Category Archives: England

Where to begin?

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It has been a long time since my last post, and I don’t even know where to begin. I have certainly been busy having the time of my life here at uni! Last I posted I was still in London being the ultimate tourist, but the past two weeks have been quite the immersion experience.

When I first arrived the only other students in the halls were international students from all over the world, but primarily from all over America. One of my favorite aspects of this trip has been meeting the other American students and getting to know them just as much as meeting local UK students. We have all become so close and it really feels like we are one big misfit family. The first day after we arrived the study abroad office took everyone on a trip to Conway, a quaint little city in Wales that was ever so picturesque, and it helped that the weather ended up being perfect!

Our group at Conway:Image

ImageSome of the international students along the castle wall

Conway was a great day trip to get to know the staff and other international students, but the next day was the real challenge. It was move in day for the freshers (what freshman are called here) and most of the American students including myself are in an all freshman dorm. It was certainly an interesting, almost like being a freshman back home again. The first week was basically a string of parties and events to get everyone used to campus, and on the last day the international office took us on another trip to Liverpool, the nearest large city to Ormskirk.

The big group!Image

After a whirlwind week of fun it was time to get down to work though, and classes began. The course system is much different here so I may spend some time focusing on that in a separate post, but most of the international students have a special set of courses across different areas of study, unlike the the traditional students who only take courses in one specialized area. Each class is only one day a week ranging from 2-4 hours and because I have only 3 classes I feel like I am doing hardly any work at all!

So far I don’t feel like I have had any real culture shock, but perhaps I am still in the honeymoon period. I know that one thing all the other Americans have trouble with is the weather, but it reminds me so much or rainy cloudy Oregon that it is almost comforting to me! I definitely brought the appropriate wardrobe as well so that helps keep me warm and cozy.

Overall I am having a blast, and now that things have calmed down a little I hope to write posts a little more often.

So long for now, and I hope your adventures have been just as exciting as mine!

Summer

Adjusting to Long-Term

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Most of the things I would like to talk about right now can’t be made clearer by a photograph. My biggest adjustments were to the general atmosphere and the way people here behave. But first I can talk about some of the more concrete differences that I noticed, and of which I took pictures:

1p,        2p,        5p,        10p,        20p,        50p,        £1,        £2

It’s been really hard to adjust to the money here. The bills are fine, sure, they’re pretty straight-forward. The numbers are there big on the paper just like ours. But after going through the change I was accumulating and doing a little research to verify, I found out that England has 8 different coins (pictured here). Furthermore, their sizes don’t really seem to follow any particular pattern. The only one that I have no problem distinguishing is the pound coin (second from right), which is thicker and heavier than the other coins, and is also gold-colored. I guess I’ve also picked up that the tiny one is 5p.

I’ve heard that American coins are not user-friendly for someone who is used to the euro, and apparently the pound has the same problem. Neither American nor English coins are clearly marked with their value. Euros have large numbers on them so it’s easy to see which is which (see previous link for pictures), but with American and English coins, you just have to be able recognize the coin. I guess the U.S. actually has six different coins, but we really only use four of them. As far as I can tell, all eight of the English coins seem to be in use. And rather than spend five minutes at the register trying to count out change, I usually end up using bills, which leaves me with a large amount of loose change (which, according to my online research, can be referred to as “shrapnel” or “slummy,” though I’m not sure how common these terms actually are).

Another POV adjustment I had to make when I got here was getting used to the fact that everyone drinks. Maybe that’s an exaggeration–I’m not saying that everyone here is a raging drunk–but everyone at least is allowed to drink, and apparently it’s not uncommon for a student to have a drink with a professor when meeting to discuss an assignment, etc. It’s just strange, coming from a dry campus in a town that was dry up until ten years ago. I don’t really have a problem with it–not morally anyway; I’m not judging the country for its legal decisions–except that the Venue (the campus bar) is about 100 meters away from my single-pane window. Hey, people party. I get it. I just hope it calms down a little bit now that classes have started.

Anyway, it was a little weird at first to see that they sell alcohol and tobacco products on campus, but I’m pretty much over it. I really wanted to buy a cider from the campus store, but kept chickening out. I worked myself up to it after two or three “attempts.”

