Kayla in Michigan: May 31, 2011

Back home again after a long day of flying and airports. Things went smooth though (well as smooth as any trip to an airport can go) and we got home on time and in one piece. I was exhausted, but kept on going. My parents picked me up from the airport and I finally got the Mongolian BBQ I had been craving for the entire trip. We drove back to the apartment after a long meal and car ride of show and tell.

Instead of just going to sleep like I should have, I stayed up to try and unpack as much as I could. I ended up just moving things out of my suitcases into heaps on the floor. I have a lot to do today…

I’m happy to be home, but there’s this feeling of sadness hanging over me that I may never see what I saw on this trip ever again.

So with that, this blog has served its purpose. Thank you for reading. Hopefully there will be more adventures (even if they’re close to home) in the future.

Thoughts on Leaving: May 30, 2011 —– Day 22

Last night at our final/dinner/wrap up meeting we were asked to describe how we were feeling with one word. People said words like sad, inspired, bittersweet, and I said content. And last night I was content. Content with my experience, content with my time in London, and ready to go home. It’s 4:30am here. While I thought it was a little ridiculous for Chelsea to think that she really needed to wake up at this time, I ended up waking up before her alarm after having a terrible time trying to fall asleep. I woke up with an emotion I didn’t think I would have: longing. I’m longing to stay here, maybe not right now, on this same trip, but again, at some point in my life with someone else I can share it with. I want to show someone I love the beauties and wonders of London that I found while I was here. I’m longing for all the adventures and locations this trip provided to me. To my great amazement, I’m sadder about leaving than I would have ever expected to be.

I hope to come back here. One day, maybe my honeymoon, to see London again and to love London again. To let all of wonderment of it was over me again. I feel restless. I’m ready to go back home but at the same time, this WAS home for me for three weeks…

Thoughts About Leaving: May 29, 2011 —– Day 21

Things I’ll Miss
Public Transportation
Proximity of Shops and Cafes
Walking Everywhere
Primark’s Selection
Experiencing Something New Everyday
Humorous Greeting Cards
The Culture
Fantastic Postcards
Tesco’s Cookies
Paul’s Ham and Cheese Panini

Things I’m Happy to be Returning to
My Parents
My Boyfriend
My Besties
My Bed
My Phone
Cheaper Prices. Larger Portions
Routine
My Fan
Getting a Steady Paycheck
Clothing Options
Large One-Stop stores (i.e. Walmart)
Cars on the Right Side of the Road
Privacy
Better Ice-Cream (and more of it)
Upcoming Birthday festivities
The Simplicity of U.S. Currency

I Spy with My London Eye: May 29, 2011 —– Day 21

I had a very hard time sleeping last night out of restlessness to go home, but when I woke up this morning, I was glad I still got to be in England. We set out around noon for the London Eye, our final, very touristy adventure. We had a “4D” experience before we went on the Eye that Shelby and I had been super excited about since she found out it was included.

The Eye itself was incredibly cool. It was the perfect closure; we could see so many things we had explored over the course of the trip. It was a very bittersweet ride.I thought about how I may never see these things again, but how my time in London is up. I know lately it’s has seemed like I’ve been counting down the minutes to go home, but that was just the homesickness talking. This was such an amazing opportunity and I loved every second of it.

Tonight we’re all getting together to have dinner and reflect on the course. Then it’s off to bed to wake up at 5am for the bus to the airport with the plane to take me back home.

 

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The End is Near: May 28, 2011 —– Day 20

There’s only one more full day left to the trip. It’s kind of unbelievable, but that’s what everyone who travels or goes on vacation always says. You wait months and months for the trip to arrive and then suddenly it’s over. I have that feeling of time having gone by quickly, but in that same feeling, time hasn’t seemed to have gone by too rapidly. I’ve enjoyed the experience immensely, but I’m also ready to go home. I spent today packing up everything I possibly could, even though that wasn’t very much since I already had the majority of my things packed a few days ago.

I did go out and down the road where the food and shops are for a bit. I wanted to go into the stationery store to spend a bit of my remaining money on funny cards to send in the future, but it was closed. I remembered that the post office had a card section, so I went into there instead. I also stopped by the Tesco for some cokes for the remaining days. Then I came home, started to upload photos to get them developed, and moved stuff around in my suitcases for no apparent reason.

I’m slightly worried about my suitcase weighing too much, but I’ve done all I can to move the heavy things like my shoes, straightener, and jeans into my carry on. I’m doing well on space surprisingly even though I’m bringing back a lot of souvenirs. That’s probably because all the food I brought with me is no longer taking up all that space.

My roommates haven’t gotten quite as far in the packing process…

I’m not sure what I’m going to do tonight, but I’m sure the group will have some sort of adventure in mind that I’ll tag along for. Tomorrow will be better since we have activities and need to wrap up the course, so I won’t be constantly thinking about how eager I am to go home like I have today.

It’s not that I don’t like England or didn’t enjoy the trip; I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. Three weeks is the longest I’ve ever been away from home, let alone across a vast ocean. I’m a homebody, and I’m ready to be home again.