Week 16 – Personal

I can not believe it is the day before I am to begin my journey home. It feels like only yesterday that I arrived in University Trails and was shown my apartment that I quickly learnt to call home. My last few days here have been very jam packed with last minute sightseeing, shopping and taking many pictures of the beautiful campus. I was lucky enough to share my last week here with my boyfriend Darren who surprised me by coming to visit! He was very sneaky and had managed to get my friend Sarah to pick him up from the airport and was left in Walmart whilst Sarah played cool and got me for our weekly shopping trip. I was walking around Walmart when all of a sudden I heard a familiar whistle and there he was. I am pretty sure to this day that I rugby tackled a few families out of the way so that I could get to him!

It was interesting listening to his perspectives of Oxford as I had become so familiar with everything and everyone that I had to be reminded that I was an international student! I enjoyed showing him around the university and Oxford. We even went for a quick trip to the Ole Miss Museum which I had known very little about. One of the highlights about his visit was when we got to go to Graceland. I had never really been a big fan of Elvis but that was all down to having heard very little of his music. On the tour we were able to see around his house however we were unable to gain access to the upstairs as Elvis had always believed that the upstairs was private and only meant for family.

In my opinion Elvis had quite a unique taste in decor with his walls being covered in very thick carpet (yes the walls, not just the floor!). I got to see the famous jungle room which actually does look like a jungle with its different shades of green carpet and a small pond decorated with leaves at the back of the room. I was surprised to hear that he bought Graceland for only $100,000 considering the amount of land that came with the mansion. We enjoyed walking around his gardens and his garage whilst admiring the wide range of cars Elvis had collected over the years (including the pink Cadillac). We finished of our tour with a look around his private jets and boy did Elvis know how to travel in style! The main jet named after his daughter included seats made of dark green leather, belts made of gold, a full dining table and two king sized beds.

I have just finished the last of my packing and already feel the welling of tears as I remind myself that I am leaving Ole Miss. I know for a fact that I will miss this place a lot and have already promised to come back and visit friends. The memories created in the months here in Ole Miss will remain with me forever and will always hold a very special place in my heart.