I’m ready to leave. I have loved being here, but I’m ready to go home. I’m definitely not homesick. I just am dying to share all of my adventures with my family, as one can only do so much using the internet. I am torn between wanting to go home and wanting to stay. There’s so much that I haven’t done yet, and I wish I had more time.
There are things that I will miss. I will miss the scones with clotted cream and jam. I can get scones and jam at home, but where will I get clotted cream? I will miss The Tube. I had never used public transportation until I got here, and it’s not nearly as disagreeable as I had thought it would be. That being said, I will never take my dear car for granted ever, ever again.
I will miss London. There’s something wonderful about this city that I’ve never really felt about a city before. I’m not too sentimental about places, I don’t think, but it really felt like a place I could possibly come back to for an extended amount of time. I might have mentioned in a previous blog that I’d never stayed in a big city for more than a couple days and that I wasn’t sure how I would like it. Well, I liked it very much. I’m not sure if it was simply the city aspect that I liked or if it was this specific city. I’m leaning towards the latter.
Looking back to my pre-departure post, I said that I naively hoped that I would just fit right in, and I feel that, for the most part, I did. I mean, it was probably very obvious to the native Londoners that I wasn’t from around here, but to my own self, I felt like I fit right in. I didn’t feel like a fish out of water. I’m surprised about this. I was expecting it to be a lot harder than it was. Interestingly enough, I also never developed those nerves that I discussed in length in my pre-departure post.
I mentioned wanting to leave any pre-conceived notions on the plane in order to be completely open to experiencing all that is this wonderful city. I feel like I did a pretty good job of this, if I do say so myself. I soaked up all I could while I was here, and I have been going nonstop for an entire month (I will probably crash and sleep for a week when I get home). I have learned so much about the people and the culture. Some of my favorite experiences of this trip:
Charing Cross Road – We went on my birthday. So many bookshops!
Waterstones, a lovely chain bookstore they have over here. Kind of like our Barnes & Noble, which happens to be my most favorite store in the entire universe.
The Tower of London/The British Museum/The British Library – Our first class field trip. What a full, wonderful day that was!
The Tower of London. The Crown Jewels were my favorite part. So sparkly!
Caerffilli Castle – Not actually in London. It’s a lovely castle in Wales that a friend and I decided to visit on a whim. I was especially proud of us for making it there and back without getting lost or stuck somewhere.
The main entrance to Caerffilli Castle
Warwick Castle – Another class field trip. It’s a bit touristy, but very fun. They had jousting reenactments and a tower devoted to the tv show Merlin (I am a huge fan). My only regret was that I was too old to go into the Princess Tower.
Knights from the jousting reenactment.
I should probably stop now, else I’ll end up listing every single thing I’ve done in the last month. They say that all good things must come to an end. I don’t know if I necessarily agree with that, although I suppose that there is some truth to it. After all, everything ends eventually. But even though this wonderful, short chapter of my life is ending, I will always remember it. And it’s not as if everything after this is bad. I’m continuing on my path to things that will be just as exciting (but probably not as drastic) as studying abroad.
Moving on, I think I’m ready to go home. I’ll have a nice, relaxing bit of a break before gearing up to start school again in the fall. I get to move into my new apartment and decorate it (with some memorabilia from this trip)! And I’ve got very exciting new: my high school English and History teacher has asked me to give a guest lecture to her freshman classes on what I’ve studied while I’ve been abroad! It should be a nice way to sort of wrap things up.
Cheers,
Emily
Angers felt the same way to me, I felt like I fit in even though it was very clear to everyone that I was not a native French speaker. The people were so welcoming and I found that my admiration for the culture had turned in to me having a sense of belonging to it.
And it is so interesting because today on the metro I was reflecting on the public transportation in Salem and I was trying to picture a tram through town and I just couldn’t! The amazing public transportation here is something I will miss. It is wonderful to be able to walk and get around without a car so easily. Although that first time descending in to the underground is definitely an experience all on its own.
Maggie
You’ve tied this post back nicely to your pre-departure post in just the way I was hoping students would do. You’ve accomplished so much while in London–mastered public transportation, explored on your own and found your way home to King’s College, discovered clotted cream (Surely, there must be somewhere in the U.S. to purchase it!), explored London’s bookstores (Aren’t they amazing?) and so much more. I wouldn’t be surprised if you make your way back to London someday. Michele