MOOD: Excited and Proud
SONG: “Silhouettes,” by Smile Empty Soul
I have been back in the United States for a month now. The holidays have now long passed by, along with the feeling of being away for so long. During my Christmas celebrations every time I greeted a family member or friend, I was always referred to as the “world traveler.” I guess my experiences in England, and the rest of Europe, had been a topic of discussion and excitement while I was away. However, you would never know that I had been gone for so long if you had looked at my family at a glance. We all looked normal eating our Christmas dinner and un-wrapping our presents the following morning, it appeared as though I had never left. It did not feel like that to me though. I felt like I was just visiting for the weekend and that I would be back at Roehampton in no time. After going to different places at least one a month, it felt like this was not the end of my stay at Roehampton. I really wish that had been the case though, I miss the people and the university terribly! I AM ALSO HAVING CRUNCHIE BAR WITHDRAWLS!
Coming home has definitely been an easier transition than that of our transition to England. It was not weird when I returned to see everyone driving on the right side of the road. It was not strange paying with American money. While it felt like I had never left when I was on US soil, it felt like I was in England forever while I was on English soil. I really wished that I had cherished the time that I was over in England better than I had. I am probably not going to have that chance ever again, and I wished that I had appreciated where I was and what I was doing a lot more than I did.
Today, I have finally accepted that I am home to stay and I am not returning to the great city of London. Watching the inauguration this afternoon was amazing, seeing my country’s own history in the making. The first African-American to be president of the United States of American, and I was not even in the country to vote for him. In England, the day after the Election Day was crazy! All over the tube, there were newspapers laying about, printed with President Obama’s picture onto the front page, and these newspapers were ecstatic that he had been elected! I am sure that a majority of Europe was excited to see that Obama had been elected. I still recall coming back from Amsterdam and going through customs and having the customs agent asking me whom I was voting for, as if it was a question to allow me to go through.
In three days, I will be moving onto the University of New Haven campus for the first time as an undergraduate student since my S.O.A.R in June of last year. I will be moving into my New Hall dorm room with Casey Brooks and Jenn Arey, the two girls who I had become really good friends with while I was over in England in my FSA group. We are extremely excited to be able to start the rest of our year on campus where it is a lot easier and cheaper, to go home and see our families when we want to. It is also a lot cheaper to live in the United States in comparison to England as well! The only pain is the fact that we have to start all over again. Meeting new people, buying EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE TEXTBOOKS, and buying things for our dorm room are some of the more difficult tasks that we will have to face. We also have to adjust towards the new teaching styles and grading, although that should prove to be not too difficult in the end.
The thing that I am most excited for in the upcoming months is when Kara, Kat, and Nathan come to visit Casey, Jenn, and I in the USA! Kara and I have already planned a road trip down starting in Boston, going to Salem, Massachusetts, then to New York City to see Broadway, then down to Disneyworld in Orlando, and over to New Orleans to see the French Quarter! It will be the most traveling that I will have done in months and I CAN’T WAIT!
Note: This will be Shelby's last post on the Freshman Semester Abroad Blog. However, we are happy to announce that Shelby has agreed to stay on as a Charger Blogger next semester!!!
