I find it hard to believe that I am already almost half way
through my time here in London. My
stay has gone by so quickly, so it’s hard to believe that come May I will be
back home in a place where hot tea is just a Lipton in luke warm water. I only bring the tea thing up now
because currently I am addressing you from a lovely little teahouse in Camden,
called Yumchaa (Fun name, right?).
This cozy little establishment is truly my find of the week, maybe even
the month. It truly saddens me
that come May, stumbling across little gems like this on a weekly basis will no
longer be a reoccurring part of my life.
As
much as this is the reality of the situation, it is something I try not to
dwell on. The close approach of
the midterm break; however, has made me unable to think about anything
else. There are so many things to
do. I have not even begun to plan everything I still want to accomplish in the
coming months: Brighton, Cambridge, Lakenheath, the Harry Potter Tour, a visit
to the Lake District, etc. The
list never ends. Thankfully, I
will get to see Paris, Nice, and Barcelona over break. Also, tonight I am finally scheduling
my trip to see some old family friends up in Saxmundham, Ray and Edith. To be quite honest, I think I am more
excited to visit them then I am to party it up in Barcelona. But, even with these trips planned
there is still so much to do.
But
then I come to a sad realization: You can’t do everything. For some
odd reason, I have it in my mind that this is the only time I will ever have
the opportunity to travel Europe.
This is simply not the case.
Once I graduate, the only thing keeping me away is the simple issue of
getting a VISA. Okay, that’s not
really a small obstacle, but one I
can definitely work my way around.
The point is that I will be
back. The longer I live here, the
more in love with the city I become.
I never saw myself living in a big city, but I see myself living here. I may not get to everything I want
during this short time. Hell, I probably won’t get to cross off 25% of my
list. But, honestly, that’s still
a LOT of things I’ve accomplished while here. I mean how many other study abroad students can say they got
to sing with a Welsh choir and compete on national television in Wales?! I
guarantee, not many, if any at all.
Now, that could not have
possibly been on any list of mine, but it will probably be the best memory from
my stay here.
I
guess what I am trying to accomplish with this post is just a reflection about
how my experience has gone so far.
I’m almost half way through, so it’s probably good to see where I stand
at this point. I’m a little
indifferent to be quite honest, maybe even a little melancholy. You can probably tell that from my
writings above. I think that is
because I have come to the point where I am no longer part of a study abroad
program, but I am just another London resident, going to work and attending
classes. The novelty has worn off
a bit so now I am simply just living life as usual. I guess this all sort of leads me into my next rule:
NO. 6: ENJOY THE
LITTLE THINGS
Okay,
I know everyone is going to think I stole this from Zombieland, but come on! I’m not allowed to enjoy the little things
unless I’m involved in a zombie apocalypse? Ludicrous! But anyhow, back to the
rule. There is no possible way that when traveling or studying abroad you will ever accomplish everything on your
list. If you have, you must have
not had a long enough list.
Instead of dwelling on trying to accomplish everything and stressing yourself
out, just sit. Just sit down, and look around you. Embrace where you are and who surrounds you. I am currently at an endearing teahouse
surrounded by my fellow Londoners.
In fact, I live in London.
I can call myself a Londoner… for now. That in itself is pretty awesome. I took a walk around Camden to soak up the atmosphere and
even for a Tuesday night, everything is bustling. I am here for such a short period of time, and if I don’t
stop and realize just the caliber of how incredible this place is, the entire
experience will go to waste. Yes,
see the sites, go to museums, and find castles, but don’t dwell on doing that all the time. You will go mad.
Also, don’t get depressed when you look at all the things you didn’t
do. Dwell on the things you did
accomplish. You’ll be better off
in the end.
When I first sat down to write this
entry, I planned on informing my readers about my internship and how it was
going. I also wanted to touch on
our brief tour at Condé Nast today, but I see my own writing has taken me
elsewhere. Fear not, eventually I
will talk about my internship, but I will have to save that for another
time. After my novel about Wales,
I should probably keep this one brief.
I hope all is well with my readers and I do hope that wherever you are,
whether it be on holiday, school, or home with the family, you still do take
this rule to heart. Enjoy those
little moments, and don’t try to make everyday legendary. There’s too much stress and anxiety in
the world as it is.
Cheers,
Janelle
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