…and it’s beautiful in Chapel Hill! The air is crisp and cool, the sky is blue and the sun is shining, the fallen leaves crunch under your feet and the squirrels (which are practically everywhere) are searching for acorns. Autumn is definitely one of my favourite times of year and I could not be in a better place to enjoy it.
When I initially started blogging I intended on posting once a week but that hasn’t gone exactly as planned… I’ve just been really, really busy.
So what have I been up to? Well, unsurprisingly, most of my day is spent…researching! So far that’s been going really well. And I’m getting lots of my thesis written too (more on that soon). I’m really trying to make the most of having access to such a wide range of sources so I’ve divided my day into two and three hour chunks – some are devoted to research and others are spent writing. So far this system has worked really well for me and I’m being really productive.
Other than that, my days are spent meeting friends or colleagues for coffee or lunch (Chapel Hill has some really great restaurants) and attending seminars or classes. Although I’m doing independent research, I’ve slotted into some classes that are related to my field and both the classes and the professors have been really helpful. 
Two evenings a week I train with UNC Boxing Club. The classes are ridiculously hard…I’m not even joking! But like a friend back home used to always say, ‘you never regret a workout’. These classes are two hours long and are divided into cardio, which is hell, strength, which can be hell and technique, which I love. The trainers are really enthusiastic which I also love. They’re really upbeat and their positive attitude helps you to push yourself way harder than someone shouting abuse at you! I’ve met so many people through the classes. Like I said in my previous post, it’s really easy to make friends here.
My weekends are for downtime. Every Friday a group of us from the History Department head out for drinks in a local bar. These evenings are really fun. They’re a great way to unwind and catch up with everyone. They also provide a great opportunity to discuss your work and to share new ideas and perspectives – a fundamental aim of Fulbright!
Recently I attended a football game which was fun except for the rain! It literally poured the whole time. As you may or may not know, UNC is a huge basketball college – Michael Jordan went here! So when the season starts a few of us are going to get together to head to a game. The tickets are supposed to be hard enough to get but my friends seem confident we can get them.
This weekend a group of us are going to the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh which I’m really excited about so I will fill you all in on that later.
Bye for now…
Go Heels! (They won)
AnneMarie Brosnan 