That time I studied abroad

I want adventure in the great wide somewhere

[makeyourowntide]

You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart always will be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.

Miriam Adeney  (via 365amsterdam)

[thattimeistudiedabroad]

That time I studied Abroad...

I'm beyond exhausted and walking the emotional tightrope a little bit, so now probably isn't the time to write my final post and look retrospectively at  the 9 months that have been, but hey, what else is one to do when they have 3 hours to kill at LAX... 

Let's start with my final week. Monday-Wednesday I had finals which were kind of a mixed bag, but to be honest I don't really care. I suspect my lowest will be a distinction and I can live with that. On Thursday I decided it would be a wonderful idea to go out one last time for a "Logan lap of honour". All I really have to say about is this: there was absolutely nothing honorable about it, when I saw everyone the next day we all immediately said to each other "I feel like such a bad friend", I didn't get to bed until 4 and had a breakfast at 9 and lastly; I had the hangover from hell.

And you know what goes great with a hang over that literally feels like death; packing everything you own into 2 suitcases, moving furniture and saying tearful fear wells to your favourite people in the world. Needless to say; friday was the biggest shit show of my life and it didn't end until 2am when I seriously questioned my existence as I chiseled a layer of black grime of our bathroom floor that hadn't been cleaned in 9 months. I then proceeded to get about 4 hours sleep for the second night in a row.

This morning I was super stressed before we left, but I think it was mostly just because I was tired. As soon as we got in the taxi I felt so much better and of course I had heaps of time at the airport.

ANYWAY. That pretty much brings us up to now. Overall, if I could describe how I feel about this amazing experience that I'm only just accepting is ending is thankful. I'm so so thankful for every experience I had, every person I met, the university I was at and every single day that that I was able to spend here. From crying during my operations exam to laughing so hard I literally thought I was going to die, there is nothing I would change or do differently. 

But I'm not to lie, as I sit in transit, I'm a little terrified. I feel disconnected from home and also worried that I'm not going to keep in contact with people here. Literally, I have never successfully kept in contact with anyone. When you're living in different places it's so hard to know what to say. Everything just seems irrelevant. I feel to in-between. 

I think the next month or so will be interesting. I really don't know what to expect. What I do know is that I wouldn't trade the last 9 months for anything and I am sure that this experience will forever be an important an influential part of who I am. 

[thattimeistudiedabroad]

every hour or so I think about how I should pack but then i think nahhh 

[thattimeistudiedabroad]

3.05.13

I leave in 6 days and it's finally like ohhhh nooooooo goodbye feelings are not fun at all?? I just wish everybody could come to australia/i could come back in visit in september but nnOOoooo

[thattimeistudiedabroad]

throwback to yesterday when i slept through my last ever American class then wore my shirt inside-out literally all day 

[thattimeistudiedabroad]

Guess all the answers! Fail all the finals! Obtain none of the knowledge! Cry all the tears! 

[thattimeistudiedabroad]

23.04.14

This time in two week I will be done with my finals and so, academically, I will be done with study abroad. Going home still seems like soooooooo far away, but I'm leaving in like 2 weeks and one day which is not a long time. Going home has just been this super far away thing for so long that now that it's close it's like really weird. I'm scared to go home still, probably after I've been there for 5 minutes I'll feel stupid for ever worrying about it, but right now I just was to eat grilled cheese and tomato soup and run back to Disney land and never leave. 

[thattimeistudiedabroad]

currently attempting homework for a class that I haven't been to in 18 days what is life

[thattimeistudiedabroad]

DC Day 3

National art museum: Oh how I wish I were cultured enough to have enjoyed this more. It was very cool to see the Van Gogos and Da Vinci pieces. But over all, it's just kind of like, yep, i know I couldn't do that and thus I am impress, however I couldn't say how it is better/worse/different from any other pice of art 

Walking Tour: So many monuments! all very impressive. My favourite was the FDR memorial. I liked the way it was laid out and I had a lot of context for it, unlike the others. The Martin Luther King memorial was also really cool. Reading his quotes is always so poignant, regardless of where we are in history. The tour went for a long time so afterwards we just got lunch and went back to the hotel. That night we went out for dinner at an Italian restaurant, which was really good. 

The next morning we go up early to head to the airport. It wasn't all that sad to say goodbye to my dad/sister because I know I'm going to see them in only like, 3 weeks! It was a really amazing trip and I'm so impressed with DC. I think it's my favourite American city after New York. I'm so glad that it got to be my last little mini holiday within my study abroad. 

