Every ending is a new beginning

I can't believe tomorrow I will be back in the States. I don't even know how to react to it at this point. Leaving Galway isn't like going home from Penn State for the summer. I'm moving away from a whole life I created here back to America, where a totally different life is waiting.

And I'm both glad to be heading home and sad to be leaving Galway. At the end you tend to look back and remember all of the good times and forget the bad, and there were a LOT of good times here. I went to the Quays one more time last night for a final pint of 'real' Guinness, and just reminisced with my friends Aliza and Courtney -- and we had some really great times this semester. We even looked a bit longingly at the table behind us where we had dinner the very first night we arrived in Galway. It's weird how everything tends to come full circle.

This semester had been in the works for so long, I can't believe it is over. Being here has taught me so much and it's an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. It may not have been the easiest semester of my life, but there's not much I would take back about it. Having never been to Europe before and then living in Ireland and traveling has opened my eyes so much. I love Europe, truly. It's absolutley amazing. Traveling is something I have always had a passion for, but I never really traveled that much before now. But I have a feeling that I will be saving my pennies to come back to Europe as soon as possible. There are still so many places I haven't been to! And some I would love to go back to for a longer period of time (PARIS!).

It's so crazy to realize that in one semester I went from never being to Europe to going all over Ireland, Portugal, Paris, Normandy, Madrid, Toledo, Barcelona, London and Oxford. I've seen 11 different cities and 5 countries. I traveled with friends and traveled by myself. I became street savvy (at least I like to think so) and independent.

After this trip I feel like I could face anything, do anything and go anywhere. So even though it's the end of this adventure, there are many more that await. So, who wants to travel around the world with me after graduation?

London Calling

All good things must eventually end

I'm slowly starting to pack, and have only two full days left in Galway. It's very weird to think about. After living here for four and a half months it's almost over. And packing is not going to be fun -- two suitcases and a back pack for 4 months worth of stuff, ugh. I took one last walk through town and down to Salthill today. Luckily it has been extremely nice these past few days making my depature even sadder. It finally feels like ... well spring because it's never hot enough here to really feel like summer.

I never had a chance to update about London, but it was an awesome trip. I'm really, really glad I went and traveling alone was the easiest thing ever. There was no one but me to worry about and I got to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. And I did a LOT. So I'll just post a few photos from the trip and if you want to hear about it -- well in only a few days I can tell you about it in person or on the phone!

London Bound

I'm going to London early tomorrow morning and I can't wait! It's going to be so much fun. I'll be there until Friday afternoon and then am back in Galway for one more week. I'll be back in the Jerz on May 15th. So weird.