Hello again! I think I'm finally thawed from my weekend in Bath, and London is starting to warm up--slowly but surely.
Last Monday I finally had a day completely to myself. I know that sounds kind of silly, since basically this semester is for me, but I really hadn't had a day yet when I had complete control over what I did. So I slept in (as much as I sleep in..), did some homework, got my hair cut, read, got groceries, and basically got myself re-organized. I definitely needed that time to just sort everything out. On Tuesday Holly and I finally met with Beth and Julie after working on our own for nearly three weeks. It was really good to touch base with them and go over things. We had a few errands to run for them before we went back to Vandon House to edit some of the pieces we had written. Since Tuesday was Valentine's Day, a group of us went to go see The Vow, which is such a chick flick it's not even funny. It was fun though to experience the cinema in London. Wednesday Holly and I were able to do all of our work at Vandon House, which meant it was kind of a lazy day. I like being able to do my work from 'home' sometimes, but other times I would rather actually go somewhere so I feel like I'm doing something. Thursday we had lectures in the morning, and then in the afternoon Abby and I went to the Museum of London for our British Experience Seminar. It was interesting, but I wasn't really in a museum mood. A group of us ended up going out in Leicester Square that night, which wasn't too bad, but I definitely regretted staying up so late when I had to leave at 7 the next morning for Wales!
I hadn't been planning on going to Bangor so early in the semester, but it happened that both Molly and I had a free weekend so I just decided to go for it. And honestly, I was missing it. I love London, I really do. But Bangor has a piece of me that London never will, and I was looking forward to seeing everyone. I stayed with Molly, who is doing her postgrad there at the moment, and it was so good to catch up with her. We had really similar experiences in Wales before, and we had plenty to discuss this time around. I also got to see Regan, who is studying abroad in Bangor now, which was wonderful. I was so happy to hear that she is loving her time there and is learning plenty. Molly and I spent Saturday on High Street, and we cooked a proper meal. Then we went and saw all of my flatmates, which was a lot of fun--they're just as crazy as they were. Sunday we went and had scones on the pier--it was actually sunny out, which was kind of a miracle. I seriously will never get over how beautiful Bangor is. Every time I see it, it always looks different, but it is always incredible. Monday morning before my train out I got to see Tecwyn (the Wales director) and Maggie, who works in the International Student Office (I met her when I studied there). Tecwyn is just the best, and Maggie is super nice. Then before I knew it, I was back on the train to London. I hate leaving Bangor. I wasn't dreading coming back to London at all, but my heart drops a little every time the train pulls away from the station. I really wish I could explain what it is that makes Bangor so special--the town itself is honestly a little run-down, and there's definitely a strained relationship between the locals and the students. But it's a safe, small town, and the university is a great place to be a student. And my four months there were really, really important for me as a person--I needed that semester to grow up and just be me. I have so many ridiculous memories from that time, ones I hope I never forget. When I got back Monday I made myself go run, and it was really good to clear my head after such a short but good weekend. I ran through St. James' Park and around the area, and on my way back the sun was setting just behind Buckingham Palace. It was kind of awesome, and made being back in the city a little happier.
This morning for my internship Holly and I had to go to a press viewing of Jeremy Deller's new exhibition at the Hayward Gallery. His art basically takes ordinary things from our lives and points them out as cultural reference points. It was a little bizarre, but we got to hear the curator's tour as well as the artist's explanation, both of which were really interesting. He had a a really cool exhibit about the Iraq War called 'It is What It Is'. The best part was that in the middle there was a real cafe as part of the display where we all got tea. I love Britain and their obsession with tea. This afternoon we had to write a piece about the press viewing, and I got to proofread the entire magazine for publication next week. I love doing that kind of thing, but it is SO time consuming.
Otherwise, not much else is new. I love being in the UK for now, but I'm getting really, really anxious about what I'm doing when I get home. I graduate literally two days after I get back, and after that, I have no idea what to do. I've been job searching, I've been looking at grad schools, but I seriously can't decide which I'd rather do. I don't feel old enough to start a real job, but I'm also not sure if I want to do more schooling. I get asked what I'm doing after I graduate all the time, and I can't tell you how frustrating it is to always answer with 'I'm not sure' and then to be told that something will fall into place. I know deep down that something will, but until it does, I'm going to be worried! Oh well. I guess that all of these decisions are what make life interesting.
Hope you all have a wonderful week! Much love from London :)
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