Hello again!
I have just arrived back in Guildford after a whopping four week long Spring Break. Feel free to really appreciate the fact that English Spring Break, or as they call it “Easter Break”, is about two weeks longer than the American one 🙂 Plenty of time to lounge around, eat all the food I have been missing, and visit friends. Speaking of which, to pre-warn those who are thinking about or are coming to Surrey, Spring Break will most likely not align with the American Spring Break. My friends break in America, started in March and ending before April, here in England the break does not start until April and ends at the end of April. I was rather sad that was the case at first because I had been missing my friends in America. However when I got there, I ended up seeing loads of my friends. People that went to school in Seattle (ten minutes from where I live) were almost always around. I was busy every day of my break. I figured you all should know that is the case.
Going forward to the end of the year, there are only three weeks left of teaching, a week of no class for revision, and then two weeks of finals. The year is almost over! I cannot believe how quickly the year went by. It feels like I have been in school for only a couple weeks, not seven months… Thankfully I finished the majority of the coursework I have for the rest of the year over break because I still feel stressed for time to get my other projects done and study for finals. I highly suggest starting early, you will 100% thank yourself later when the library is packed and you have four classes to study for in revision week. There are loads of events at the end of the year to look forward to and be distracted by 🙂 Coming up in the next few weeks, I am going to SoundClash a day music festival in Southampton, the Business Ball a formal dance (there is also the Colors Ball), Holi Festival celebration where you throw colored powder at each other, movie screening by the lake, and the end-of-the-year three day party nights to celebrate finishing this year of school. Those are the things that are just on the top of my head. Surrey is teeming with things to do.
I have taken on a couple new logistical/life projects including getting a driver’s license and getting a National Insurance number. I am taking ten hours of lessons and hopefully should pass my test by the end of the school year in two months. I have had my American license for the past four years so that should help. However, I do not know how to drive a manual. In England, the licenses are a bit more specific than an American one. You must pass the test for the transmission that you want to drive. If you want to drive only an automatic, then you take the test in an automatic. If you want to be able to drive both an automatic and a manual, then you must pass the test in a manual. Unfortunately, most of the cars here are a manual, so learning to drive a manual is the most realistic. As well as, I have been told on multiple accounts that the test, both drive and theory, are much harder than the American one. Many people have to take the test multiple times before they pass. So we shall see how this goes!
Getting a National Insurance number is a project all on its own. As I have just recently gotten a job, writing all of you, I need a National Insurance number in order to get paid. I have temporarily been able to be paid as I am in the process of getting an official number. For most people, getting a number just involves filling in a form and sending it in, however as I am lucky enough to be a citizen of America, I must go in for an interview. The interview is at a job centre in Woking, which is about ten minutes away by train. That part is not too bad, but they are not open on the weekends and you are only able to book a slot for the next two weeks ahead. The spots are constantly limited to the rejected times that are in the middle of the day when I have class. My advice is to either try to get a number as soon as possible to limit the stress of having to get a number once you have a job, or if you wait until you have a job, find out a day that works for you and call immediately the day is available to book (two weeks before the date). I shall let you know how this goes; hopefully very smoothly 🙂 things always take more time than expected though.
Okay, time to get back to my coursework now!
Write to you all soon,
Holly xx
P.S. Check out the photos from my flight back to Guildford. It was absolutely beautiful. 
