Back home

Having endured a much-delayed 16 hour trip home, starting at LAX and ending in Newcastle airport (bit of a contrast to say the least..) I finally made it home on Tuesday. It hasn’t really set in yet that I won’t be waking up to the Long Beach sun every morning anymore  – in my mind I’m simply having a couple of weeks holiday in England before I head back to California. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case and I’m quickly accepting the reality of a four month English “summer”, albeit with a few European excursions thrown in no doubt.

Nevertheless, I’ve had a great year in the States. Embarking on a year abroad, in my opinion, is one of the most rewarding opportunities that University life can offer, regardless of how much you may or may not have enjoyed it at the time. Admittedly, there were difficult moments (though the majority of my time I thoroughly enjoyed), but despite these momentary hurdles I can already begin to appreciate how lucky I am to have experienced living in a foreign country for such a long period. The cliché, “travel broadens the mind”, is a cliché for a reason: integrating with new cultures and being forced out of your comfort zones can only make you a more interesting and confident person in the long run. Though I can’t see myself ever wanting to live in America, the West coast has definitely earned a small place in my heart and I hope to return there at some point in the future.

 
To end, I hope you (i.e. my evidently subscribed Mother) have enjoyed reading my blog posts and if anyone out there needs further information regarding studying abroad please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the University of Leicester Study Abroad Team at  studyabroad@le.ac.uk