Monday:
Oh, Monday, Monday, Monday… the last Monday of this semester. I woke up to my alarm and I did not want to get out of bed- I was so fast asleep. Ugh. So, I got up, rather grudgingly, woke Kalie up (who apparently was having a weird dream and tried to swat me… haha), and got ready for my Modern Middle East final. And… well, let’s just say my studying went a long way and I finished writing 3 essays in an hour and a half and felt very, very confident about them. So, let’s hope my grades reflect the work. After that? Well… I was DONE! No more finals. Just hanging around and packing until I go home. Woohoo! So I watched a Christmas movie with Kalie, then relaxed a bit before going out for some last minute trinket shopping with my roomie, then returned home, socialized a bit, went downstairs for dinner (I actually ate pizza with sauce and enjoyed it… what has the world come to?), and then proceeded to hang in the kitchen and socialize with a bunch of people for 3.5 hours. And it was awesome. I like this whole not having anything to do thing, especially when other people are free as well and not all-consumed by studying and procrastinating. After chatting for a bit, I headed back upstairs for a little relaxation and movie time before bed. All in all? A lovely Monday. Never thought I’d say that…
Tuesday:
So, after being unable to fall asleep until 3:30 in the morning, I passed out and ignored my alarm this morning. I finally got out of bed around 11:15, feeling a little more refreshed than my slightly delirious moment at 3 am when Kalie came in. At least I was coherent when we spoke last night… Anyhow, having missed my gym hours due to a desire to sleep in, I decided to get packing so I didn’t have to deal with it on Wednesday. Good news? I’m bringing a bunch home so I should have a lighter suitcase coming back. And I should be able to pack everything up at the end of second semester without a problem. Bad news? My suitcase is freaking heavy and I couldn’t get all the stuff I wanted to bring back due to the amount of space that xmas presents took up. Oh well. Hopefully it won’t go over the weight limit… that would make me cry a little inside. After packing, I hung out with Kalie in the room while she continued packing up. Bah, craziness. I couldn’t imagine packing everything up right now. No thank you. After packing, or almost finishing up Kalie’s packing, we took a breather and relaxed before going to dinner (and braving the cold) at Byron’s for the second to last group dinner this semester. Craziness! But, at least we got delicious burgers. And I am continuing to add to my waistline with crazy amounts of food. Ugh, salad time when I get home, thank you very much. After dinner, we headed back to the house, where quite a few people continued studying and I bounced around the house and socialized, and then watched a movie because I really had nothing better to do with my time. At least tomorrow I’ll get some last minute shopping in and keep myself occupied and get out of the house. Woohoo!
Wednesday:
I got up early today to go out shopping with Diana and Katie. We split up when they decided to go back to the house after getting all their souvenirs. Me? Well, I had a few little adventures I wanted to have first, so I hopped on the tube and dropped by Piccadilly Circus to get my final souvenirs for people, and then walked to Leicester Square to get a picture of the Christmas tree before it’s taken down. After battling the bitter cold, I headed back to the house, finished up my packing and last minute things, made a list so I wouldn’t forget anything Thursday morning, relaxed a bit, and then got ready for the group trip to the London Eye and dinner. The Eye was quite fun at night with the group, and then dinner afterwards wasn’t half bad. I didn’t have high expectations, so it was way better than I figured it would be. After dinner and good conversation with a group of people I didn’t normally hang with, we got a huge group (finally!!) to hit up a bar. We ended up at the new favorite, Trafalgar, and it was quite a bit of fun with everyone there. And the bartender rememebered me… I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but at least I’ll have a friend when I get back next semester. Wow… that’s so weird to say. We’re done with this semester! Walking back was so strange- I can’t believe I’m leaving London. This place has become a home. I can totally understand how people fall in love and stay here… Anyhow, at least I get to come back in a month and fall in love again!
Thursday:
 |
| Leaving London... of course it was sunny. |
After an eventful night and very little sleep, I growled at my alarm when it alerted me to the time. So I put the finishing touches on packing, stripped my bed sheets, cleaned up a bit, grabbed a really quick breakfast and consumed it in a slightly monstrous way when I realized I was running behind, and finally made my way to the Tube station with Craig and Sarah. 50 pound bags and lots of stairs? Not really my thing. But whatever. We managed it, got through the airport, dealt with our bags (I had to remove 3 shoes from mine to get it underweight, and it was still slightly over but I think the woman was so exasperated with me that she just let it slide), got through security, enjoyed a quick breakfast at Giraffe, and then got some snacks for the plane. As Craig was purchasing his, I realized that our gate was closing (that would happen, considering we’d given ourselves adequate time), so we dashed to our gate, and hopped on our bus. I have to say, I think we were both delirious that it was just a hilarious moment. Well, Craig was stressed… I was cracking up. Oh well, we made it onto the plane, I had a window seat and the middle seat was left open, leaving a bit of space between me and the Athenian guy that smelled funny and was looking at naked girls in a magazine. Brilliant plane partner right there. After consuming my sandwich and a couple glasses of wine, I managed to nap intermittently until the last 3 hours of the flight. I passed those with a few tv shows (including my absolute favorite episode of How I Met Your Mother- too bad Elise wasn’t there to share it) and the movie Big (Tom Hanks is so young!).
 |
| And home! Nothing really changed :) But I got flowers... |
As we began descending, the Greek guy started making casual conversation and took the middle seat before finally asking for my number. I informed him that phones were too expensive and that I didn’t have one. He moved back to the aisle seat. After landing, I went through the intense amounts of security and customs checked, got my bag, and met my mom and sister, who were waiting with flowers! Such a lovely welcome. The ride back was filled with traffic and it was so strange because it was as though nothing had changed and that I had never left… it was all so familiar, like London had just been a really good dream. So glad that I get to go back. Anyhow, I reached home, enjoyed some conversation with the family, changed, and then hit up a dinner of real Mexican food, followed my some champagne with the family, and then a beautiful crash-out in my own bed, in my own bedroom. What up, California? I’m back.
No comments:
Post a Comment