On a side note for which I have no pictures, I attended my first class today (WRI1011: Intro to Fiction). As a rule I hate first days, because introducing myself in front of groups scares me. I can’t help it. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it here before, but I have a stutter that for the most part doesn’t make much of an appearance unless I’m trying to say my name or speak in an official setting like a classroom or job interview. I’m always scared of embarrassing myself or of scaring people off, and it was certainly even more scary coming to a different country where I don’t know anyone to try to just insert myself into a culture and settle there for three months.

So far my experience has been pretty good. I even went to the meet-and-greet for the media department on Friday, and when I got there and didn’t see anyone I knew, I went and sat and talked with a group of English strangers. I was pretty proud of myself. For the most part, I’ve found that people are pretty friendly here. I have a bit of a rough start with introductions, but when I tell people here I have a stutter, they do not 1) act embarrassed for me, 2) stop talking to me, 3) talk down to me. These are things I’m afraid of happening when people find out I have a stutter, and none of them seem to happen around here. In my class today, I had to introduce myself in front of everyone and talk about myself (we were playing the two-truths-and-a-lie game), and once I explained my problem, no one seemed to mind. Maybe I have my “Americanicity” in my favor, but people seem to be genuinely interested in talking to me, which is somewhat of a foreign experience for me (that everyone is really nice to me, not that someone is).

Marissa

From Rainy London to Sunny… Oregon?

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Arriving in England was, let’s face it, terrifying. Don’t get me wrong, it was wonderful and exciting, but it was a new city in a new country in a new part of the world that I had never ventured into before. The entire trip felt like one big heart attack mixed with a shot of adrenaline. You know, in a good way. I’ve learned so many things and met so many amazing people… I can’t express enough how much of an impact this trip has had on me. Not only have I learned so much about the UK, but I’ve challenged myself and passed with flying colors. (Meaning that I wasn’t pick-pocketed or caused an international uproar. Always a plus.)

Matt Smith is incredibly hard to draw.

     There are a couple things that could have been better, but every mistake turned into something fantastic. For example, I went to Ireland for a weekend thinking that I would be meeting up with others, but they were nowhere to be found. However, that weekend was one of the best I had abroad. In another instance, this time in Whales, I was lost for an hour because I couldn’t cross a river. This led me to one of the most beautiful shorelines I’ve seen in my life and guided me through an apartment complex where one of my favorite actors supposedly lives. These little accidental adventures will most likely be some of the best memories from this trip. Lets look at some statistics, shall we?
                                        Before London       After/During Trip
Countries Visited:                      2                           5
Average Walking Stamina:       45 min                  2-2.5 hrs
Average Hours of Sleep:          10 hrs                    7 hrs
Daily Use of Public Transit:        None            Bus and underground
                                                                      6 plane rides
                                                                      6 train rides
Average Tea/Coffee Intake:      1/day                   4-5/day
# of Currencies in wallet:            1                           3
# of Full Sketchbook pages:         0                          76
     While abroad, I’ve met 2 men involved heavily in Doctor Who, 1 actor from from Harry Potter, seen 2 plays, fallen on a bus or tube 0 times, met 1 relative in Ireland, cried out of joy 7 times, saw 3 of the actual TARDISes, drank countless cups of tea, made friends with 7 bobbies, taken 2,409 photos and videos, finished 30 journals against all odds, and gained an enormous new confidence in myself. I know that everyone says how beneficial traveling the world is and how much it can change your perspective, but I’m going to say it anyway; this trip has changed my life. There are very few instances I have used that sentence.

My guide Moira from the Tower of London saw me off at the airport!

     After returning I’ve seen surprisingly little of my friends here. Many are leaving soon for their respective colleges while I don’t have to return until new student week (one month from now). My daily regimen has consisted of drinking three cups of tea a day, reading Norse mythology and Sherlock Holmes, sketching constantly, and watching Doctor Who and Sherlock. I suppose you can take a girl to England, but England will NEVER leave the girl.  Becky

Pip Pip, Cheerio!

