#abroad2014

[laurenisverde]

3 weeks

Three more weeks until I leave London. This semester has been the most eye-opening and eventful semester of my life, but boy am I glad to be coming home. I need sunshine, I need my family, I need the ocean, I need my best friends, I need Mexican food.

I have two more trips left: Iceland & Portugal. I am so excited for both of them but I wish I had a gap week where I could just lay around all week and not do anything. I'm exhausted and cold and a little bit homesick. The last thing I want to do is get on a plane on Thursday to travel to another country. However, I know they're going to be the best trips yet.

We have so much planned for these next couple of weekends: seeing the northern lights, hiking up volcanoes, going swimming in the Hot Springs & the Mediterranean Sea. It's going to be amazing, and I know I will love every second of it. 

I think being abroad really is an incredible experience that everyone should invest in. Never again will you get the opportunity to not work for a full four months, and just travel all around Europe to wherever your heart desires. However, while being abroad, I think I have become even more appreciative for having a wonderful, loving family and home in America's finest city (San Diego). I'm more appreciative of having a job and having consistent paychecks every week. I'm more appreciative for American holidays and American currency and American accents. I'm thankful for people in America just being nice because it's a nice thing to do (and it's apparently weird in other countries). Even though there is a stigma about how ignorant and stupid Americans are, I have never been more thankful to call America my home. 

England, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, France, Scotland, Iceland, and Portugal are all amazing, but I wouldn't trade where I came from for anything. Tonight, I will finish my homework and go to sleep. Tomorrow, I will attend class, a show, and then start packing for my Thanksgiving weekend in Iceland. No turkey, no family, but good friends that I'm so thankful for being in my life. (23 days until I'm home though :) )

[shadytokesisdead]

Really thankful for the group of friends I have here actually. It's crazy too cuz we're all foreign kids, living just a floor from each other. We all have been goin thru some tough stuff lately but we all look out for each other. Thas wsup. Very grateful :)

[shadytokesisdead]

"I had a good day today", my sister said “It’s the little things”, she smiled “But that’s the thing too”, said cands “they make the worst days too …it’s the little things”

[laurenisverde]

I did my first long run this morning and as I ran around the Thames River and passed the London Eye, Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral, Shakespeare's Globe and all of South Bank, I realized that I am so incredibly lucky to live here. 

I never want to leave Europe because I know that when I go back to school I'll be dealing with Syracuse snow... Life is truly beautiful and abroad has shown me that there are still so many places left to explore! I also think that if you're ever wanting to get to know a city better, wake up a little earlier than you normally would, go for a run and you'll see pretty much everything. PLUS you can people watch (which is probably my favorite part)

[shadytokesisdead]

Tell me how I'm gettin rain puddles under my sisters bed, in my condo, on the 23rd floor. It's rainin sideways!! There's rain pouring down the walls wthhhhhh

[shadytokesisdead]

Typhoon Mario has been goin at it since yesterday after school. My sister is stranded at her friends house so I’m all alone in my dorm and there’s no food.. I have a few soup packets so I can eat those but I have no rice. And you know Asians need that shit! Hahaha yeah. But this typhoon is no joke. It’s not as bad as last years, which lasted a week long. But I can’t really say I guess since it started yesterday night. But I heard that someone had passed away already. A 2nd year med student was tryin to travel in high waters when a loose wire hit the water :/ and my friend jus told me someone else passed away too. Man, imagine. Alive this morning but dead by the afternoon. That’s crazy. Rest in peace, friends :(

[shadytokesisdead]

Time is so fucking precious man. There needs to be more hours in the day holyyyy shit. I don't even get why my course is so gotdamn hard like. I get it's a premed course. But fuck my life. There's no time for anything, hardly any time for sleeping. I fucking hate thisssss. I'm gonna cry myself to sleep now. But I got this still. I'm graduating 2018. ITS HAPPENING.

[shadytokesisdead]

Another tough week ahead. Holy shit and it only gets harder. It’s cool, I got this. Hopefully after this nap I feel refreshed and motivated cuz all I feel right now is too tired for anything… I miss home and my family n friends. I jus wanna relax for a couple days…