Less Than a Month Left

I started looking through my camera roll today and I thought to myself, 'Wow I take a sh*t ton of photos!' The truth is I always take photos, but especially when I am somewhere I never want to forget. Usually I save the videos and bursts for events like concerts, but everyday that I have been in the U.K. has proved to have something memorable. That is why it's so surreal to imagine that in less than a month my abroad experience will be over and I'll be headed back to Los Angeles, and then Geneva, NY.

I cannot tell you how fast my time here has flown by. While I thought that starting school in mid September would cut my time, I found that I have had enough time to get a good feel for British life. In my first month abroad, I did not travel because I wanted to acquaint myself with Norwich and British culture. Granted, I still have not seen enough of Norwich, but I feel more oriented when someone asks me, "You alright?" Honestly, that used to offend me so much! Like yes I'm alright, what am I being stupid?!

I was telling one of my flatmates today that I was actually really tired and I felt ready to go home. He asked me why this was, and I explained it as, "I feel like I am ready to go back to a place I feel familiar." I explained to him, and to you, that I do not get home sick. When I won the Posse scholarship I won it without ever having left California. Thus, being halfway across the country for college has made me resistant to being home sick. It's a luxury I kind of cannot afford to have.

Regardless, I think that by the time I leave, December 17, I will be squeezed finically, mentally, and physically. Being here, I have tried my hardest to push myself and constantly try new things. From going out on a Tuesday, to afternoon tea and the hour wait it takes, I wanted to make sure that I did things I could only do here. 

While being in the U.K. I have had the opportunity, thanks to my parents and their support, to visit Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and soon I'll be in France. I truly cannot believe that I am both in England and touring the nearby regions of Europe. 

Being abroad is an experience that many students in America share, but it is really each person's own experience. Some of my friends are coming to Norwich next semester and I know that their time here will cater to them just how I shaped my time here for me. Even between my peers from HWS here at Norwich, we are each enjoying our time in our unique ways. I look back to my classes and I think too of how useful my time at HWS has been in preparing me for my courses at UEA. All of my classes are relevant to my degree and I have had the opportunity to see content that was brand new. From watching British TV for the first time, to engaging with complex media theory, to talking about music videos, my academics at UEA have been something that I am grateful for. 

I looked at my calendar yesterday and I couldn't imagine already having to start packing up for when it's time to leave. My anxiety begins to creep up on me as I envision how hard it will be saying goodbye to the friends I have made here. I can vividly remember the first time I met my British flatmates, and the first time I truly got pissed at Mercy Nightclub. With the two weeks I have left I am both eager to go home and heartbroken to leave a place where I truly found my corner. 

Camilla Cabello's heart is in Havana, and I can say part of mine will be left in Norwich. I can firmly say that once I leave it will not be a  goodbye to the U.K., but instead a see you later. Lizzy girl save me a seat at afternoon tea when I'm back.