Last woman standing

The day has finally come. I am completely and utterly alone in my flat....unless you include the Asians sharing our living area next door....but apart from that...totally alone.

Saying goodbye to Maddy and Shaun yesterday, and now saying goodbye to Christina this evening, feels like I have lost my family. I knew it would be difficult without anyone here, but I never realised how unbelievably devastating it would be. No more bursting into the house yelling about the 2 times that it actually snowed outside, no more knocking on Christina's door to talk, only to be told that she's still not changed/out of bed (that happened far too many times), and no more family dinners celebrating Taco Tuesday. I cannot believe how fast the last five months has flown....and at the time, I half wished they would go faster. Missing family, Australia and loved ones, all contributed to home sickness throughout many times of my stay here; but now this chapter of my life is practically closed, I feel like I'm getting 'exchange sickness'.

I remember walking into my new empty flat, freaking out that I had no house mates, only to find that they were all at Ikea getting everything for our kitchen/bathroom/bedrooms, everything that I now have the task of throwing out. It's so hard to let go of possessions that have so many memories. It sounds stupid, but throwing away my wok means throwing away all the excessively large meals we made for only 4 people. Getting rid of our pint glasses means never having any more nights of far too many jager bombs, and cocktails till 2am instead of actually going out.
All I have left are the memories, but right now, that doesn't seem enough. I can't help but wish that I had taken more photos, gone out more times, made more friends. Maybe it's lessons learnt for next time.

I leave in 2 days times, and then it's the end of Glasgow. But not forever.

Awaiting the end

I can't believe it's nearly here.
There's 7 days left of Scotland. 7 days. It is so crazy how fast things have gone. It's true what they say, the older you get, the faster time flies. With only 21/2 months left of my 7 month trip I'm starting to freak.

I spent the last week and a bit in Guildford, just hanging out at Aldershot Rd (Nat's house). It was really lovely going into a house with so many people living in it; which made it a bigger shock coming back home to Scotland, two days ago, having only Christina as company, everything is so quiet.
When I walked through my bedroom door, I came to the realisation that I'm ready to leave here, nothing is really keeping me staying any more. By next Wednesday all my flat mates will have left, My room is already half empty (as I have slowly been taking things down to Guildford to make it easier) and, said in a chocked up tone, exchange is over. I have really been dreading those words, to leave everything that I have created here for myself is awful. But now, I feel quite at ease with the idea of going. I'm moving onto further adventures around the world, living in Guildford for a month, and then finally get to go back home.

It's definitely true, I love travelling, love finding new and exciting cultures to immerse myself in, but Australia is my home, and being away from it for so long has clarified that for me.
For the last few days and the next week to come, Scotland has been having a heat wave of approx 23 degrees every day. (yesterday even got to 25!!!)
The sun comes up at 5am every morning, and goes down at 9:30pm every night. There's actually warmth in the air. And it feels EXACTLY like the beginning of Melbourne's summer. So much so that I wake up in the morning half expecting to be back in my bedroom with the ability to go down the hall and hug mum and dad outside whilst they are eating breakfast; and instead I wake up to the realisation that I'm in my flat alone. This is truly the most beautiful weather, but I wish it would go away. The greatest thing about Scotland (and I've only just come to realise this) is that it is nothing like home. I could make my own adventures here with no connection to thoughts of Australia, or wanting to be back. It's now so different having such an obvious sign of home waking you up in the morning, and being the last thing you see at night.

I sit here wondering how I can be so ungrateful, having such beautiful days and complaining that I want rain (really bazaar), but I suppose I associate the rain and cold with Scotland, and warmth and sun with home, and so now, I miss home more then ever.

On a separate note, I was contacted by my cousin about coming over to visit me in July. I'm SOOOOOO excited!! We have now planned to go to Brussels, Amsterdam, Spain and possibly Greece and Switzerland. I looked up bus' and found 4Pound tickets to get to Brussels and 8Pound tickets to Amsterdam, although it may be an 11hr trip, for 8pounds I think I know exactly how I'm getting there!!

In Guildford I went to view the house that I shall be living in in July. It's a really cute, little house with the laundry in the kitchen (soooo British) and a giant living area. My room is small but will fit everything I need in it. It even has a wardrobe...oddly placed I might add, but a wardrobe is a wardrobe! (It is quite literally situated on the wall above my bed, so I have to stand on my bed to get to it... :S )

In one week and 5 days I shall be flying to Norway with my Uncle. I can't believe where my life is taking me, maybe this contributes to the reason why I'm so happy to leave Scotland.

It's times like these where you sit an reflect at how amazing life really is, and how truly blessed we are to be here living in it.

P.S. I shall no longer be living at my Scottish address, so please don't send anything there...cos I wont receive it and you will have wasted your money..... awkward. If you want to send me anything, inbox me on face book or email me and I shall send you Nat's address for June and my address for July :D

One man down, eight to go...

It's happened, the first one of our friends has left to go back home after exchange. Although I'm envious that she was able to do so because she had no exams, but this means that it is now time to start packing, saying goodbyes and going home. It's so sad to think that on the 31st of May I shall never again be able to call Glasgow home.
It's truly crazy to think where the last 4 months have gone!! I left for Japan on the 5th Jan, and now it's already the 8th May?! It's going to be so hard to say goodbye to this place, but although I have loved it over here, and shall miss each one of the friends I have made, I'm pretty sure I am ready to leave. Glasgow has been amazing, but I'm afraid that i miss the sun far too much, as silly as that sounds. Only yesterday, as I was walking home through rain and freezing winds, I commented to Nat that this exact weather is why it's so hard to go outside most of the time. Having only seen 2-3 sunny days in the last month, I'm pretty sure my vitamin D stores are running far too low!

I have my final exam on Wednesday....yes, that's tomorrow....and why I've chosen to write this blog instead of study, God only knows. Sadly enough, the exam is on  a subject which I cannot even remember the title of, proof of exactly how much I care about it's existence. All I am looking forward to is 5pm on Wednesday when I can leave that exam room and go party....without feeling guilty for not studying! (Although I've done the 'not study' quite a lot lately, so you'd think that the guilt would have gone by now, but alas, it has not)

After Wednesday, I fear that my last three months will fly far faster then I want them to! On the 31st May, I move down to Guildford, only for a week while I wait to travel to Norway, Germany, Ireland, York and London with my Uncle. Literally the day after I return from this trip I shall leave for Canada (If you called me crazy I'd have to agree, I don't know what came over me when I booked those flights!!!) I shall be there till July, when I return to Guildford to live for the last month of my travel.
I am so excited, I have found my own little flat and all, to live in.....Well Nat found it for me, but that doesn't erase any of the happiness! I hope to find a small job, just a few days during the week, so I can travel on weekends. I plan on visiting a few friends I have made over here, and catching up with some old ones!
I'm actually amazed to think that after this trip I shall have been to so many new countries, experienced so many different cultures and things, and I will have done it primarily on my own. I cannot believe what I have accomplished. Travel, moving away, living in a separate country from everyone I know and love, may not seem a lot to you, but for me, this is one of the greatest milestone I have ever overcome! I hate change, and truthfully, I don't really like being alone in my own company. Living here, in this cold, isolating place is much more difficult then i first assumed it to be, but now I see that if I can do this, I can do so much more....and to my mum's disgust, maybe even IBL (Industrial based learning - it's compulsory in my course) overseas for a year....who knows...

....I guess, to be rather cliché, the world is my oyster.