I first realized this last weekend when I was in Central London. As I was walking across Westminster Bridge I became very agitated with the people that would suddenly stop walking to take a picture or crowd the streets with confused looks as their cameras pointed at anything made out of stone. My intentions were not to become annoyed at these people, after all I was one of them not too long ago, but I couldn't not help myself. I had places to go and people to see and these people were in the way of that. The sidewalks are just that, sideWALKS not side-stop and take pictures so nobody can-walks. Through the last week my realization of becoming a local has strengthened. Buying groceries is just buying groceries and walking to class is just walking to class. I am no longer mesmerized by mundane activities, and whether you think that may be a sad thing to have happen, it is not. In fact, I welcome it. It means that I fit in now, it means that I have finally found my place in this new world of mine. All of these discoveries of my new found adaptation manifested throughout this past week as I found myself walking around various areas of London, Soho, Covent Garden, Trafalgar, Westminster, you name it, without needing any sort of guidance or a map. I have never has such feelings of pride.
Although I found myself fitting in here, in two weeks I will be leaving. No, not to go back to the States, but rather to go on Easter Holiday. For this break we get three weeks of schooling to do as we please. Most students will go back to their hometowns, but for me this is not a feasible option, and therefore my break will be somewhat different. On March 23 I will be traveling to Madrid Spain to stay with my old friend, Daniela. If you are someone who has known me for awhile you might remember that Daniela was a foreign exchange student from Germany when I was a sophomore in high school and her, Missy, Grace, and I became very close friends. She is currently studying in Spain and therefore that is where I will voyage to see her. I have only seen her once since she left the States and so I am very excited for us to reunite. After this I will be going to Italy with Sarah. We are going to the southern tip of Italy in the Reggio Di Calabria. Not only have I always been intrigued by Italian culture but my Aunt Patty is from this part of Italy. I am excited to see and learn the things that she once did, even if only during a short period of time. After Italy, Sarah and I will spend two nights in Dublin, Ireland learning firsthand about both of our Irish heritage. To end our break we will be staying with my flatmate, Amelia, in her home in a town called Harrogate in northern England. I will finally be able to see how the English truly live by being a guest in their home and that is an experience I had hoped that I would get to have so I am very much looking forward to that as well.
I am lucky, you know? Sometimes I don't realize how lucky I really am to have the ability to do these types of things. As I am writing this I think about three years ago when I was a senior in high school and all of my friends were boarding a plane for a two week trip to Europe and how upset I was that I couldn't go, and now look where I am. I am living a dream and I don't know if any of the people who helped me make this dream a reality will ever know how thankful I am. One day I hope to pay it forward in some way or another, but until then I will continue to travel, continue to gain experience, and continue to make memories and friendships that will last me a lifetime.
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