What? Come Again?

I can't believe it.

Everyone told me before I left, 'Oh my goodness, Jenon, the time will just fly by.'

I'm not going to lie... there were a couple times I became angry at these people. I would think, 'Fast? What the heck... I am still here...'

Isn't that terrible?

Thankfully, those moments of uncertainty and homesickness were brief. I was distracted by a fascinating and bustling global city, and as if that wasn't enough... I also traveled to places I never thought I'd see.

I am now broke. But it is so worth it.

Things I have learned:

• When I left on January 17, I was freaking out and worrying about getting to the airport ON TIME. WE WERE LATE. My dear dad got the worst of my unnecessary up-tightness. I would like to think that this experience has made me more relaxed. I worry less about things because nothing is ever going to be perfect. And life wouldn't be what it's meant to be without some bumps along the way.
• Life is meant to be risky. God didn't intend for us to stay in a 'safety box' where we feel comfortable. I have had to remind myself of this many times - especially when I am stuck walking across London in the rain without an umbrella... and running into everyone on the crowded Central London streets. It's not comfortable to go to a new place without knowing anyone and having to learn a completely different way of life. It was a risk. I'm still somewhat surprised that I did it.
  
• No one is limited. The world is always at your fingertips - it's just a matter of getting yourself to touch it. Many times, we are our own worst limitation.
  
• I love my family and friends oh so very much. And what I am sick of the most... is always missing them. Tomorrow I will get to hug my parents and the boy, and thinking of that makes me well up with tears of excitement. I cannot wait. I cannot wait.
  
• I would argue that the last couple days of this experience have been more challenging than the beginning days. I am so excited to see my loved ones and familiar faces, but I loved my life here in London. It has been a weird mix of emotions in the past week... excitement to be home and sadness for leaving a place that has taught me so much. I am greatly fond of this city, and London will be forever ingrained in who I am.

I could go on and on with the lessons I have learned... this has been the most fun, adventurous and challenging experience I have ever had.

And I am so glad I got to share my journey with you. ;)

So about that countdown...

I blame it on the weekend... And yesterday was a bank holiday here in London, so I blame my lack of blog entries on that.

I think I am on Day 3...

What I will miss: Today at work I held a door open for a man. It was no big deal at all since I was just opening the door to leave. He turned to me and said, "Hello. Thank you very much. That is very kind of you."

A simple 'Thanks' would suffice, but somehow the English manage to wrap so many polite words in such a few seconds time to make such elegant phrases. It is such a great ability.

I think I go over the top when I say, 'Thank you so much!'

What I am excited for: I can't stop thinking about burgers and steaks. Yum. Yum. Yum.

Also.

I cannot stop thinking about opening my closet to find more than two weeks worth of clothes. I can't wait to go shopping... in my very own room. YES YES YES.

Day 7

Day 7

What I will miss: Public transportation.

It is very convenient. I do like driving, but it is nice just to sit on the Tube or on a double-decker bus and enjoy the ride.

What I am excited for: Being healthy. Getting enough sleep. Not being sick.

With us always being on-the-go, I am healthy one day and sick the next! I never knew I enjoyed getting a full night's sleep so much until this semester. Sleep is so wonderful. I will also get to reduce the amount of Dayquil I take. Yes.

Day 8

Day 8

What I will miss: Running through St. James's Park, Green Park and Hyde Park

The wide open green space in London is wonderful. My favorite running route is through Hyde Park, around the small lake there. I will definitely not miss running in the rain, but sometimes the views were worth the damp cold.

What I am excited for: Walking places and knowing where I am going

It is amazing how turned around I still get in London. There are so many streets I haven't been on or places I haven't seen. Although this has been fun, it will be great to find places without looking at a map.

Day 9

Day 9

What I will miss: Vandon's cleaners who change my bed sheets every Wednesday

I have been very spoiled, I know, but I do greatly appreciate the cleanliness. Perhaps I will have to take this responsibility up myself once I am back home.


What I am excited for: NO EXCHANGE RATE to deal with! YES YES YES!

Although the exchange rate is far better than last year at this time, I still cannot wait to buy an item for $8 and know that it will only be $8. Life is going to be so much cheaper... and easier since I will not have to figure out exchange conversions in my head.

