In what I saw as being a slow goodbye to Georgetown, I stayed the summer in Washington, D.C., and returned in early August to Glenview, Illinois. I was about to begin my “second summer”: 6 weeks at home before I left for University of Oxford – Pembroke College for the year.
Four weeks in, two more to go and the anticipation of my eminent departure is mounting. By now my peers have settled into school and their respective study abroad programs, so I truly am impatient to go. My parents and I leave for London on September 23rd for a week of exploration before school starts, and I have felt in a bit of a limbo this past month. However, I have not been home for this long of a time for over a year, and the slow-paced life has presented a new set of opportunities for me to slow down and work on some long-term discernment and projects. Apart from reading English mystery novels and driving my siblings around, I have spent countless hours creating travel lists, researching restaurants in London, Facebook stalking my future classmates and taking stock of my life. I vaguely feel the creeping sensation of déjà vu from the high school summer before I left for Georgetown, yet I am entering my third year of college. It is somewhat unique and funny at the same time.
No matter how often I fantasize what my experience will be like, it is just that: a fantasy. I have never been to England and cannot help but notice the small cultural differences that I will have to work to understand, such as military time, spelling and vocabulary, and regions of the country. Before school ended in May, some of my friends gave me a book called, “How to Speak Brit,” which I have found both useful and immensely entertaining (ie. chips are french fries which I probably should have known anyways). I guess my next blog post will be able to elaborate more thoroughly on my struggles and progress in this regard.
I desperately miss my friends and community at Georgetown, but am ready for the next adventure and feel buoyed by their support and encouragement. From experience, the hopes and goals and dreams one has before they embark on an adventure are very interesting to come back to at the end of the journey. I hope to potentially join the rowing team, join the Oxford Union, rekindle my interest and joy of music, and delve into my true academic passions. We shall see what the future holds. Until then, I will be in Glenview surfing the web for what it might look like.
