to make the most of it, and I thoroughly believe I have. Each new day opens new doors and I learn something new about not only myself but how I want to build upon my chosen career path.

At the University of Tennessee there is so many doors to open and I have become familiar with how not only to open them but take advantage of each room with a view. Although I still have just over 2 months left in the United States, my stay so far would definitely not be as rewarding and unforgettable if I didn't have the people around me who have helped make this experience worthwhile.

In the Southern States they are known for that 'Southern Hospitality' and they have without a doubt lived up to the stereotype since I have stepped foot in Tennessee. The people are really inviting and accommodating and although I may be 4,000 miles from home Tennessee truly has became a 'home from home' experience.

Since term started in January I have been extremely active not only with school work but by attending events and expanding my growing list of friends. (I know Mr. Popular) haha.

One event which effectively didn't take place in Tennessee but will be a lasting memory of mine was travelling back home in January for my Father's 50th birthday! It truly was a remarkable experience! Anyone who knows me closely knew I was travelling back home for it and everyone has asked me 'how did it go?'

Well anyone who knows my Dad will know he is not the quietest person around (I wonder where I get the loudness from?!) so to see him speechless for an hour is unbelievable. Yes, that was his reaction when I walked in through the doors of his surprise 50th birthday.

My week back home was great, I got to firstly see my family which was awesome (why am I speaking American?!) and also I spent the rest of my time with close friends...what more could you ask for?? I will elaborate more about the party and my week back home in future posts as I have pictures and maybe a few sneaky videos to add.

In this latest blog post I will not be including any photos, but please don't fret - I can assure you I have been taking plenty, but to be honest currently I just do not have time to re-size and add them to this particular blog entry.

One of the reasons I believe I haven't been blogging as much as I would like to have done is because I became accustomed to adding pictures to every blog entry which obviously takes up a lot of time as I seem to add quite a few. Hopefully during my last few weeks in Tennessee I hope to blog more regularly but with less pictures and just general thoughts and opinions which I have.

Hope everything is great in the 'mena and if you are reading from further afield the thoughts are mutual.

All the best!

Nial

2 Months later - I'm still here!

Ok, so 2 months is a long time and thats how long it has taken me to get to this point. To say 'uni' work here is a lot harder in the U.S. is a real understatement. The past two months really have been hectic regarding school work, I'm not saying all I have done is work, work, work it just takes a lot of your time up then you obvioulsy have less time for other things such as this.

I'm here now and I'm not going to drag on about school work being difficult because to put it bluntly I have loved all my classes and anything to do with them during my first semester here at The University of Tennessee. My teachers and my classmates have all been a great help, this is especially important as I was trying not only to settle here at UT as a student but I had to adapt my lifestyle too.

Since October 2nd sporting events, travelling, schoolwork and making new and interesting friendships have been the highlights. I know I keep going on about how everything is so great out here in the States and how I am having a great time and you all must be wondering have I had any bad experiences?! To answer that question - I really have not had one time where I have felt down and out, if I did I would have definately done something about it. Obviously I miss friends and family but I always anticipated that before I left home, so therefore it has not been a real shock being away. It's just about learning and teaching yourself to make the most of being away from home. My time has really flown in here, I read online before I made the journey across the pond that "your time will fly, make the most of it etc. etc." and I took those quotes with a pinch of salt, I actually thought my time here would drag in but it's been quite the opposite, which I guess is a good thing.

So here it goes the moment you have all been waiting for, the pictures! I have taken so many pictures since October. I don't intend on posting a quarter of them on here so I will share with you some of my favourites and explain them.


Vol Walk

My first few pictures are from the Tennessee v Georgia American Football game. This game was labelled the highlight of the home schedule when the fixtures were released. I guess it is because Georgia is so close and they are a good team. The game was great for Tennessee as they won comprehensively. The photos I am going to show are not of the actual game they are of the lead up before hand which happen before every Tennessee football game. It is called the 'Vol Walk' and it is basically just a walk by the Player's and Staff of the Football team who walk from 'Gibbs Hall' which is an apartment complex where the majority of student athletes live and then proceed from it to the 'Neyland Stadium'

This is the 'Vol Walk' banner, each player and member of staff walks below it.

