As time comes to a close here on my fantastic 4 month ‘holiday’ (trust me – there’s work involved too), I decided to come up with a list (in no particular order) to reflect on England. And how much I will miss my home.
1. Travel
The best thing about living in England is the rest of Europe is a short flight away. London is a two and a half hour drive. Small towns like Holmes Chapel are two trains from London. Basically, there’s no excuse to not explore. It is so tempting!! I’m really going to miss researching (did I actually just say that) and purchasing all of the coaches and trains practically every weekend and the occasional plane. As much as a nightmare planning the 2 week Euro-trip was, I would do it all over again for what you get out of the experience.
2. Living Simply
You do not realize how great and convenient life is until you take a step into a new environment and culture. We take dryers for granted!!! It’s actually been kind of nice to get into the routine of doing my laundry weekly and laying everything out to dry. Sure, it’s not a time saver but it is a different way of living and I like it. I like that this whole semester has challenged me. I like that everything is different from America.
3. Walk Walk Walk
The luxury of getting to walk everywhere and not die of heatstroke is something I never thought I’d experience. It’s May, and yesterday I wore a sweatshirt in the middle of the day. How you may ask? Well I’m in a cute little town called Bournemouth. Not Orlando. I LOVE that you can walk to the grocery store to grab a few items, or that you walk into town to run a few errands. I appreciate living simply.
4. The Terminology
I’m going to miss how Brits say things. I have found I have picked up on quite a lot of it and I hope it never leaves me. Here’s a few of my favourites: hoover, ta, full stop, ending a statement with “tough”, bollocks, rubbish, jumper, proper and the ‘toilet’ as opposed to “bathroom”. There are so many more I wish I could record my course mates for you guys! It’s so entertaining.
5. Tick Tock
Military time is something I have gotten used to! I set it on my phone a couple months ago and now it is second nature for me to be able to tell you the time. It’s oddly comforting and will always remind me of my time here. Ha, time. Get it.
6. My walk to Uni
As I walk up to uni, on my left there is a beautiful green field and when it is sunny it is just the most beautiful sight. What makes it even greater is there are two foxes that are occasionally around playing in the field. I love that I can walk to uni and look and see foxes. FOXES. Cue “I Know Places.”
7. Mature Cheddar cheese
This deserves a category of it’s own. Mackenzie can back me up on this one (Right Kenz?!) Haha. I bought it my first week here and never turned back. Okay, I strayed twice and bought this Mediterranean cheese with olives and tomatoes mixed in from ASDA but that is purely because ASDA doesn’t carry the delicacy that is Mature Cheddar. It’s cheddar, but a white cheese. And it is heavenly. Don’t ask me how much I consume on a weekly basis.
8. Coffee shops
But in particular Caffe Nero and Costa. (Team Nero though) Literally everywhere you look in town there is probably one. It’s sort of a comfort. Their Belgian hot chocolate is to die for and has kept me warm on the coldest of days. Their almond croissants I would 100% recommend. And the atmosphere is everything you would expect. A wooded flooring with steps up to a loft type area with couches and tables, and even a bookshelf where you can take a book as you please (if you replace with another…maybe. Not sure how it works but I like the idea).
9. Taco/movie nights
Danielle, Mackenzie and I made it a ritual to have tacos as family bonding time and although it hasn’t happened every week (we need to have one soon!!) I cherish them when they DO happen. Sometimes we’ll decide on a movie and all snuggle into one of our beds and watch. Love.
10. Ensbury/Narnia
I love Bournemouth town centre but there are also places nearby my flat that I have grown to love exponentially. My walk to Ensbury Park happens to feature a place I like to call Narnia – a forest, rather, and it is magical. You have to walk by horses (I know, how boring) and then go visit some more horses as you walk through the enchanted woods and can’t help but fall in love with nature. Then once I’m at the park you’ll catch me acting like a five year old (this is often) swinging on the zip line in the playground; but sometimes I like to park myself on a bench, lay on my back, look up and think about life. The world is pretty neat. And in these moments of serenity I’m thankful for where I am.
England, you have been so good to me. I will forever be missing you until I return.
Stay nice,
K. x
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