Home isn't a place, it's a feeling

Eighteen hours of travel.  A bus ride to the airport. An hour flight from Newcastle to London. One missed flight to Newark by ten minutes.  Dozens of annoyed and sleep-deprived people just wishing they were home. A two hour layover in London Heathrow. A seven hour flight which was transferred to JFK. An hour long daze of a car ride from New York to Fairfield. Several clumsy steps through the snow from the car to the front door. A delayed, delicious chocolate birthday cake. My bed.

 

Two heavy suitcases and one backpack. One jetlagged girl who just entered a new decade while over the Atlantic ocean.

 

And after three months, countless amazing memories and tearful goodbyes... I am home again.

 

But it looks different and feels different. I always feel this way when I go away and come back. But this time it is even more noticeable because I was so far away for such a long time. I couldn't help but feel like I left part of my home behind. Newcastle was starting to feel like home for me. Don't get me wrong, I am so happy to be reunited with my family and friends and be back in the comfortable familiarity of my hometown. I just wish I could have everyone I care about and everything I love about the cities I've been to with me at all times. I know that is impossible. This is a realization and a loss which is hard to accept as reality.

 

Then again, how lucky am I to have best friends around the world and more than one place that feels like home? I'll answer myself: Pretty darn lucky.

 

I couldn't ask for a better study abroad experience. I really wouldn't change a thing.

 

I arrived in Newcastle three months ago with no expectations. I didn't want there to be any chance of feeling disappointed like I have been in the past. But it turned out that my time abroad was far better than I could have ever imagined.

 

I learned so much about England and its culture.

 

 

 

I saw so many places I thought I would never get to see: London, Paris, Hogwarts, Madrid and Edinburgh just to name a few.

 

 

I had the best flatmates. We all got along so well and I felt so comfortable being myself around them.

 

I met some amazing friends (both American and English) that I know will be there for me even if the Atlantic ocean separates us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I grew up, learned a lot about myself and couldn't be happier for it.

So, I could be really sad it's over. Well, I am. But wouldn't it be more sad if I wasn't as upset as I was to leave? My desire to stay longer just shows how much I have to be grateful for. I left one of my homes for now, but I'll be back soon.

And I've heard that home isn't a place, it's a feeling. I'm feeling pretty great about the past three months. I couldn't ask for a better way to enter my twenties.

Some things change, and some stay the same.

Things that have changed since I've been to the UK:

-I drink a lot more tea.

-I say things like you alright, cheers, down it fresha, I can't be bothered, and lovely in attempt to "fit in".

-I sign my texts and messages with one to three x's.

-It's a lot harder to communicate with friends and family back home.

-It's much easier to navigate transportation systems, especially in new cities.

-Primark is the love of my life.

-I carry an umbrella everywhere.

-I watch British game shows sometimes.

-I know who Spencer Matthews is.

-I see people walking down the street wearing animal onesies and don't give it a second thought.

-I see my flat mates in the common room wearing animal onesies and don't give it a second thought.

-I once said the sentence aloud, "I can't because I'm going to Paris for the weekend, then Madrid next weekend". I then floated out of my body and looked down on myself in disbelief.

-I now know who the Sugababes are, which apparently is crucial knowledge (thank you, flat mates)

-Lectures with more than 30 people are a thing.

-Physics. Not the laws of physics. I just mean I'm taking physics and it's really hard.

-Also taking Linguistics and Sociology courses.

-I've made amazing friends (both English and American).

-I'm seeing lots of new places and I love it.

 

Things that haven't changed since I've been to the UK:

-My love of puns

-My talent of dropping/spilling/tripping/falling at inappropriate and unfortunate times.

-My impressive cereal eating at all times of the day (ask flat mates)

-I can get easily lost sometimes
-Sometimes I take myself too seriously

-Still don't completely understand American football

-Still don't understand cricket

-Let's be honest, still don't understand a lot of sports

-I haven't met the queen (yet)

-I haven't become Kate Middleton (yet)

-I haven't become a Spice Girl  (yet)

-Still hate the cold but love the change of seasons

-I watch a lot of American sitcoms

-I need music in the background at all times

-Snapchat is still one of the best inventions ever

-My wanderlust

-My desire to stay in England for a really, really long time because I knew I would love it and I was more right than I could ever imagine.

Imagine Dragons. Imagine That.

