York, England

I went to York for a conference held by ULAB, the Undergraduate Linguistics Association of Britain. I went with about 10 people from LangSoc.

Emma and I were traveling together and we got into York a little after 3 and went to check in at the B&B we were staying in, which wasn’t acutally in York, but in Stockton-on-the-Forest, just a few miles away. We decided to put ourselves in charge of making dinner for everyone, so we could all save a little money.

It turns out the only store in Stockton-on-the-Forest within walking distance closed 20 minutes after we got the B&B, so we went straight there. It turns out that it isn’t even a grocery store, but a small shop someone set up in their garage. With the limited selection we had, we managed to find the ingredients for dinner, a cake, and breakfast! It was highly successful.

Everyone else from LangSoc met up with us at the B&B and we made dinner and hung out for a while.

After dinner, we took a little walk. We thought we were going on a path through the countryside, but it turned out to take us through a golf course, which was still nice.

After that, a few of us headed to the one and only pub in that village, which was really nice. We talked for a while and eventually did go to bed.

The next morning we had a really early start and were at the conference all day. Several members of LangSoc gave really interesting talks on the research they are doing. All of the presenters at the conference were undergraduates (hence the U in ULAB), who were mainly explaining their dissertations.

During our lunch break, which was combined with the big meeting about running ULAB, Emma and I decided to eat quickly and explore York instead of being in the conference. It was such a nice day and York is so cute, so I’m really glad we got to explore a little bit.

We came back for the rest of the talks that day, and then everyone from the conference went out to dinner together, which was pretty fun.

After dinner, we made our way back to the B&B and most of us stayed up to hang out.

The next morning, we didn’t have to be at the conference until noon, so we slept in a little and checked out of the B&B. We met up with some people from LangSoc who weren’t staying with us and ate brunch near the university where the conference was being held. 

I went to about 3 hours of talks, and then I had to leave, because I was meeting Kate and Dan, who are the friends I visited in Belgium last winter. I met up with them and we went to have tea at one of their friend’s house. She happens to be a Linguistics professor, so it was really interesting to talk with her.

After tea, we got some yummy Indian food, and then they walked me to the train station. Kate and Dan are coming to Edinburgh today, so I’m very excited to visit with them more.

This past weekend in York was really nice, and a relatively easy and short trip. The conference was really interesting and I loved hanging out with the people in LangSoc for the weekend. Now, unfortunately, I have to start revising for exams. Lectures are over and the only thing left to do this year is take exams. I am dreading all the library time in the next month or so, but I am happy to be back in Edinburgh for a while.