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     This last week has been such a scramble with packing and finals that I decided to do my own thing this weekend. I also wanted to finish my list of things I must do while abroad as well as go back to my favorite spots in the city and, to my amazement, I mostly achieved these goals within three days!
Go Inside of a Phone Box
– This was one of the less enjoyable things on my list, it turns out. I didn’t actually have a call to make, I just wanted to be able to say that I’ve done it. I was on a crowded street in Hampstead when I decided to check this on one off my list. I pretended I needed to make a call, spent a couple seconds inside the phone box feigning searching for change, then exited while a couple people watched my horrible acting. Unfortunately I was not transported through time. Oh, well.
Find the Doctor
– I found him! Well, one of the Doctors. We attended Antigone at the National Theater and Christopher Eccleston (the ninth incarnation of the Doctor) was starring in it. While eating dinner at the theater we ran into someone else we were not expecting to meet; Mark Gatiss, a writer for Doctor Who and Sherlock, and Mycroft Holmes in Sherlock. Two of my favorite people in one night? I’m still giddy from the experience. They were both very nice blokes and stopped to take pictures. Chris signed my artwork and even held my sonic screwdriver!
Have a Pint of Guinness in Dublin
-It was a long and confusing journey to Dublin, but in the end I wish I’d stayed much longer than a weekend. Ireland is amazing and the people are the kindest I’ve ever met. I had a pint in The Celt Pub near O’Connell Street and met a long lost relative who was eight or nine Guinness for the worse. I’ll forever be telling the story of Uncle Quinn; the poster-boy for Irish drunks.

Erin go Bragh!

Eat a Jaffa Cake
– I mentioned this in a previous post, but it’s worth saying that I ate three packs of 36 Jaffa Cakes. I lost weight in London, guys. That’s how much walking I did. The snack was the one thing I wish I’d had the foresight to send to the US. Darn, I may just have to return to London to get some.

My usual booty from Tesco

The only thing on my list that I wasn’t able to achieve was taking my photo on Abbey Road. I do regret that terribly, but I got so much done by the end that it seems like a small price to pay. We did drive over it on the bus tour, though, so at least I visited and payed my respects. I’m sure John Lennon’s spirit is off somewhere laughing at how much traffic is stopped by that crossing.
Last Friday we attended The Taming of the Shrew at The Globe. We were able to get in for only 5L, too! We were in the yard, so it was standing room and the play was at midnight. By the time we arrived I was already exhausted, but as soon as the play started, I was transfixed on the stage. Immediately I fell in love. I’ve loved this play for a while, but much of the comedy and heart is lost when the play is read rather than experienced. I was also thrilled I was part of the play at one point when the actress who played Kate fell on me and said sorry drunkenly on her way to the stage. The chocolate coin I caught during the finale will have to survive the trip home.
The main place I wanted to explore more was Hyde Park. For those of you that don’t know, Hyde Park is freaking huge. I had forgotten this when I set out on my adventure armed with a pack of water, a box of granola bars, and my sketchbook. This is one of those happy accidents I was talking about earlier. I started at Speakers Corner where a concert for the Olympics was taking place. I’m not usually one for concerts, but it was kind of nice to have music playing from afar. I wanted to find the Peter Pan Statue, but I had started quite far away from it. I walked for about twenty minutes before I took a break to eat something. I lay down under an oak and had a wonderful, relaxing time. I set out again and walked by the Italian Fountains, which I didn’t know existed. They were so gorgeous that I stopped to sketch some of them. While I was there, I met two kids who were busy scaring pigeons. They were from Virginia and had never heard of Oregon. I told them a little bit about myself and they watched me draw for a bit. The little girl (Sophie) asked if I would be her friend. I told her yes, and she was so excited that she ran off to tell her mum! Her mother came over and also watched me draw. Then, when they had to leave, I got a big hug!

A perfect day

Eventually I found the statue. It is situated beside part of the Serpentine that is chock-full of birds. I started to feed the pigeons some of my granola when ducks and coots started to eat it, too. Then a heron appeared along with a mama duck and her babies and a swan. As time passed, other tourists appeared beside me to watch. A group of Italians were marveling at the ducklings and the swan, but obviously they had never heard a swan call before because they jumped when he did and started proclaiming in Italian. I finished the day by walking past the Prince Albert Memorial and meeting several very sweet bobbies in a Starbucks near the tube station. I can’t think of a better way to spend my last week.

My duckling friends

     Tomorrow I will be leaving on an eight hour flight to Philadelphia, then a five hour flight to Portland with a heavy heart, but a happy one.  Becky

*Cue the Olympic Anthem*

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Welcome to the London 2012 Olympic Games! It seriously feels like the entire world is here. I thought the tube was crowded the first week… man was I wrong. Other than the crowds in the tourist spots it hasn’t been very bad, actually! I’m excited to meet all of these different people and get accustomed to living in a big city. Every time I’m in the lounge I’m watching the games. I love seeing them broadcast in different countries than America because it’s a completely different atmosphere. The opening ceremony was fantastic and it was great to watch with native Londoners. (Especially while watching the Queen.) I loved that I recognized almost all of the stars in the show! I laughed especially hard when I saw Kenneth Branagh and Rowan Atkinson. It’s hard to remember just everything that happened, so hopefully these photos will help;

All of a sudden… MARK GATISS!

