Back in the USA

Sooooooo, I'm leaving for Clark again tomorrow. It's all very strange getting back into the groove at home, then leaving so soon to get settled again at Clark. It seems like forever since I've been back, and I cannot wait. I miss all of my friends so much, and just being on the college campus. It’s going to be nice to get back into the old swing of things again. Anyway, not even a whole hour passes when I don't think about something from this past semester in London and around Europe. The most disappointing thing about coming home has been that I have SO much to say about so many things from the past 4 months, but when I see people from home they just ask “How was London?” and I respond with “It was amazing.” There wouldn’t be enough time to sit down and tell them all about everything. There is so much to say coming back from a semester traveling around Europe. There is not enough time, and it’s all been coming out to my friends and family in little bits (bits is such a British word, they use it for everything and I’ve adopted it even though when I was there it annoyed me so much.) All I can do is be so so so so so thankful for being able to have such an incredible and once in a lifetime experience. I lived in London, worked at a British children’s theatre, lived in a flat, saw a play at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, visited what seems like all of the museums in London, punted on the Cam River in Cambridge, sang at a British Open-Mic (SO COOL!), went on the London Eye twice, saw more West End shows than I can count, went to Italy, saw the leaning Tower of Pisa, ate real Italian food, went to an Italian beach, went to Madrid and Barcelona, spent Halloween in Barcelona!, went on a boat ride on the Mediterranean Sea, went to Belgium, ate a real Belgian waffle and Belgian chocolate in Belgium, went to Paris, stood under the Eiffel Tower, went to the Lourve and saw the Mona Lisa, went to Versailles, went to Marie Antoinette’s hideaway, went to Ireland, went to traditional Irish pubs in Temple Bar Dublin, went to the Guinness Factory, went to the North coast of Ireland, and did so many more things that I can’t even think of off the top of my head. It’s amazing how much I did in such a short period of time. I also made some awesome friends who shared all these experiences with me, and who I am absolutely in love with. Now I’m back in America, and heading back to Clark, but I know that I’ll live my life differently after seeing so many different things, places, and people. I’m not sure exactly how, but I feel different about life, and life as an American; not particularly in a good way or in a bad way. I’m just so lucky I had this experience that opened my eyes, and made me so much more independent and adventurous. It has all been absolutely incredible.