There you are, Blog. Right where I left you.

Fall break ended a mere three days ago, but it feels like I never even left. The only signs of my having been gone are the balding treetops, the thick blanket of leaves on the ground, and Chamberlin looking more and more destroyed. (It's pretty neat to watch, actually. It sort of looks like Godzilla stormed Beloit and Chamberlin was a casualty.)
My fall break was wonderful, but uneventful (which was probably what made it so wonderful in the first place). I knew that pretty much all my friends from home would still be at college, so I dragged home a friend from Beloit for the first half of break and I was able to show her around Racine. We sat by Lake Michigan and pondered our place in the universe, baked lots of cookies, watched The Rescuers Down Under, and strolled through River Bend Nature Center while brainstorming for NaNoWriMo. After she left, my brother and I clocked in some serious Rock Band 2 play, my dog and I napped more than is healthy for human or canine, and I spent ridiculous amounts of time strolling around our nearby Barnes and Noble. I also managed to be slightly productive by beginning work on my study abroad application. It's nowhere near polished, but I know I'll get it where it needs to be in time for the Nov. 3 deadline.
Study abroad seems to be on almost every second-year's mind right now. Usually students study abroad their junior year, but studying abroad can't usually be a last minute decision. There are applications to write (yes, applications plural), recommendations to get, finances to work out, and just general research on wherever it is you want to go. This may seem like a lot of work, but the more and more I prepare for study abroad and work on my application, the more excited I get about going. (P.S. That would be Lancaster University in England.) Some of the places my friends are thinking about studying abroad are: Wales, France, Japan, Ireland, and New Zealand.