Repatriation

I'm home now, and recovering from my wisdom teeth removal. Fantastic.

I know, I haven't updated in forever. A lot of the things that happened in the last week are sort of special things I'd like to keep in my own memory.

I did a lot in the last week. School sort of took a back seat, but I'm pretty sure I did alright.

The last 7 days were a whirlwind of activity, to say the least. I went to Manchester for the weekend with Steven to visit one of his friends from high school. That was a riot. So much fun. The most English weekend I ever could have asked for for my last one there. Complete with English fry-ups (the english breakfast), a Sunday roast, rugby, and a day of drinking (for Scotty's birthday... and because it's Northern England). Manchester lost to Chelsea (hell yeah!) while we were there, which is kind of unfortunate, because it would have been awesome if they had won while I was up there. But, still got a lot of love for Chelsea, so roll on.

Steven and I also went to the Greenwich Maritime Museum, which was very nicely done and the University of Greenwich and museum grounds were beautiful. There was also a great view of the city from the Greenwich Observatory. A nice little outing, complete with a free cone from Ben & Jerry's (they do a free cone day in the UK too... good stuff). Steven also made me dinner (his chicken curry) which was very sweet of him and absolutely delicious. We also went to Regent's park (ok, don't ask me how Primrose hill is, long story), which was absolutely gorgeous, very well done. I might even say nicer than Hyde Park, but Hyde Park has it's own charm. Less flowers, but more trees and woodsy, which I like. Anyway, ummm, we also went to the Fuller's Brewery where I found one of my absolute most favourite beers (hard to do after going to Munich), which was Fuller's Discovery (Blonde Beer... big surprise) which was just fantastic. Mmm, so good. Miss it so much.

So yeah, got a lot in, as well as a last night out with all my girls, Ms. Bedford included. That was a good night, a bit crazy, as always when Emma is involved, but a good night, indeed.

Saying goodbye to London was wildly bittersweet. I was happy to be coming home; the materialistic aspect of it was really straining in the last few days when I had to wash my underwear and socks in the sink, subsist on noodle packets, and pack everything I own into 2 suitcases. But saying goodbye to London was so much tougher than I thought. A lot of that, of course, was Steven, and Allison, and everyone else, but a lot of it was just London. I think I've said it before, but 4 months was just not enough. I was just beginning to enjoy the weather, really get to know some people, the places, the neighbourhoods, the city in general and then we had to leave. It was crappy. I wish I had done what Emma had done and just gone for a year. Everything happens for a reason though, I guess. I'll be back, though. In some capacity. The more and more I think about it, the more I hear LSE calling me to it's Masters program. I will answer that call. When, I don't know, but I am there.

Overall, London was the best 4 months of my life. And i don't mean to knock America, goodness knows I love this place to the core of my being, but everything just worked in London. Like, it was my easiest semester ever, the most fun I've ever had, every day was in some way just an adventure. And I did it all on a sprained ankle that never quite healed. The night life was great, the really British people (not Londoners) I met were some of the coolest people ever, the friends I made from BU and the friendships I already had that got stronger were also just awesome. It was my first experience of true independence and I think I passed with flying colours. Ok, not financial independence, but I got shit done on my own, and that was a big deal. To me at least.

I know I'm leaving a lot out, but c'est la vie. On being home, it's not as big of a culture shock as I thought it would be. The transition was all rather easy. It's nice to be back, and driving a car, and having my own big room, and being with mom and dad. Lauren and I have been getting on really well, which is great, and has been a lot of fun this past week. Went down to Philly with her. Not as exciting as London, but Philly still has it's own charm and familiarity to it that I appreciate. It's a grid, with streets that are labelled well. What a concept.

Having a washing machine, a well stocked pantry and everything have been heavenly. Of course, I'm on a semi liquid diet at the moment as I've been in immense jaw pain, but once that passes, I will once again appreciate the sheer abundance of America. That's part of why we consume so many resources and are ruining the environment and creating waste and blah blah blah. But hell, who are we kidding, it's amazing.

I also miss being in touch with all things British and reading all the newspapers and just being really in a city. I feel sort of out of touch in Suburbia, which is nice for a bit, but I like being in the thick of things.

Here are some pics from the last week of London, not many, but you can get the general idea of how things went:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2263198&l=18dd7&id=919676

I think that's about all I have to say. I will probably have more to say on London when I'm back in Europe (leave Thursday) and will compare continental Europe to the UK and to the US. It'll be like one big international comparison of Kate Seif observations. Get excited!

But for now, here's to being back home. In the best damn country in the world!