[thattimeistudiedabroad]

low key loosing my life ambitions with every test i take

[thattimeistudiedabroad]

Do we only have a finite amount we can hold in our memory? If so, I feel its a little wasteful that I still know literally all the words to Way To Go by the Rogue Traders 

[thattimeistudiedabroad]

DC day 2

Day two was a lot busier. We started by going to the Holocaust museum but the line was mental, it wound all the way around the museum and them around the block too. So we abandon that for a while, and went to the natural history museum instead. 

The Natural History Museum is (accounting to our guide) the second most visited museum in the world after the Lourve. It was cool to see, but it was crazy busy. I think the fact that we were there during spring break/it was a rainy day meant that there were just people everywhere. They definitely have some really interesting things there though. I liked the parts about humans and the ocean more than the dinosaurs. I feel like they're kind of the main part, but i don't know, dinosaurs have just never really captured my attention. 

After that we went back to the Holocaust museum and we were able to get tickets to come back at 4:00. So went went to the capital building but got caught in a massive down pour. Dad and Anastasia went back to the hotel, but I forged on to the Newseum. That was definitely my favourite. It has a media/modern history theme which is very up my alley. 

Then, it was the Holocaust museum. It was really well done, and i was worried that the massive crowds would take away from the feel, but it was still very quiet and respectful. They had one of he carriages used to transport people to the concentration camps and you could walk through it, it was intense to say the least. 

It was a rainy day, but all in all we made the best of it and it had stopped raining by the time we went to get dinner at a French restaurant near by. 

[thattimeistudiedabroad]

DC day 1

The Lincoln memorial: It was so cool to see in person, it's a lot bigger than i thought it would be and it marks one end of the national mall. The view from the pillars out the front onto the reflecting pool and the Washington monument are amazing. The guide explained a little about who lincoln was/what he stood for. It wasn't quite as informative at drunk history (in my humble opinion), but he focused on the concepts of unity and freedom/what they mean 

World War Two monument: I really liked this. There was a school group singing and the fountain/general layout of the whole thing is really nice. It pays homage to every American state, as well as the places overseas that they fought. 

Air and Space museum: Not a lot to say here, it was about as interesting as I'll ever find air/space but i can see how it would be a real highlight is that's something that interests you. 

White House: Again, I don't really know what to say. It was cool to see in person, but as expected, you're kept at a pretty far distance. 

It was such a nice warm day, I feel like a got a good feel for the city and definitely got excited about doing more activates over the coming days. We went out for dinner at an Indian place and it was really good. Indian is probably my favourite food and I've missed it A LOT, especially in this second semester. SO even though I definitely ate wayyyyy to much, it was so good and so worth it. 

We actually arrived on sunday evening but that doesn't seem like long enough to warrant its own post so in summary: we got stuck in epic traffic because of the cherry-blossom festival, we walking a long the water a little bit, ate at an italian place, I quickly went to urban outfitters to get a light dress for the next day because I stupidly didn't bring summery clothes then went to bed

[thattimeistudiedabroad]

I'm packing for to go to denver and i was like hmmmm i feel like i own more clothes than this and then it dawned on me that i still haven't gone back to the laundry room to collect the clothes i washed on sunday

[thattimeistudiedabroad]

9.4.14

one month today one month today one month today one month today one month today 

I'm not ready. I'm chaining myself to Dussault 206 and I'm never leaving. I can't go home. nope. i refuse. 

But seriously, in 4 weeks I'll be packing my things, sitting my last final and making sure my dad remembers to pick me up from the airport because if I like it or not, I'm going home. 

To be honest, I'm more than a little nervous about it. I can't even pinpoint one thing that I'm nervous about like seeing my friends or family again, or needing to get a job, or finishing uni/going back to uni. It's just everything. I really like being on my own here. I like that it was a 100% fresh start, no one knew me or expected me to be one thing or another and while at time I wished I had history with people, for the most part I've loved building up from nothing and no one. 

I feel like I'm in for some awkwardness when I go home. I don't want to have reunions with people, I just want to slide back in, unnoticed and have it kind of be like I never left. I feel more at home here than I ever thought I would. It truly became the new normal. I don't hear the accents anymore and things that seemed so strange when i first got here are now second nature. I'll save further reflections for my last week and hopefully by then the fear will be gone and home will just seem like a pretty cool place that I'm ready to go back to. 

[thattimeistudiedabroad]

the fact that I'm feeling very emotional about muffins right now is prrrrrrrobaly a sure sign aunt flo is on her way...

[thattimeistudiedabroad]

I just bought 2 and DID NOT GET 2 FREE - who pays for all four item!? I feel robbed by safeway