A large crowd gathers to see the walk before each UT home Football game. It's adds to the great atmosphere. Yes people here like the colour orange.

Oh, I forgot to say the marching band also follows the players and staff. It's a great site to see a sea of orange march towards you! haha!

At this point the band briefly stays in the same spot and 'salutes the hill'. The hill is the highest point of the UT campus which also has the oldest and founding building. It is directly behind where I took this picture from.


Washington D.C.

When I found out back in April of last year that I was going to study abroad for a year one of the first thoughts I encountered was the will to travel. America is such a massive country that each state as a special feature and I really do want to take advantage of that.

I've always wanted to see Washington D.C. because when I watch films or documentaries which make a references to D.C. it has always came across to me as being really clean and a great city.I have a cousin Warren (who I know is reading this, so Hello!) who lives in Bethesda which is a suburb just outside Washington D.C. literally 15 minutes away from the White House by the great metro system which runs throughout the system. Warren graciously offered me a place to stay during my stay which took place from October 11th to 15th.

I flew direct from Knoxville to Dulles Airport and a few metro stops here and there and I was in Bethesda and I first met up with Warren's great fiance, Shana as Warren was working. Shana and I first met outside Barnes & Knoble bookstore which is right in the middle of Bethesda, which is a great place to hang out and chill. We swiftly went for a bite to eat as I was really hungry, we had a good chat for just over an hour or so. Warren met up with us on our way back to Warren's apartment. It was great to see Warren as I hadn't saw him for ages and during my stay in Washington D.C. is was firstly great to hear an actual Northern Irish accent face to face and also just to have a bit of 'craic' together.

After a few long chats and scheduling about what we were going to do during my stay we finally got some sleep. On the Thursday I woke up at the same time as Warren, he had to go to work and I made my way into the centre of Washington D.C. to see all the sites. This is what I was really looking forward to seeing the sites with my own eyes. I really would advise anyone to go to D.C. and see all the sites, everything is just so clean and easy to get access to. Anyway here is some pictures during my day of sight seeing.

This is the Washington Memorial, as you can see it was a great day with not a cloud in the sky although it was exceptionally windy. This photo was taken around 8.30 in the morning.

This is at the bottom of the Memorial. I thought I would get the flag in the picture as Washington D.C. really just signifies how Americans take so much pride in their country.

As I was waiting for my 9.30 time to board the lift to the top of the Monument I ironically ran into a man and wife from County Monaghan who I got to take a photo of me at the bottom of the monumnet with the Lincoln Memorial in the background.

Once I got to the top of the Memorial I got a great view of the city. I really did pick a great day to visit as it was so clear at the top and I could see for miles. In this picture you can see the White House. According to most media outlets at the time when I took this picture George W. Bush was most likely watching Childrens T.V.

This picture shows the famous Lincoln Memorial, again you can see how clear it is.

As I was walking towards the Lincoln Memorial I asked someone to take a photo of me with the Washington Memorial, at this point it was really windy hence the mess of my hair!

The Lincoln Memorial.

The man inside the memorial - Abraham Lincoln.

Another randomer pictures me with Mr. Lincoln. It was really busy at the time I schelduled my visit with him.

The Washington Memorial with the crowds of people.

This is a statue beside the Vietnam War Memorial.

This is the Vietnam War Memorial it is a list of people who died during the Vietnam War it really puts it in the perspective how many people actually died once you see it. The list stretches for about 500 yards name after name after name, this is a very small section of it.

So here it is the most famous house in the world. The White House.

And here I am awaiting my appointment for lunch.

At the time I was there Mr. Bush was out cutting the grass...

Me and Capitol Building.

Warren and I inside his apartment, I'm passing on my new found passion for Tennessee Football!

