The Great Escape

This weekend was exactly what I needed. York is a lovely little town, exactly what I envisioned a tiny English city to be. Despite the hoards of tourists and designer shops, it seems like not much has changed in York for hundreds of years. Stone walls still surround the city, tea rooms are packed in the afternoon, and the church is still the most important place in town. Minutes before we had to meet at the train station, a few of us watched a ceremony of some sort taking place in St. Mary's Square. There was a group of schoolchildren being honored for something, all dressed in scouts' uniforms, and the pomp and circumstance of the entire affair made the moment seem timeless, as if it could have occurred 100 years earlier. (Yes, I took pictures. I was one of the annoying tourists that probably ruined the moment. I tried to be discreet about it, at least.)

I spent the entire weekend with Nikki, a pre-med student from San Diego who shares similar motivations and ideas about studying abroad as I do. We talked endlessly about a variety of subjects -- spirituality, cultural stereotypes, love, London -- and it was refreshing to spend so much time with someone who was genuinely interested in getting as much as possible out of her study abroad experience, rather than a good excuse to drink legally and party nonstop. Towards the end of the weekend, I also spent a good deal of time with Courtney, a dance major and another Middlesex student. The three of us plan on doing things together outside of program-sponsored events, which is nice.

I'm much anticipating this week, which makes me happy. I never quite figured out what prompted my conflicting emotions and bad mood, but they're gone and I guess that's all that matters. Back to making the most of my time here which, by the way, seems to be flying by really, really quickly.