2 weeks til the end.

i seriously cannot believe that my study abroad experience is almost coming to an end! omg! it's been a crazy year. first was Shanghai. so overwhelming. such a cluture shock. i was scared out of my mind, so hesistant to use my chinese and improve upon my conversational skills. i got ripped off by locals, boogered on walking down the street, and learned that life in china is rough. but also really rewarding if you put in the time to make friends with locals and with all the internationals around too! i really miss the days. though when people ask me about it, i can't really describe it, except in a negative sense, with all the dirtiness and all. but i really LOVED it there. words can't describe it. taking in all the good and bad.....the time there made me more appreciative of the life that Americans have and really put a more personal perspective on how life is so different there. the culture is different, but i shouldn't be mad @ the chinese people for being so dirty and unaware of being courteous or having common decency becuse their world has been turned upside down and change has been moving so rapidly. they need time to adjust and i will give it to them. and hope that China will become a country in less poverty, in more efficiency, and in more love for one another. because love makes the world go 'round!

that was feb-aug. and now in the UK for 10 weeks. i am so awesomely in awe with the traveling i have been able to do! i got to see a lot of places and i am sooo thankful for that! paris was my favorite! yeah yeah, generic right? but no, i loved it. the food, the people, the architeture, the culture, loved it! living in the UK has been interesting esp. since i didn't know that british people are so hard to understand. and they word things so funny! and it was also interesting to see how British people view Americans. (which is not very good.) and the cultural differences here too! but i do love that there is order here. people wait in queues (lines). they don't cut. they say sorry and please and thank you. they have a sense of personal space for others. etc...def not what happens in China. haha. again, i have left my studies for the end of the term!

2 weeks left and then i am out of warwick! crazy. it was only yesterday when i was first here and getting adjusted. it was only yesterday i saw london for the first time and was in awe and loved every minute of starting something new in the UK. and now it is almost gone :(
starting to pack is sad. but i am glad that i got to meet lots of great people! from all the diff UCs and from Wisconsin (MAYA!!) and internationally also. i hope to keep in touch and i am glad that there were so many riverside people at warwick this term. def gonna be good seeing them on campus when we get back winter qtr.

all i can say is, i am itching to travel more! seriously, traveling has opened new horizons in terms of where i want to travel! it's amazing the things you can do and the places you can see! i am really hoping the next big trip i take is to southeast asia. [thailand, cambodia, laos, burma, vietnam, singapore, malaysia] gotta save up that $$! haha.

for reals, i LOVE home. and i can't wait to see friends and hang out with family. i miss them dearly. my year of studying abroad is coming to a close. i hope that i will not go through horrible travel withdrawals! haha.