Today, Taylor had a class in the morning and another later on so we went out to get coffee first. I had decided to navigate the New Jersey bus system and get to the mall to do some shopping for the day. I got a Vanilla latte and this huge donut because 'Murica but this place was cool. It had a similar vibe to the Manhattan Coffee Club, a place we go to all the time in Reading. Definitely my kind of place.
We parted ways for the day, Taylor went to one of the other campuses for her class and I went to find the bus stop. Luckily it all worked out, the bus showed up exactly on time, it was going to the right place and I managed to pay my fare right, perfect! The bus went all through several New Jersey towns and eventually arrived at the mall.
I haven't been to a mall properly for the whole trip I don't think. We went briefly in Orlando and Danae and I had a look round the one in San Francisco but today, as my penultimate day here, I was going all out to shop! Firstly, I picked up a store directory, hoping to make some sort of plan of where I was going to go but it was the right size and layout that I could actually just wander up and down and go into any shops I liked the look of. This was basically every single shop so I took things slow as I was in no rush and got a good look at everything.
I went into the Barnes and Noble because Taylor told me it was a pretty big one and being a literature graduate I had to check out the books. I liked this coffee shop banner of illustrations of all the classic authors.
Then I did a bit of clothes shopping and picked up a few things I had been wanting and also had a good look round all the discounts at JC Penney before going further up the hierarchy to Macy's. Pretty pleased with my buys, I got lunch at Panera. I actually have really enjoyed doing things by myself this week. I mean obviously it's amazing that I have Taylor who has let me come stay with her and I don't want to leave and for us to be separated for so long again. But for the last 5 and half weeks I have had absolutely zero time to myself and to reflect on what I am doing and sometimes you just need a bit of space to stay grounded, you know. So this has all worked out pretty well with Taylor's classes giving me time to look around but also allowing us to get together in the mornings and later afternoons for the rest of the day together. Plus shopping with other people is stressful because I never get to find anything I actually like. So this has been great!
I got the classic Mac and cheese for lunch because I don't know when the next time will be that I will have such easy access to this fantastic dish. After I had eaten, I went into Forever 21 tried on a few things I picked up for freshers in Reading next week but left with nothing. More shopping to be done at home I think!
I got ready to get the bus back to campus which I actually had to wait a while for but it was good just to sit and chill for a bit. Walking back through the town where the campus is, I couldn't help but take a few photos. The classic American flag/gas station combo, as well as the cool fire station building which is just a few houses up the road from Taylor's. And also the blackboard outside of one the cafes- #ripharambe
I got back to house and started packing my stuff up while watching the Kardashians. Kelsey and Taylor arrived back shortly afterwards and me and Taylor went with her friend to Walmart for my last chance to pick up American items. And by items I mean food. And another carry on bag so I can actually bring everything I have bought back home!
We dropped her friend back off at his house and went inside. His house was huge. Sharing with 7 people, he stayed in a triple room. A real college vibe it was cool!
Then me and Taylor went to the dining hall for dinner. Enter High School Musical moment.
There was literally every type of food you could have and it was like an all you can eat buffet- amazing. We ate and chatted until the dining hall was closed! When we got back to the house we caught up with Kelsey and then I reshuffled my packing into 2 bags rather than 1. Ideal.
Tomorrow is my final day of this American Adventure and I just can't bring myself to think about that right now! I wish I could have stayed in each place longer but I guess it's better to be that way than to have overstayed and be bored with where I visited.
Sentimental and nostalgic post to follow.
Speak soon,
Em x
No comments:
Post a Comment