I’ve had the highest mountains, I’ve had the deepest rivers. You can have it all but life keeps moving. I take it in but don’t look down. ‘Cause I’m on top of the world, I’m on top of the world, waiting on this for a while now, paying my dues to the dirt. I’ve been waiting to smile, been holding it in for a while, take you with me if I can. Been dreaming of this since a child. I’m on top of the world.

When I found out three months ago that Imagine Dragons was coming to Newcastle, I jumped at the chance to see them. Although they are a relatively new band, I've grown to become completely obsessed with their music over the summer. I knew I love a band when I love every single one of their songs, which was the case. They were right there with me as I went for a run around my neighborhood. They were there when I was waking up and getting ready for work. They were there when I felt bored and lonely, just waiting for something and everything to start. They are even here as I write this!

So you can imagine (ha, ha) my amazement and thrill when I was in the same room as them and they were EVEN BETTER live. I didn't even know that was possible! Their performance was so energetic, and they seemed truly grateful for the recognition they received as they blew up in popularity this past year. There's just something about being in a venue surrounded by people who love the same band as much as you do and just appreciate music. The drunk middle aged guy sitting a couple rows away from us who kept standing up to dance and fist pump then got stopped by security definitely appreciated music (or was just really drunk). Either way, everyone had an amazing time. I am pretty sure I had a stupid grin and it didn't leave the entire night.

Around Madrid in 48 Hours

We managed to pack a lot into two days!

Friday night/ El noche de viernes:

-Around 10 pm: We arrive in España!

-Settle into Hostel Loyola! What a perfect name.

 

 

-Then off to the best tapas y sangria ever.

 

 

-Bedtime. Traveling is tiring! Buenas noches!

Saturday/sabado:

 

-Breakfast, which is pretty difficult to find on a Saturday morning. Most people are still asleep from their late night out! We still managed to find amazing food.

 

-A brief detour at Dunkin Coffee. I was happy to see the first Dunkin in forever but it was an imposter of Dunkin Donuts! How does one dunk coffee?

-Museo Nacional del Prado, home of Velasquez. I tried to get pictures but then got yelled at. I'm such a badass.

- Parque del Retiro. It was so beautiful even though it was cold and not as colorful as usual.

 

 

-Then we met up with Loyola friends studying in Spain at the market, which was so great! The tapas and mojito didn't hurt either.

-Dinner and flamenco performance!

-Churros y chocolate! Yes, I understand that I am talking about food a lot. No shame.

 

 

-Then we were going to go to the ice bar, but decided against it because we didn't really want to pay to be cold...

Sunday/domingo:

 

-Breakfast at the fanciest McDonald's I've ever seen in my life. It was actually good!

-Mass

-El Palacio

 

 

 -A little souvenir shopping

-Alcala to meet our friend's host family and have lunch with them! Special guests include the cutest puppy on earth, and scary shrimp with eyes.

 

 

 

-Walking around Alcala and saying goodbye to everyone... well, not goodbye. Hasta luego!

Until later, Madrid!

 

An American Girl in Paris

Stop everything. Don't think. Just take it all in. You're in Paris. Why would you think about anything else right now? It's so easy to be preoccupied with past and future concerns and obligations. Why not pay attention to what's right in front of you? It's pretty incredible if you just look up.

The best piece of advice I received in preparation for visiting Paris was simply to look up, because there is so much to see everywhere. I wanted to remember everything about my first trip to Paris forever, so I watched and observed every wonderful detail. And let me tell you, the pictures I've seen in the past have nothing on the real deal. The things I saw were pretty darn magical, even in the rainy and cold weather.

Notre Dame:

This entertaining sign at our hostel:

The Lourve:

 

 

The Mona Lisa:

 

 

The EIFFEL TOWER:

 

 

 

The Arc de Triomphe:

This delicious croissant:

The lock bridge:

 

 

Then, quite possibly my favorite part of the weekend: We climbed the Eiffel tower! But of course, my battery died right before we started the climb... womp womp. At first I was really disappointed that I couldn't document that moment. But as I thought about it again, I realized that my battery dying was truly a blessing in disguise. As great as it is to have pictures and remember moments perfectly frozen in time, I don't want to live my life behind a camera lens. Then I would miss out on the real deal! So I was able to take the advice I needed. Instead of focusing on taking pictures, I took mental pictures. I looked up. Well, once we got to the top, I looked down. The picture I could have taken wouldn't have done that view of Paris justice. It was something I'll remember forever, from my own eyes and not just a picture. From now on I plan to look around a lot more, and really look. As the wise Ferris Bueller says, Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. If I didn't look up (or down) I could have missed it!