Love/Hate

No, this is not a shameless promotion for New Balance, but they do have a point (and my horribly dated reference is a clear illustration of how long I've been away). I've got a little less than four weeks left of studying abroad, and the only comparable feeling that I've ever had to what I'm feeling now is 3/4 of the way through summer camp when you wake up and you're so excited for all of the fun stuff that happens the last few days, but you really don't want to shower wearing flip-flops anymore and you haven't really gotten a good night of sleep and every day your privacy is becoming more and more precious.

It's pretty similar here. This weekend a group of us went to Nice, and for as lovely as it was, the combination of laying out on the beach, reading a book for pleasure for once, seeing my family last week, and knowing that summer is in the very foreseeable future, I'm experiencing some serious love/hate feelings every day. The first thing that really prompted this sentiment was waiting in the arrivals area at the Nice airport for my friends to arrive (I was on a different flight that got in a little earlier). In my first-ever blogging attempt I expressed my love/hate relationship with airports. So sitting in the arrival gate, I saw all sorts of reunions - husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, parents and children - and it just made me so happy, but it also made me ache a little bit every time, since I want nothing more than to be reunited with all of the people who I haven't seen in so long.

But instead of harping on the things that I will certainly NOT miss about my abroad experience - hostels, small kitchens with dirty dishes, RyanAir, horrendously long trips on public transportation, cars speeding up in attempts to hit you when you cross the street - I think it would be better to list all the things that I LOVE about London.

The Pub Culture: Frankly, there's really nothing like it. Knowing that no matter where you are, there;s a place where you can sit down in a comfy chair and have a drink and chat with friends. It's really nothing like bars, because if you find the right one it like your own living room with a whole bunch of beer on tap. And if you find a good one, they have board games and delicious food too. What's not to love.

Walking Everywhere: I would be lying if I said that I didn't miss driving, but I have grown to love walking as my form of commuting. It's a great way to see the city and it is very conducive to exploring new ways of getting places. And unfortunately, I very rarely feel guilty about stopping at the pub because, hey! I walked all over the city today! I've definitely earned that Guinness. (TANGENT: Guinness. It just doesn't taste the same in the states. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do when I go home...)

The Theater: I have seen more than my fair share of shows while I've been here, but there are going to be so many that I haven't seen and wanted to when I get on the plane to go home. I mean, South Bend is great, but it's not exactly a hub of arts and culture...

HobNobs, Crunchy Nut, Waitrose in general: HobNobs are a "knobbly and oaty" biscuit covered in dark chocolate on one side, which I've only ever seen at Waitrose. A delicious invention and great with coffee. Crunchy Nut (the "nutty" variety) is one of the most delicious cereals, and I've only ever found it at the Waitrose, too. Basically I'm going to miss my grocery store and all of it's beautiful, delicious things. The Martin's down the street from my apartment just won't be the same.

Jet-Setting: I guess it's good for my bank account that I won't be able to travel around the world nearly as easily when I go home, but I am definitely going to miss being able to fly to some exotic location for the weekend. By the time I get home, I will have six different countries stamps in my passport just from this semester, and that doesn't even count the different cities I visited in the same country. Pretty sweet.

And so the countdown begins. 25 days of walking, theater, Crunchy Nut, and traveling to hold me over until I get the chance to come back!