Countdown to the End

As of today, I have 10 days left.

I can't believe it.

Right now I am supposed to be working on my final paper for my Contemporary British Society class. It is due on Friday, and I haven't started typing yet...

This week is busy with classes and review sessions, preparing for our academic grand finale: finals this Friday.

Since most of our learning has been outside of the classroom, I am finding it more difficult than usual to sit down and write a paper. It's torture, actually.

Instead of working on my paper... I have decided to start a little project.

For the rest of the 10 days, I will write about two things everyday.

1) What I will miss about London and
2) What I am excited for back home

(I will try not to base every entry around food.)

Day 10

What I will miss: English Breakfast tea with milk (no skim, please) and a small amount of sugar.

I love it. I love it. I love it. I have at least two - three cups a day. I think I have drank so much tea since I have been here my teeth have become slightly yellow. Yesterday I stopped and bought some teeth whitening rinse.

I know I will be able to drink tea once I am back home, and this is comforting. I will always get to have a little taste of London.

What I am excited for: McDonald's Iced Coffee (or even my homemade iced coffee, either works)

The coffee here... eehhh... it's okay. I have been craving iced coffee for a couple months now, and summer will officially start once my tastebuds say 'Mmm... this is tasty iced coffee'.


And the countdown continues...

Scotland

This past weekend, I went on my last trip. Kathryn, Allie, Jill and I bought cheap tickets on an overnight bus to Edinburgh, Scotland.

Thursday night we boarded the bus at 11 pm. We arrived in Edinburgh around 8:30 am. There was not a lot of leg room on the bus. I won't go into details about my sleepless night.

Friday morning we had to wait to check into our hostel, so to kill time we hung around the castle. The castle is striking, sitting on top of cliff-like hills in the middle of the city. We slept on some park benches in the near-by park.

Eventually we met up with one of Allie's friends who had lived in Edinburgh for a year and was back to visit. Her and her fiance showed us around the Old Town area, and they took us to get the greasiest fish and chips I have ever seen. Even I cringed when I saw it... then you know it's bad. But it tasted delicious.

We walked through an old graveyard with them before venturing out on our own.

We walked down the Royal Mile - starts with the castle and then ends where the Queen stays on her visits to Edinburgh.

Down in that area is the Scottish Parliament, and next to that was a large hill. We climbed up that even though we were so sore from our bus ride the previous night...

We walked, and walked, and walked some more (which is really a theme of my study abroad experience) and admired all the beautiful old architecture that surrounded us. All of the buildings were similar in architectural style since we generally stayed in the Old Town area. Very quaint.

On our way back to our hostel, we picked up some dinner at a local grocery store.

That night we sat around a cute table, looking out a bay window of our hostel as we ate burnt popcorn. We drank some tea and then went to bed at an embarrassingly early time of night. It was so great to sleep in a bed - I didn't even care that the springs were coming out of the mattress.

The next morning we went on a coach tour through the Lower Highlands. It was beautiful to see the countryside.

We stopped in Scotland's largest city - Glasgow - before heading to Loch Lomand. This lake is Britain's largest expanse of water. We took an hour boat ride on the lake, taking lots of pictures while shivering in the cold.

After that we were back on the bus to our next stop: the village of Aberfoyle. This is a small village just on the edge of the Trossachs. We ate a quick sack lunch here before heading to our next stop.

Next were the Trossachs. These mountains were filled with valleys and lakes (or as the Scottish call them - glens and lochs). I loved the scenery of the heather covered mountains as we drove along the mountain pass. The ride was very curvy, however, and poor Kathryn had to close her eyes most of the time because of carsickness.

We drove by the castle that was used in Monty Python and the Holy Grail on our way to our final stop: Sterling Castle.

We decided not to pay to go inside the castle. Instead we enjoyed a nearby graveyard (I know, a little morbid) with great views of the country side. We walked around the area and commended ourselves for spending the extra money to see the countryside.

It was a great taste of the highlands, and it left me wanting to go further north to see more. So many places, so little time... How unfortunate.

We arrived back in Edinburgh around 6 pm, but our bus didn't leave until 10. We enjoyed a local McDonald's for most of our night.

Yes, the ride home was far worse than the ride to Edinburgh... but we survived beautifully. :)