Time to Wrap This Up

This is really it. The last entry of this blog, unless/until I move to England.

I don't have much left to say; I've written most of it on this blog already. There are a few final things that can be said, though.

I can't even begin to sum up my time in London except that it was one of the best times of my life. I was hanging out with one of my friends the other night and he commented that I have changed a bit, so I guess my professor was right when he wrote that I'd come back a different person. I got to see some of the best theatre I've ever seen (I never reviewed Much Ado, but it definitely falls in to that category. I loved it.) I made some friends, both European and American. I experienced a very different academic system and, for the most part, succeeded within it. I got into new authors. I visited a few countries I thought I'd never see and didn't visit a few I was positive I would. I spent more time than I expected outside of London. I also spent more time than I would have liked in my room. I studied too much. I sat a Harry Potter-style exam. I was in a show. Two of my plays were produced. I showed visiting friends and family around London. I bought way too many books. I taught myself how to cook some new things. I burned myself a lot while cooking in general. I collected a box of miscellaneous paper souvenirs that weighs about thirty pounds.

One of the biggest surprises was something I had heard but never believed: you will not want to go around faking an English accent while you live in England. I honestly thought I would want to (though I probably would never actually DO it), and I didn't believe anyone who said otherwise, but it's true. You know that it won't go well, and it's probably not the best way to make friends, and it's also just tiring to fake things like that. So you don't. And you shouldn't. I think I mentioned that once or twice, I said a word or two with the accent when I had been in conversation with an English friend/classmate for awhile, but rather than making sure it was heard, I tried my best to cover it up and hoped they didn't notice.
On the other hand, I never got tired of hearing English and British accents. Scottish is my favorite.

And one last travel tip that my mom reminded me of: instead of buying a new cell phone when we get there, just bring your phone and buy a new SIM card. I'm not even going to go into the reasons why. If you've read this blog, they'll be obvious to you.

So... that's all. There's too much to say about London for one tiny blog, and too much to say about studying abroad, too. I'm leaving this blog up for people who might be looking for a chronicled experience, so if you're reading this and you have a question, just leave it in the comments and I'll be notified :)

Bon voyage!