Any Other World

Classes are officially finished. It's our last weekend in Bath. Facts I have to face that I really don't want to. I wish I could stay, but since I can't, I have to keep moving on.
The nice thing about the 'end of the year season' is that there are plenty of 'wrapping up' activities. Wednesday night I went to the egg for my last internship task. After I watched kids at the theatre, my boss Katherine took me out for a drink at The Garrick's Head (as in David), the Theatre Royal Bath's pub. There, we met up with a couple of other people who work at the egg. It was so cool to spend the night in the theatre pub with a bunch of theatre professionals - everything from actors to directors to designers to producers. I got to tell my whole abroad story (what I was studying, why I chose Bath, etc) and chatted with my boss, but the highlight for me was soaking up the atmosphere. Especially after visiting Stratford and the Dirty Duck, it felt so special to be sitting in the theatre pub like I belonged there. Someday, maybe, this will be my life...
Of course, when I returned home to Clarendon Villas from the Garrick's Head, I found that all of my Ariel items (plus my dear friend Henry the gnome) had been scattered around the house. I didn't notice anything missing when I entered my room, but as I headed downstairs, I noticed that my Ariel Pez dispenser was sitting in the window sill. Thank you, Courtney and April. I actually had a lot of fun hunting around the house for my pilfered belongings and playing this game. (On a side note, I probably have too many Ariel possessions. But that's perhaps another story.) Plus, it was a great return to the not-so-grown up part of my life. And what can be better than an Ariel hunt?
Thursday night was ASE's Write Night, where kids from the program present stuff that they've written, or just perform because they want to. It was held at the Huntsman, the pub right across the street from our study centre at Nelson House, and it was great to enter the party room and see it filled with members of ASE. And it was even more fantastic to see the talent that my friends have been hiding. There were some great short stories and poem read and music performed that night. (I somehow ended up performing in the staff number with Andrew Butterworth, Jonathan, and Lindsay and it was utterly ridiculous. And fun.) When we got back to 5 Clarendon Villas, we decided we should climb onto the roof (slash, a mini 'roof' with railings that is right outside a window). It was beautiful to just look out and see the city of Bath below us and to be together. Again, this was one of those perfect 'wrap up' events/nights where we all came together and ultimately were reminded of what we're going to miss when we leave Bath.
Now this is just a quick unrelated side note. I've been meaning to write about this for awhile, but have kept forgetting. One of my absolute favourite things about taking my Jane Austen class while I've been in Bath are that parts of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion are set in Bath. So when specific places are mentioned in the book, I get really excited because I've been there. This connection makes me feel even closer to her writing. And...that's it for the side note.
Now, I'm off to make the most of my last weekend in Bath. To explore and shop and hang out with my friends and soak up this beautiful city.