As it stands now, there are exactly 18 hours left in this amazing journey before I set off with my group to London – Heathrow for our flight home; 22 hours and 35 minutes until that flight goes wheels-up for JFK International Airport in New York City. I think when it’s all said and done, I must have traveled almost 20,000 miles since January 8th.
It’s so weird to think that this time tomorrow I will be on a plane to New York, and in two days time, I’ll be playing tennis (hopefully) with my dad. It’s really starting to hit me that these past 4 months have been the longest I’ve been away from my family in my 20 years. I’m not home sick, and I don’t think at any point I was really like that I don’t think. I’ve lived in London, been to Brussels, Brugge, Paris, Bayeux, Caen, Ousterham, Portsmouth, Hastings, Brighton, Greenwhich, Oxford and Penrith (The Lake District). I’ve seen and done things that I never thought I’d have the opportunity to do. I’ve loved every minute of it too. I’ve said it before, and I’ll continue to say it: never have regrets; and I surely don’t from this trip. I had every intention of including pictures from throughout the semester to re-cap what I’ve done; but that’d be impossible because there are so many. Some of the recent photo’s I’ve taken though since my last post though for your viewing pleasure:
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| Took a little boat ride up the Thames |
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| This is what our boat looked like |
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| Quite possibly the most famous cross walk in the world |
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| I put my name on the wall outside Abbey Road studios |
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| We went to the zoo!!!!! |
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| I felt like I was about to go into the bird cage from Jurassic Park |
What I couldn’t understand this whole week was how I could make it 4 months without going to the West End Theatre District. I mean, we went the first week for the now critically acclaimed “War Horse,” but of course there are the multitude of musicals, operas and other shows to see. I never thought to go; but on a whim (can you believe I’m saying that?!?), Sarah and I got tickets for “Phantom of the Opera” at Her Majesty’s Theatre on Haymarket Street. Minutes later, she convinced me that we should go to another one…in fact in a couple hours at the renowned Lyceum Theatre. I saw “Lion King” in Disney World at Animal Kingdom, but obviously this is going to run a lot longer, and will be better all around. I’m excited because I’m thinking to myself ‘when are you going to go to the theater again?” These are the pictures I took last night at Her Majesty’s before and after the show:
So, as for this blog in general, it’s been a lot of fun for me to write, to get my thoughts on paper and share them with whoever reads them. It’s been written as much for you as it has for me. I am so glad that I was able to get to London, to spend the time to experience a new culture in a new environment with new people that I can hardly believe that better things are yet to come. It’s cliché, but there are some people that I need to thank:
My mom and dad have been huge in supporting me throughout all of my endeavors; they’ve never been afraid to tell me when one of my ideas was really bad or to complement me when I achieved something. They’ve always been there for me and I don’t think words can truly express how thankful I am for that. I gotta give a shout out to my big sister. Becca’s been a beacon for me too. She’s blazed the trail for me for so many things in my life; making it easier for me to accomplish things. She’s the best student and all around person I know, my study skills and work ethic all come from watching her over the years. I can’t wait to sit down in her flat when I get back and catch up while I “bake” a batch of cookies (we both know that I’ll start it, but she’ll end up actually doing it when I mess up). Thanks to Dr. Jill Fenton; none of this, what you’re reading right now or any of the past posts, would have ever been written if it wasn’t for her help. As Director of UConn in London, she had a lot on her plate at every step of the way this semester, yet she was always available if you needed advice or in my case her credit card to buy theatre tickets (we paid her back, honest). Again, she has been amazing in opening this new world up to me, and everyone else. I’ve met a ton of people here too. The Spring Break crew; Emily, Sara G and Sarah F, thank you for inviting me along to see Paris and experience American history in the best way in Normandy. That was probably one of the best weeks of my life and I’m really happy I got to spend it with all you. A special thanks though to Sarah F, who allowed me to drag her to all the different places I wanted to go; from Portsmouth to Hever Castle and to the Theatre last night. You are a ton of fun to hang out with; thanks again. Last, but not least Willie S from UConn. I haven’t mentioned him at all in these blogs because I wasn’t sure how he’d feel about it; but he doesn’t have a choice right now. My future roommate and best bud back in Storrs managed to keep me in touch with what was going on back on campus as well as some other things. He’s a great friend and I’m really glad we were able to stay in touch the last 4 months. Next year is gonna be awesome dude!!!!!
Everyone mentioned above and those that I probably missed have been a part in the biggest adventure of my life and has helped me to make the most of this amazing opportunity. But, as my dad told me on the phone; I’ve got to come back to the real world sooner or later. Unfortunately right now, it’s sooner. I’m almost done with my packing, and at 2:30 my time I’m headed to Lyceum Theatre for “Lion King.” It’s going to be great. Afterwords, I think a big group of us are going to go out to eat one last time before the 4 month stretch we’re taking away from each other. I’ve made some amazing friends this semester, people I look forward to hanging out with back at UConn and in the near future. They’ve helped to make this experience as enjoyable as it has been. THANK YOU!!!
This is only the beginning though, London is only a stepping stone in the big picture to the adventure I find myself on. For the future of this blog though, this most likely will be the last post. I do a sports blog for the TV station back on campus at UConn and you can find that here: http://uctv.uconn.edu/category/blog/sportsblog/lockerroom/ I’ll start up again with that one soon.
I’ll leave you with perhaps my favorite sequence of words of all time:
“…Old anchormen, you see, don't fade away; they just keep coming back for more. And that's the way it is: Friday, March 6, 1981. I'll be away on assignment, and Dan Rather will be sitting in here for the next few years. Good night.”
~Walter Cronkite officially announcing his retirement from CBS Evening News
I hope to see you all there;
Stay Tuned
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