So then, as promised, this will be my last post on this blog. After all, it’s called ‘Peter Goes to Europe,’ and tomorrow Peter is coming home from Europe. That means I get to take this opportunity to reminisce and try and wrap everything up into one neat little package.
It’s kind of hard to believe how long we’ve been gone. It’s funny, around home, ten weeks doesn’t seem that long. Maybe that’s because you’re around everything that you’re used to, so time doesn’t really matter. Ten weeks away will get here when it gets here. But in the last ten weeks feel like such a long time, I don’t think I’ve ever had such an acute awareness of the passage of time. I remember walking around Florence the first few nights, Sydney frowning, both of us thinking about how long we were going to be gone. “It’s only 75 days,” was what we told ourselves then. Ten weeks, two and a half months, a quarter of a year, however you look at it, it feels like it’s been forever for me. It seems unbelievable to me even now, but I do think it’ll take me a bit to get used to being home again.
That last paragraph has a negative feel to it, I know. I don’t mean for it to, but I don’t really think there’s any other way to spin talking about how long you’ve been gone. I think this is kind of one of those lose-lose situations for me (kind of like all the ones that involve me and any female). On one hand I risk sounding negative, on the other I risk sounding like I never want to go home again.
Let me put any vagueness aside though: I’m truly grateful to have come on this trip, and I’m truly grateful to all the people who have given me the opportunity (except maybe Georgia Tech’s staff (not the professors, mind you, the staff), because the people in charge of this thing suck). Over the past ten weeks I’ve seen and experienced and learned more than a lot of people do in a lifetime. I learned how to survive in a culture I don’t know where people don’t speak the same language; I learned how get around a place using public transportation, and do it well; I even had my first drink(s). We’ve traveled through Italy, Vienna, the Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, France and all of the United Kingdom. I’ve seen art by Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci (yes, all of the Ninja Turtles) and listened to music by Vivaldi, Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart, in the countries and cities where it was originally composed. I’ve stood in the shadow of Big Ben and sipped wine fifty feet from the Pantheon.
At our Convocation last August, the dean or president or whoever it was told us that a third of us would participate in a study abroad program, and told us to look to our sides and decide which of the three of us would do it. Joey, Hoffman and myself exchanged glances, and I eventually called dibs. I never thought it would be my very first summer, though. I was literally the youngest person on this trip.
Before we left, everyone I asked kept telling me how the trip would change my life, and I was pretty skeptical about that. I’m not a huge travel guy, and I guarantee I won’t gush as much as Sydney about all of this (seriously, you don’t know how many times I’ve heard the word ‘cute’ this summer), but I can’t deny that this trip has changed me. At the very least, it has opened my eyes to new cultures. Cultures where the soda you buy with lunch costs more than the actual mean, and it doesn’t come with ice or free refills (I’m seriously going to Chick-fil-a for lunch on Monday and getting the smallest soda I can with as much ice as possible and refilling it a dozen times just because I CAN). This trip has also made me more independent. Now Sydney and I are thinking about using MARTA simply because we finally know how, and, when I’m finally allowed to drink legally, I’ll have a pretty good idea of when enough is enough (although ‘enough’ has changed for me over the course of this trip, I had a dreadfully low tolerance for alcohol in the beginning, haha).
I’ve missed home though. I know it’s a cliché and all, but you really don’t realize how much you miss the things that are always around until their gone. Chief examples are ice and video games.
Haha, I’m only kidding. I can’t wait to get back so I can see my family again, I can’t wait to get back so I can see my friends again. Before I left my wonderful mom gave me a book full of photographs to remind me of home, and I’ve looked at it time and time again over the past ten weeks. Waking up every morning to read messages from all of you, both friends and family, was oftentimes the highlight of my day, and it’s always touching to know that people have you on their mind and care enough to write to you.
Well, this is getting pretty long, and I don’t want to ramble, so I’ll finish up with the most important thing. I want to thank my mom and dad for sending me on this trip. It was ridiculously expensive, and I know it didn’t make their lives any easier. They were both so supportive, though, leading up to me leaving and after I was gone, and they’ve both done more than I could ever ask for to make this as awesome a trip as possible for me. So, mom and dad, thank you very much for making this experience a possibility for me.
And now I’m off to finish packing, because we leave Oxford at 8:00 AM GMT tomorrow, leave Heathrow at 12:30 PM GMT, arrive in Chicago at 3:30 PM CST, and finally arrive in Atlanta at 9:55 PM EST.
See you all soon!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
The Last Ten Days
It's almost time for me to head home. Tomorrow is our last full day in Oxford, cause we're on our way to Heathrow at 8 AM in the morning on Sunday. Tomorrow will be my last post, but I figure as a precursor I'll go ahead and tell some quick stories from the past ten days, which I've immortalized through the countdown statuses on Facebook.
July 31st, 2009-
"What happened Peter?" "It was hot!" "Why was it hot?" 9 days. Single digits.
This video pretty much sums it up this status. Taken by Joey the night of my birthday.
August 1st, 2009-
Cardiff was a dud, but the Habanero burger made up for it. 8 days.
Joey, Sydney and I went to Cardiff, the capital of Wales, this day. The city's main attraction was closed because of parades, and the weather went downhill pretty quickly, so the city was pretty much a bust. Once we got back to Oxford, though, we went to GBK (Gourmet Burger Kitchen) for dinner. Okay, GBK is the best burger place ever, ever, and the Habanero burger they make is quite simply amazing. Best burger I've ever had. Ever.
