All's Well That Ends Well

I apologize for my complete abadonement of this blog for the last two months. I have been so busy since that time, I don't think I could possibly update you on everything, but let me just say it has been an amazing end to a wonderful year.

The countdown to the end of the semester began with our trip to London. By this time I have become incredibly attached to all my new friends and the trip to London marked the beginning of their last month in Wales. Somewhere along the line we stopped counting how many weeks we had been there and started counting how many weeks we had left. Since all of us love each other so much we decided the best thing to do was all stay in the same place in London, so sixteen of us were booked into one room at a hostel! We didn't have much time in London, and the first night we got there pretty late, so we stayed in to rest up for the next day. We woke up early on Saturday morning and headed out to do some sight-seeing. The day was really beautiful, the weather was perfect and the streets weren't too crowded. I left with four of the Austrians, Fabian, Christina, Lisa and Andrea but eventually was with just Lisa and Andrea. We covered a lot of ground that morning; the Bridge, St. Paul's Catherdral, and then in the afternoon met my friend Paul at Convent Garden. Paul turned out to be a fantastic tourguide and led us to all the places to see. Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, we saw it all!

After stopping for coffee to rest our tired feet, Paul and I went to dinner while Andrea and Lisa did some shopping. Then Paul pointed me in the right direction to get back to my hostel where I would meet the group to go out that night. A quick shower and I was out the door again. We ended up at the Porcupine, a pub in Picadilly Circus. The pub closed at midnight and so we hit the streets in search of something to do. Andrea and I were determined to stay out all night because Carmarthen doesn't offer much of a night life, so this was our only chance to have one. Club promoters were handing out fliers and encouraging us all to go to their venues, but no one wanted to go to a club or pay to get in anywhere else.

That is, except Andrea and I. After finding the cheapest club, The Walkabout, seven pounds cover (that's about fourteen dollars) we said good-bye to the rest and were on our way. We danced the night away and had a great time until three in the morning. Then it was time to figure out how to get home. I had never seen such a packed place at such a late hour. The streets of London were full of tourists and partiers, it was crazy! Andrea and I wandered around lost for about forty-five minutes, trying to find the right bus stop to take us back to our hostel. We crossed all the places we had been earlier but it was in Chinatown where Andrea said, "Megan, I don't feel fine."
"Are you sick?"
"No, I don't feel fine."
It only took me a moment to realize she meant scared and I admit it was a little scary! But we made it finally to our bus and back to our hostel. I think I finally went to sleep at five am only to get up a few hours later. It really was the best time I have ever had in London!

I was fortunate enough to have two Thanksgiving celebrations this year, one given totally in honor of me! They even had a cake made for me! Diane and Gordon and about thirty of their family members gathered on November 23rd to celebrate the American holiday. Since that many people definitely would not fit in the house, we ate at a restaurant down the street that specially prepared the menu for the occasion. Not being able to be with my family, it meant so much to me that all these people I hadn't even met before came to have Thanksgiving dinner with me.

The next day we headed off to North Wales for the weekend. I was able to see the beautiful scenery of mid-Wales even though I did get a little car sick on windy roads. We stayed with Gordon's relatives and they showed us a good time. My favorite part was watching movies on their HUGE screen in the living room. It was just like being at the theater. We headed back the following Monday and I was able to avoid car sickness.

My second Thanksgiving dinner was a week later at the college. The highlight of that evening was that the band dedicated a song to me! The band started to play and no one was dancing, so my Dutch friend Wilke and I were dancing in the bathroom and as we were heading back in, I hear "This song is dedicated to a nice American girl, Megan...." and I had to run in and make a grand entrance. It was great! It was also nice to share an American tradition with all my international friends.

The next night we went out to celebrate Laura's (American) and Wilke's (Dutch) belated birthdays. It was a surprise for them and they were forced to wear t-shirts with specific tasks set out for them, including getting kisses from five strangers and getting phone numbers. It was great fun to watch, glad I didn't have to participate!

Following that weekend, the next weekend I went to Torquay, England with Diane, Gordon and Abbie and Ffion (their granddaughters). It was a nice relaxing break and it was great to see somewhere new. We took the girls to the zoo one of the days, which I really enjoyed. The zoo had a wide variety of animals and you could get really close to them. You know I'm a big kid, so you can imagine how much fun I had. It reminded me of how I used to want to be a zoologist and live in Africa. (How interesting if I would have ended up there instead of Wales!)

Returning from Torquay marked the last week of the semester. It was a bittersweet time. It was exciting that the holidays were coming up, but it also meant I had to say good-bye to all the wonderful, wonderful people I had met. I was begging them all week not to go, but was unsuccessful. We made everyday count though. And the rule was was that we couldn't be said until Friday. I stayed on campus from the Wednesday through the last day. Wednesday night there was a party thrown by the Canadian students, who are going to be my new friends this semester! They were busy with their teacher training all semester so we didn't get to see them much, but they should be more free this spring. Then we wound up in the International Lounge watching my Friends DVDs. Thursday morning, I had my final breakfast with the Austrians, plus Laura and Wilke. That night was my last night of class, where they read a few pages of my radio play (gasp!) and then we all went to the local theater to watch Happy Feet. We took up a whole row and got a few looks from people, probably annoyed that we were taking photos in the theater. :)

Friday was the last day so everyone was packing. SO SAD!!! I begged and pleaded and was in complete denial but they carried on. That night we went to dinner at Weatherspoons, the first place we ate at the beginning and were even at the same table. Then back to the International Lounge where we just talked, took pictures, sang while David played the guitar, and then watched the slide shows that Laura and I had made. Around one, people began leaving to sleep a few hours before having to leave at 4:30am. I was feeling pretty good at the point, in complete denial, of course. I stayed up talking with those who opted not to sleep and at four everyone began heading out to meet the bus. We were a procession of suitcases and backpacks and everything else they could squeezed onto the plane. I was fine, calm, collected, until Lisa said good-bye to me. Then I burst like a damn. The next ten minutes were a blur and as I hugged and kissed everyone good-bye. There wasn't a dry eye in sight. It was so hard and painful to say good-bye to the amazing people I had shared the last four months with. I know it wasn't a good-bye forever and I will see most of them again before I return to the States, but it was such a gift meeting all of them. My experience the first four months completely surpassed my expectations. Eventually, they had to get on the bus, and seven of us teary-eyed and cold waved good-bye to the four Dutch and five Austrians.

To help keep my mind off of things, I had planned a trip to London with Laura and Sofia. We headed out the next day and with only a few hitches in the plans, we had a great weekend.
You are probably exhausted reading all this by now, so I will stop here. Partly because it's very late and I should get to bed! I will continue this at another time, hopefully sooner than later.

PS: I will see you in California!! Very sooon!!! Yay!!