Aaaaaand then I met The Doctor. 🙂

I accomplished my mission of having him sign my artwork, too.

I worked right up until the night of the show on this puppy.

We were lucky enough to get tickets to Antigone at The National Theater starring Christopher Eccleston. Little did we know that we’d be meeting Mark Gatiss on the same night!

Look at those wonderful rings!

I honestly couldn’t get over how beautiful the London Bridge looked… especially with the rings gleaming in the sun. It’s like the city itself was proud.

What’s that? The Olympic Torch?!

I went to Dublin!

I fell instantly in love with Dublin. The people there are so accommodating and nice. You just want to stay there forever.

Fandom feelings arising in Cardiff.

The Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff was fantastic. I was reverted into a ten year old the second I walked in the doors. (Which was hard because it was windy) I even got to fly the TARDIS!  Becky

All of time and space… everything that ever happened or ever will… where do you want to start?

Suspending Disbelief

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I am tired. I got up at 4:00 in the morning so at 7 I could get on a 5-hour flight to New Jersey. I waited for 4 hours in New Jersey, then sat on a plane to England for 6 hours. Let’s see…do our maths…5 plus 4 plus 6 equals 15! Which leaves 7 hours out of the day for sleeping! Which is ideal, but in reality I’d probably stay up for another hour or two. So add waiting on the tarmac, going through customs, waiting in the special airport waiting spot…time to go to bed!

WRONG. (I can’t find color or font size change on here, so just imagine fiery red font. Very dramatic.) It is now 7:00 in the morning again, and there are things to do. (I’m not complaining, I’m just dramatizing for the entertainment of the reader.)

Interestingly, it’s 7:30 (pm now, but 11:30 in the am for you) and I’m thinking I could go to bed soon. This never happens.

So, I’m supposed to write about the scene that greeted me upon my arrival in England, but honestly, that’s not much to talk about. Ok, wait. Back up. I would like to talk about the scene in which the plane came low enough for me to finally see England, not when I first set foot in England, because that was just walking for a long time in the morning with a bunch of other tired people.

I was a little disappointed leaving New Jersey, because the sun set just before the plane took off, and I had never flown over the ocean before. I wanted to see the Atlantic, but the hours of darkness coincided almost perfectly with our journey over it. I could just make out the horizon as we flew across the edges of Ireland. Turns out I couldn’t have seen anything anyway: as the sun rose I saw that there was a thick cloud layer over everything. No breaks. We crossed Ireland and got closer and closer to Manchester, and finally started our descent. We broke through the cloud cover–wisps tangling in the wings of the plane and leaving torn streaks behind–but I still couldn’t see anything. The light was dim and everything was grey. We got lower and lower, and suddenly I could see yellow lights springing up in the grey below, so clear and distinct I could have counted them.

And there was England. And it was raining. I couldn’t have planned it more perfectly. Little cities with tall brick houses and cul-de-sacs and cars driving on the left side of the road.  It was the cars that did it. Watching them driving the way they did in movies, it was real, something that existed my world, and the rain. It was brilliant. I didn’t realize how much I had missed the rain until I saw it slicking the streets beneath the left-side drivers. I was staring dazedly out the window when the man next to me said, “Welcome to England, in the rain.” He sounded like he was from the Manchester area himself, and hearing his voice as he acknowledged and accepted my foreignness (I know, silly word, but real) completed that perfect picture. I didn’t take any photos then; the beauty of the city below couldn’t be captured through the thick airplane window, but I have pictures from touring the city of Ormskirk later that day, and many of the feelings that overwhelmed me on the plane were rekindled during that walk.

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I guess one of my biggest surprises was finding that England (or at least, Ormskirk) was almost just as I imagined it. The city was brilliant. The old brick buildings built tall instead of wide, cobbled side roads lined with shops, gates proclaiming the names of the houses they enclose–it was all of my favorite things about England, the best way I could imagine it, there in Ormskirk, in the grey and drizzle (which I honestly love). Even the people there look as if they belong there; I couldn’t imagine them in any other spot but there. It seems so old-fashioned and removed, I felt guilty taking pictures. I felt that this wasn’t really meant for tourists, that we would only soil their culture, make it less good. It was so beautiful, I wanted suddenly to live there and be a part of them.


