It seems that all of my travels have finally caught up to me and I finally caught “freshers flu” as the brits call it. In my opinion it just seems to be a very bad cold, but I suppose it was going to get me sooner or later. Luckily for me, this past weekend I was left in Newcastle while majority of my friends were on a Loyola sponsored trip to Wales for the weekend. So, in a positive light, it probably was the best possible weekend for me to get sick.  The past two weeks have been a little hectic. Two weekends ago, a good portion of us Loyola kids spent the weekend in London.  It was my third time in London so I wasn’t as excited as I will be for some other trips I will be taking.  However, to my pleasant surprise it was by far my best trip to London and I think it will also be one of the most memorable.  We stayed in an amazing hostel called “Wombats” which was so inviting and perfect for a group of overly excited 20 somethings. We did all of the touristy things but it was also relaxing and enjoyable, nothing to crazy or hectic to take the fun out of it.  It was a great weekend and although it was a short time spent there we made perfect use of every second there.

            Last weekend I visited Wales with half of the Loyola crew.  It was very cool to see as well, however with a 6-7 hour long bus ride there and back, majority of the weekend was spent traveling to and from.  It wasn’t all too much different from Newcastle, cute streets, pubs restaurants and small shops.  However the highlight was Cardiff Castle, which was right in the center of the city.  It was a beautiful old castle and lucky for us the sun came out for a short 30 minutes to capture some great shots.  It was a good time overall, but after sitting on the bus Sunday on the way back to Newcastle, I was very happy to be returning.  As much as I love all of the traveling we have done, and will continue to do, it definitely gets exhausting quickly, and being in a familiar place brings a whole different kind of comfort.

            However the traveling is picking right back up this weekend as 8 of us head to Amsterdam for a weekend trip.  This will be the smallest group trip to date and we are all very excited.  It will be our first trip here outside of England and I think these trips are the trips most of us are looking forward to.  Sometimes it’s unbelievable to think that our lives are casual weekend trips to cities all across Europe.  I can’t help but smile when I think of how unreal our lives are sometimes.  As corny as I may sound, who has this life?  We are beyond blessed, and fortunate doesn’t even begin to cut it.  I am just so happy to be here.

            This past week has been the first week since I have been here that I have felt myself come out of the honeymoon phase a bit.  However, I still wake up in the morning thinking… “I live in England,” and it never fails to put things into perspective.  That’s the great thing about study abroad though, it isn’t just a vacation or a trip without worries, we actually live here, and the ups and downs of reality happen to us here the way they would back in the states, and that’s the magnificent thing about it.