August 2nd, 2009-
Okay, put beer in a bowl and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then drink it and rinse it out with water. A few hours later, make cereal in it. Yeah, that's what my breakfast tasted like today. 7 days.
This one's pretty self explanatory. Lindsay bought a two liter bottle of Strongbow and the only thing I had to drink it out of was my cereal bowl.
August 3rd, 2009-
Outscored Ben 13-2 today for a final score of 50-42. I'm awesome. 6 days.
Joey, Carol, Sydney, Ben and I all went to the JCR and played some video games that night. I was playing some Guitar Hero while the other four played a round of Goldeneye to 50 kills. Joey was in 2nd place with 37, Ben was in 1st with 40. So Joey gets bored and hands me the N64 controller in exchange for the guitar. I lay waste and score the 13 kills I need to win before Ben can score 2. Final score: Peter 50 - Ben 42 - Carol 30 - Sydney 17.
August 4th, 2009-
We're dropping like flies. Have a safe trip home Carol. 5 days.
This is just me lamenting the fact that a few people had to leave early. Carol amongst them. Before leaving she asked me to make sure everyone behaved themselves.
August 5th, 2009-
GT rocks UGA at soccer 8-0. It was a good evening. 4 days.
The GT Oxford Program played against UGA's Oxford Program and absolutely slaughtered them. Final score was 8 to 0. It was awesome and a bit pathetic. But mostly just awesome.
August 6th, 2009-
Diagnosing crazy people for his PSYC final for the next two hours. 3 days.
I was up late this night doing my take home Abnormal Psychology final. I still don't know how I did on it. I put a lot of work into it though, considering I needed an A on the final for an A in the class.
August 7th, 2009-
Peter has to get up in 5 hours to turn in one final, than take another one. He also can't get to sleep, despite the fact that he's already taken some sleep aids to help me do just that. Tomorrow is going to be rough. 2 days.
So yeah, that was last night. I COULD NOT get to sleep, and I am very, very sleepy right now. I don't really understand why sleep aids can't overcome my insomnia, though. It's quite frustrating. I basically took a final today on 4 hours of sleep and half a Tylenol PM. Awesome.
August 8th, 2009-
Peter is finally done with his first year of college. The next one starts in ten days. Tomorrow is the last hurrah. The Final Day at Oxford.
With the end of my British Poetry final this afternoon, my first year at Georgia Tech was officially over. The next year starts in 10 days, one week from Monday. Oh boy.
July 31st, 2009-
"What happened Peter?" "It was hot!" "Why was it hot?" 9 days. Single digits.
This video pretty much sums it up this status. Taken by Joey the night of my birthday.
August 1st, 2009-
Cardiff was a dud, but the Habanero burger made up for it. 8 days.
Joey, Sydney and I went to Cardiff, the capital of Wales, this day. The city's main attraction was closed because of parades, and the weather went downhill pretty quickly, so the city was pretty much a bust. Once we got back to Oxford, though, we went to GBK (Gourmet Burger Kitchen) for dinner. Okay, GBK is the best burger place ever, ever, and the Habanero burger they make is quite simply amazing. Best burger I've ever had. Ever.
August 2nd, 2009-
Okay, put beer in a bowl and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then drink it and rinse it out with water. A few hours later, make cereal in it. Yeah, that's what my breakfast tasted like today. 7 days.
This one's pretty self explanatory. Lindsay bought a two liter bottle of Strongbow and the only thing I had to drink it out of was my cereal bowl.
August 3rd, 2009-
Outscored Ben 13-2 today for a final score of 50-42. I'm awesome. 6 days.
Joey, Carol, Sydney, Ben and I all went to the JCR and played some video games that night. I was playing some Guitar Hero while the other four played a round of Goldeneye to 50 kills. Joey was in 2nd place with 37, Ben was in 1st with 40. So Joey gets bored and hands me the N64 controller in exchange for the guitar. I lay waste and score the 13 kills I need to win before Ben can score 2. Final score: Peter 50 - Ben 42 - Carol 30 - Sydney 17.
August 4th, 2009-
We're dropping like flies. Have a safe trip home Carol. 5 days.
This is just me lamenting the fact that a few people had to leave early. Carol amongst them. Before leaving she asked me to make sure everyone behaved themselves.
August 5th, 2009-
GT rocks UGA at soccer 8-0. It was a good evening. 4 days.
The GT Oxford Program played against UGA's Oxford Program and absolutely slaughtered them. Final score was 8 to 0. It was awesome and a bit pathetic. But mostly just awesome.
August 6th, 2009-
Diagnosing crazy people for his PSYC final for the next two hours. 3 days.
I was up late this night doing my take home Abnormal Psychology final. I still don't know how I did on it. I put a lot of work into it though, considering I needed an A on the final for an A in the class.
August 7th, 2009-
Peter has to get up in 5 hours to turn in one final, than take another one. He also can't get to sleep, despite the fact that he's already taken some sleep aids to help me do just that. Tomorrow is going to be rough. 2 days.
So yeah, that was last night. I COULD NOT get to sleep, and I am very, very sleepy right now. I don't really understand why sleep aids can't overcome my insomnia, though. It's quite frustrating. I basically took a final today on 4 hours of sleep and half a Tylenol PM. Awesome.
August 8th, 2009-
Peter is finally done with his first year of college. The next one starts in ten days. Tomorrow is the last hurrah. The Final Day at Oxford.
With the end of my British Poetry final this afternoon, my first year at Georgia Tech was officially over. The next year starts in 10 days, one week from Monday. Oh boy.
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