It feels magical, and it still doesn’t quite make sense, that I am, in fact, in England. Right now. I am in England right now. I’m always surprised when a passerby speaks with an English accent, and so I’ve been wandering in a constant state of startlement (another silly, but real, word) today. It really is as beautiful as I thought it was. It’s magical, so am I magical? I’ll go with it. Good night. Marissa

Dear London, I have arrived!

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Well today was quite a day. I arrived at Heathrow at 7am so I knew I had a long day ahead but luckily I was able to sleep a bit on the flight over. After getting my bags and taking the heathrow express to paddington station I walked right to the hostel. It was only a ten minute walk but it was rough with all my luggage! Check-in wasn’t until 11:00 so I decided to go ahead and hop out on the town. I had done my research beforehand and knew there was a tour bus stop at the corner of Hyde park, down the road a bit from my hostel. I enjoyed walking through Hyde park, it was amazing to see such a large green space with so many things to do. There were horses on horse trails, dogs running through the dog park, and runners and bikers everywhere!

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This lady had over 10 dogs! I think there must be some professional dog walkers that go to Hyde park because there were several people carting around large numbers of dogs.

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I suppose the biggest thing I noticed after landing was the immense amount of people bustling around London. There were so many people everywhere, and they were all so fashionable! I think this may be because in many of the big cities people tend to dress up a bit more for a day -or night- on the town. It was also fun to meet all the other tourists from all over the world and see them enjoying their time just as much as I was. Of course I got to see all the sites, and thoroughly enjoyed my whirlwind tour of London!

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The only negative thing I can think of since my arrival has been the fact that one has to pay for public restrooms, but having traveled around Europe before I accept it and always make sure to have my change handy!

Tomorrow I am off to experience the Harry Potter Studio Tour, and I can’t wait! I am now heading off to bed so I can wake up get going tomorrow on day 2 of my big adventure. I hope you are all well and having a blast!

Summer

Pretending I’m Still Here…

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Today I feel sick. Up until today, September 19 was distant enough for me not to care as much. September 19 was so far away, I didn’t have to worry about packing, saying goodbye, traveling alone, paying fees, finding a decent winter coat, cleaning my room, or my last day of work.

At 1 o’clock this afternoon, I found myself two hours away from the end of my last shift at work, and five days away from getting on a plane that will take me to New Jersey. My stomach felt like it does when I have to give a speech in class. My knees felt that way, too. I had the urge to go home and pack, fill the suitcase I had just acquired with the coat my mom had just found for me…and that was as far as I got with the mental packing list. I wanted to leave and write this blog, realizing I had so much to say that must be put in words now before I lost them.

But now I’m sitting in my room (which I can hardly stand to be in lately; its heaps of forgotten clean laundry and precarious stacks of half-opened boxes make me jumpy) struggling to write without thinking too much. My still-empty suitcase sits ominously in the midground, with shirts, sweaters, and cardigans pushing aside my closet curtain as if daring me: “Go ahead. I’d like to see you try.” I had hoped to be writing this while being semi-preoccupied with something else, like watching 30 Rock or waiting for the cake to come out of the oven. But no such luck.

What I’m trying to say is, I may go crazy. I can’t think too long about my imminent departure, or I might do something silly like cry or fall down. I’ve wanted to go to England for so long, watched so many movies and TV shows about it, read so many books, adopted the accent so often, let myself be so swept away by the culture as I imagined it to be, that I’m not completely convinced that it’s real. It’s like if you were to come across your favorite fictional character (or favorite actor, maybe) in real life: how do you align with your reality the thing that you idealized to the height of fantasy? I know it sounds ridiculous but I’m obsessed, and I couldn’t really explain why. I’m going to England like I’ve wanted to for years, and I’m staying there for three months. That’s a long time. People keep asking me if I’m excited and I say, “Yeah.” Maybe I sound bored, but I can’t afford to respond with my actual level of enthusiasm every time someone asks me that (which is surprisingly often; I’m starting to consider answering with something awkward like, “No. I’m dreading it.”). Also, if I get too excited, I might be setting myself up for massive disappointment. I’m trying to be realistic. I feel like I’m on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

My mom, apparently, is much more excited about this than she lets on. For the past week she’s been getting boxes with English-themed decorations for the going away party we’re having tomorrow. Napkins with the Union Jack and plastic cutouts of various English icons. I didn’t really see what they were. We’ve been researching traditional English dishes to recreate and serve at the shindig. Here’s a taste:

banger on a bun

trifle

cucumber sandwiches

scones with lemon curd

baked beans

Jammie Dodgers

…and tea, of course

I can’t tell just from the Internet how traditional some of these dishes actually are. I’ve tried to learn as much as I can from second-hand sources, but I know that culture immersion will feel very different. I’m looking forward to learning what only experience can reveal.

