And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time…

A little, sad preface:
This will probably be my last post. My adventurous year abroad has now come to an end and I’m settling back home and into my (relatively uneventful) old life. If you’ll excuse the cliché, it’s almost like I haven’t been away at all – Manchester already feels distant and unreal – a dream sequence in a daytime movie. Or perhaps I have a mild case of the much-dreaded PED (Post-Erasmus Depression)? Either way, I’m determined to actually bring this blog up to date, as much for my own benefit as for you guys… 

After Barcelona, my days abroad were well and truly numbered. Knowing this, (nearly) everyone met in our flat kitchen on the night of the 6th for an early Xmas party, complete with a proper Sunday roast (and everyone’s much-loved Yorkshire puddings). We exchanged secret Santa pressies (got an ‘UP’ poster), and spent the night chatting and playing board games.

Woke up the following morning to the much dreaded last-day-in-Manchester. Rather appropriately, Manchester put on it’s dreariest, so after bundling up (i miss layers), had a sad last wander round the city, before heading back and packing up all my worldly (well north-hemisphere-y) possessions. Unable to take all my stuff home with me, I made a big miscellaneous pile of my crap in the middle of the kitchen table, and called a free-for-all. 

That night, our flat, along with some of the old Cavendish crew, trouped down to curry mile for my farewell dinner. The levy kids had made me an amazing farewell scrap book, filled with heartfelt messages and assorted memorabilia – photos, brochures, and tickets of all the places I’d been and experiences I’d had. Not wanting to get upset on my last night, I promised myself I wouldn’t read it until on the plane.  

One last hazy night of pretty heavy drinking, and with just 2 hours sleep, I was on the train with Sophie and Bryn (who had graciously volunteered to join me) heading one-last-time to London. I was incredibly grateful both for the help and more importantly, the company! It was only after we said our goodbyes at Heathrow, and I sat down inside the terminal for a solitary 2 hour wait, that the reality of the situation really hit home. And it took quite a lot of self control to keep from blubbering in the middle of the airport.

As for the actual entire day of flying, things weren’t as smooth as I would have liked. First, we were delayed for an hour on the tarmac (something about being unable to retract the causeway), then I had a bottle of duty free Johnnie Walker seized at Hong Kong (despite having already gone through security once), before spending a good two hours or so debating which of the two elderly Chinese ladies sitting either side of me I should wake up so I could get out to go to the loo (answer: wait patiently until either wake up for breakfast). All this with zero hours sleep. Gotta say, not the most enjoyable 24 hours of my life. 

Anyway, Mum, Dad and Nicole met me at the airport, and we drove around a humid and overcast Sydney, stopping for milkshakes by the Harbour Bridge, before finally driving home to Newy.

So after 11 and a half months, 10 countries (yes, I counted Vatican City :p), and 55 blog posts (who would have thought I’d actually regularly update this thing?), this is the end of my awesome year abroad.

Sigh.

So finally, I thought it appropriate that that I conclude with the:    

 Things I will *already* miss most about Manchester:

BUT most importantly, I’ll miss all the awesome, amazing people – from the internationals and Cavendish crew (wird), to the summer Q3’ers, the friends of Levy (still sounds like a cult to me) to D22 Cambridge. Thank-you to each and every one of you for the best year of my life!!

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