Warren and I outside his apartment.

Shana and I outside Warren's apartment.

I have a ton of other pictures from D.C. but I don't want to dwell too much on them. My trip to D.C. was really memorable and I had a great time with both Warren and Shana. It was definately a Fall Break to remember.

This is a picture of me with Head Coach of UT's Football team - Philip Fulmer.

And again only with the head coach of the Basketball team - Bruce Pearl.

UT v South Carolina - taken from the 2nd tier and at night this time.

For my Public Affairs 430 class I had to research the Presidential Candidate Fred Thompson. Fred Thompson donated his papers to the University of Tennessee once he 'retired' from being the senator of Tennessee in 2003. Whilst I was looking through the papers I found some really interesting stuff and it was great to hold something which the actual President and the senator of Tennessee both had held at some stage.

This is another piece from the papers. I found it really interesting as the event in the picture was due to take place on September 11th 2001. Obviously the event did not take place due to the terrorist attacks but this is one event at the White House which never took place. It was really interesting to read the part of the papers during the September 11th period so good in fact I wrote a paper on it later in the semester.

Homecoming 2007 at the University of Tennessee.

Homecoming Queen and crowds of people during the Homecoming parade.

UT at the start of Autumn.

A nice tree outside my Journalism school, I snapped it as I was walking to class one day.

My first basketball game. It was an exhibition game during Homecoming, that's why it is not sold out. At this match there was just over 19,000 people although the stadium holds close to 25,000. Sometimes I have to pinch myself and take in that all these facilities are on campus.

Again my first basketball game.

UT v Arkansas (probably my best seats during the season) and another victory at home.

UT defending against Arkansas and Darren McFadden, one of the nations best Football prospects.

Three of Tennessee's best players. (No my brother Aaron is not number 27)


Thanksgiving

During thanksgiving I again made my way to Washington D.C. although I did not spend any great amount of time there, I just met up with Warren and Shana and we made our way to Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania and the home of Shana's family. It was great to get away for Thanksgiving and spend it with Warren and Shana. I also met Shana's family, they were all amazing. They were very hospitable during my stay and it was great to hang out with all of them. We had a great meal during Thanksgiving and the chat was great throughout my stay. Here is some pictures -

This is a picture of the majority of Shana's family and some highly esteemed guests!

Hanna, Colin, (Shana's brother and sister) Warren and I.

Shana and Hanna.

Shana and Warren with the 'Thanksgiving Menu'

Evan, Tyson, Hanna and I during a visit to a great Japanese restaurant. Our cook made the food right in front of us and it was excellent, I can highly recommend the Fried Rice!

Warren and I with the Gabler's.


Nashville Sports Trip.

On the weekend of the 15/16th of December me and a few of my friends form UT planned a trip to Nashville. Nashville is about a 3 hour drive north of Knoxville. We decided to go and see a NHL and NFL game. We saw the Nashville Predators play the Anaheim Ducks in a NHL Ice Hockey game. I really enjoyed it especially as the Predators won and it was good the see a professional Ice Hockey team in the flesh. I also saw the Tennessee Titans play the San Diego Chargers in the NFL, the first half was really boring although the second half came to life and the final quarter was awesome. The only bad thing was that the Titans lost in extra time. All in all it was a great time and way to share with my new friends in Tennessee.

The group during our Nashville visit.

The Sommet Center (Home of the Nashville Predators)

Me inside the Sommet Center.

Predators v Ducks

Some action during the game.

Me and some of Nashville's finest at the Predators game!

LP Field home of the Tennessee Titans.

Inside the stadium - Titans v Chargers.

It is a really nice stadium and we had a great view of the game.

Me inside the stadium.

Downtown Nashville.


Well I hope you have got another short insight into my time in Tennessee and beyond so far. I am still really enjoying my stay and I am looking forward to my second semester which starts on the 9th of January but before then we have the small issue of Christmas to worry about!!

Until next time - Have a great Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

Nial