The Last Week

My last week in London was very busy and it was incredible. And I still managed to write my last paper somewhere in all the madness. Monday was the much anticipated Christmas dinner at G6. G6 always had the best parties. Even during reading week, when no one was around, they were able to pull off a great robot party for Chandler's birthday. It was epic, as was this night.

We did secret Santa, and of course half of the gifts were alcohol. One other gift that did get a lot of use though, was an electrical Santa that walked around. It was pretty cool. Again, there were about 20 people in the kitchen. We also had another amazing spread. The highlight though, was Paul from Newcastle's turkey. He cooked the turkey draped in bacon, so all of the bacon juice dipped into the turkey and merged with the turkey. It was so moist and delicious, easily the best turkey I've ever had. Before we all ate though, we had to do the crackers, which I guess is a tradition in England. They're little party favors, you pull them apart, they make a sound and then inside there's a little toy and a paper crown, which everyone must wear. The party went long and it was fun. And the end of the night, the only people left were me, Scott, Paul and Elisabeth. None of us even lived there. But it didn't matter, no one cared. Well, except for someone else living in G block, who called security on us a number of times. Three times they came up to talk to us, even though two of those times were before the quiet time kicked in at 11pm, so they really couldn't do anything. But Francis came up around 3am for the last time and took our names down. Of course us Americans had no problem with this, we were leaving in a week, what did it matter?

Tuesday was a bit of an off day, no doubt because of the night before. I went to quiz night for a little bit, but I was exhausted and wanted to rest up for Sandwich, so I went home.

Wednesday, Scott, Chris and I had our last Goldsmiths brunch. Our tears mixed well with our breakfasts. I went to my last class EVER and then back to my flat to get ready. People started pregaming around 9/9:30 and then we all met at the usual place, D5 before we went. All the girls decided to get decked out in their best dresses for some reason, so they all looked amazing and us guys are just sitting there in our regular Sandwich clothes feeling like bums. But it didn't last long. Sandwich was epic, we got there about an hour earlier and spent 4 hours just on the dance floor, I was so incredibly dehydrated. Instead of waiting in line at the bar just to get some water, I would go down to the bathroom and drink water out of the faucet, I was dying. Epic Sandwich, to finish it off.

Thursday Debi, Scott, Sam, Chris and I went up to Camden to go to Andy's Taverna, a Greek place. Debi, Sam and I had been there before, it's good. I had the spanakopita to start and then the mixed grill for an entree, which is just a lot of grilled meat on the plate, so of course it was good. Then we went to the Hob because Nelle was leaving on Friday instead of Saturday with the rest of us. So there were drinks and the first round of crying by the girls. Then instead of working on my paper, I succumbed to the food and the drink and went to bed.

Friday morning I woke up really early, I planned to get the paper done, turn it in, shower, then go to Central and do some shopping and go to some museums. Since I only had gotten through 3/4 of the National Gallery, I wanted to go back there and finish it, and I also thought of going back to the Imperial War Museum and going through the ground floor, since I hadn't had time for that when I was first in London in 2004. So I wrote my 2500 word paper, turned it in and went to Hatchard's in Central to get some books. Then I went to the Imperial War Museum and finished it, going through the WWI and WWII exhibits and the Blitz Experience and the Trench Experience. I also went through a bit of Monty's museum, and the exhibit on conflicts since the end of WWII. I forgot how big that place is, I spent a good three hours there, so I didn't have time to go to the National Gallery.

That night we all gathered at the Hob for our usual Friday night BBQ dinner. Everyone showed up, of course. It was a merry, jolly time. We closed out the Hob and then reconvened at D5 with whiskey and beer. And of course we had our last bacon night. There were people sitting on the kitchen floor, drinking and hugging and crying on shoulders. It was a great night, the perfect end to a great semester abroad. Many many great friends were made. There were so many people I would've liked to interact with more, but there just wasn't the time. Going abroad for a semester is a great experience, but it's also really hard to leave behind.

When I landed in Boston, it was maybe about 10˚ out, with harsh winds and flurries. Quite a change from an island that doesn't really get below freezing all to often. All of a sudden, my sweatshirt, which had kept me warm for so long, was useless. For me, it is harder to transition back into life in the States. All the people and the comforts that I had gotten used to in London are now gone. There's no accents, I have to relearn which way to cross the street, the weather is horrible, there's no St. John, there's no Goldsmiths cafe, there's no Hobgoblin, and hardest thing of all, there are none of the people that I saw almost every day for three months. I will always cherish the memories I have of New Cross and everything that was involved with it.