Reflecting.

So the end of an amazing semester has arrived. The past four months have gone by quickly at times, and unbelievably slowly at other times. Still, I can't believe the semester's over.

I'm sad to be leaving London. I know I complained about a lot of things and was homesick and all that, but I've finally gotten accustomed to London life and I like it. I will miss this city -- always having somewhere to go, some tour to take, some historic site to see. I will also miss my friends. Some of them I will see again in January when spring semester starts; but Steve doesn't go to BU and Nate is transferring to a London school and Katie is graduating and moving home to D.C. and Liz is graduating and working in London. I like the crew that we had here, and I'm sad that we're going our separate ways. I will miss being able to walk down the hall or into the kitchen or into the basement to find someone to talk to.

Though the end of the semester brings about sadness, it also forces me to look back at what I've done over the past 4 months. And, I've realized, I've done and learned a heck of a lot. Having never traveled by myself before, I got on an airplane, flew to another continent where I knew no one, and carved out a life for myself. [Granted, BU helped (a lot).] I found friends, and I traveled to 5 countries, not even including the UK (Ireland, Italy, Spain, France, the Vatican). I sat through 27 4-hour long classes, wrote 5 papers, took 5 exams, put together a 70-page portfolio, and read 6 books (2 academic, 4 personal). I worked an internship at The Sunday Times for 8 weeks, putting up with a job I sincerely disliked.

This semester, I learned so much -- about the UK, other cultures, and about myself. I don't think I've changed too much, but I know I have changed for the better. I've always looked at the world from such an American perspective, and I never noticed that. Only now am I somewhat closer to understanding other cultures' perspectives.

Now I would like to say my thank yous.

- To Mom and Dad: Thank you for making this semester abroad possible. Thanks for encouraging me to go abroad and to travel, and thanks for coming to visit me and skyping me when I was homesick. Thanks for shipping me stuff and driving me to and from the airport.

- To my London crew: Thank you for making this semester amazing and unforgettable. Whether it was celebrating my birthday, meeting for dinner in Florence, or straddling the Prime Meridian, we always had so much fun together. I'm so glad that I met you all. Please keep in touch, and if you're going to be in Boston next semester, we must get together.

- To my family: Thank you so much for your generosity and for thinking of me. Thank you for your cards, emails, comments, packages, and messages. These kept me going during the difficult times when I was sad or homesick. They really made a big difference.

- To my friends: Thank you for all your support. Thanks for the cards, emails, IMs, Facebook messages, and Google Chats. Thank you for listening to me rant and for calming me down. I have missed you all so much while I was abroad, so thank you for keeping in contact with me (and, in some cases, for keeping me sane).

- To everyone else: Thanks for reading and for your support! :)

Well, although this may be the last entry I post about my semester abroad in the UK, I hope that my adventures will never end.

Cheers.