Itchy Feet: 12/11/13

Guess what, world? In 5 days , this girl is going back to the US of A - the land of french fries and home of the pedestrians who get the right-of-way. All I can think of right now is my family and how much I want to be with them and... and real peanut butter. And deep dish pizza. And my bed. And my dog. And my clarinet. And my piano. And Kashi. And bread that doesn't expire in three days. Okay. I'm sounding pretty pathetic now. But I really do miss my family.

On the other hand, I am saying my final goodbyes today and tomorrow, and that is going to be really awful. Honestly, I'm not trying to sound cliche, but I've met some pretty awesome people this term and I can't imagine not seeing these people on a regular basis. So far I've been good about pushing the sadness to the back of my mind. But I have a feeling that it's all going to hit me very hard when I'm finally settled at home. I hate goodbyes! Ahhh! :'(

How I feel about leaving England:

Part of me is like

But most of me is like

(Yes, both halves of me are equally insane... and black, as Kaitlyn pointed out)

What am I going to do when I leave all of this behind? So many mixed feelings right now. This morning I was making a mental list of all the things I am thankful for. So many of the items on this list are related to this trip and the lessons I've learned, people I've met, and places I've visited in my time here. This is going to be so bittersweet. Wow.

Without getting too mushy, here is my list of the top 10 things I will miss the most about England:

1. Easy travel to the rest of the UK and Europe

2. Castles!!

Windsor Castle

Caernafron Castle in Wales

Conwy Castle in Wales

3. Cathedrals

Canterbury Cathedral

Rochester Cathedral

Notre Dame

4. Lectures only happen once a week

5. Pubs

My first time at a pub!

We're poor so we buy appetizers and split them amongst ourselves...

This is the pub where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien met every Tuesday to discuss each other's work. The conversations that took place in this pub profoundly impacted the course of 20th century literature.

6. London