I got distracted and have run out of things to say. I think that was basically it. I’m okay now. Tomorrow I’ll pack a little bit, at least as much as I can with four days still to get through. Maybe I’ll make a list. I guess the problem is, my mind has already left. I just need to pick out the things to send with my body. But now that I don’t have to work any more, I can stop pretending that I’m still here.

I hope no one took me too seriously…

Marissa

Pre-Departure to the UK!

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Well it seems as though I leave in just over a week, and I can’t believe how fast the summer has gone by! I am so excited to start my next big adventure that I am already having restless nights in preparation for my departure next Tuesday. I often find myself lying in bed thinking of all the things I don’t want to forget to pack, so much so that I even started keeping track of things in a notebook that I leave on my bedside table where I can write down everything as it comes to me in the middle of the night!

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The list goes on and on…it seems like a lot but I just want to be sure I am extra prepared and don’t end up stranded without something I need. I have also begun the packing process, and I am proud to say I have whittled down everything to fit into one large suitcase, with a little extra room for souvenirs on the return trip. I remember being a small child running around on family vacations with a huge suitcase that was always SO heavy! Over the years I have perfected my packing technique to be tight and orderly so I can manage to carry everything on my own without getting tired, but hopefully I won’t have to drag my suitcase around too much while abroad. I hate sticking out like a tourist, even if that is what I am!

I am a little bit apprehensive to go abroad because although it won’t be my first time in Europe, it will be my first time completely alone! I anticipate that my host culture in the UK will be friendly and inviting, but I’m sure it will take me a bit to get used to the change in pace and lifestyle that goes along with being so far from home. To be honest, I am not sure what to expect but I know that whatever happens I will embrace it with open arms! I am more excited than anything to finally be out on my own, meet new people, and experience the world from another point of view.

The one thing that I am not looking forward to, but am expecting none the less, is the famed UK rain! I don’t really mind the rain, and as an Oregonian I am certainly used to it, but I definitely prefer the sweet summer sunshine to the constant drizzle of fall, winter, and spring. After all, my name is Summer!

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Well, that is all I have for now but I will be sure to check in again in just over a week when I arrive in London!

Good luck with your own adventures!

Much love, Summer

There and Back Again

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When I got back to the states, I was very tired.  I had been awake for 22 hours with only an hour-long nap on the plane, and it was about 8:30 pm in Portland.  My parents took me back to the hotel, and I fell asleep almost instantly. Unfortunately, my sleep was short-lived, and I woke up at 3:00 in the morning.  I couldn’t even go back to sleep because my body thought that it was the middle of the day.  Not amusing, jet lag, not amusing in the slightest.  I was hit with it very hard this trip (unlike my trip over to London), and it took about a week and a half for my body to get on the right time.

This arrival was very different from my arrival in London.  I had slept for a good three hours or so on the plane ride there, and when we arrived at roughly 10:30 in the morning was not sleepy at all.  I suppose it was all the adrenaline.  While I was excited to return home and see everyone, I did not have the same push behind me that was there for my arrival in London.

I do miss London.  There were so many things I didn’t get to do.  And now that I’m home, I keep finding things (interesting articles, things mentioned in books, etc.) that I wish I had known about before I went to London because I certainly would have visited them if I had known of their existence.  On my third day back, I sat down with a list of places in England and a map, and I planned out my next trip.

I would love to go back to Bath! I could spend so much time there!

That being said, I really do like being back at home.  At first, I was bored.  After being in a foreign country for a month and having exciting adventures every day, sitting around in my house all day with my parents was a bit dull.  However, I got used to the slower pace and found things to do, and although I was a bit bored at first I do enjoy being in a place where I have a set routine.  I am, ultimately, a creature of habit, despite my taste for the occasional adventure.

Emily