Autumn in London '06

The End of a Long and Winding Road

Hi Everyone,

I realize that this post is going to cover two weeks' time, but really, there was nothing to write of last week. From the beginning of the day on Monday, 12/4 until mid-morning on Wednesday, 12/13, I've been working on Essays, articles, paperwork, and helping Kevin with the editing and reediting of his monster of a dissertation. Last week really passed with little incident and little time to think, with the only break in our academic action a trip to Surrey Quays to see the new Will Ferrell movie "Stranger than Fiction." It was alright, I think, but in the end it was kind of ruined by the unnecessary inclusion of Queen Latifa in the film. Oh well.

The one thing I will say about the writing papers for British classes, though, is that it's much more stressful than I thought it would be. I was worrying about everything from citations to number of sources to formatting, you know, the little things that I'd become accustomed to and thought were second nature in American papers. Actually writing the essays (I had two) was hard enough, as the prompts were very open-ended and the resources in the library were few and far between. In the end, I just did the best that I could, and I guess we'll see if that was good enough in the eyes of my British professors. Kevin, meanwhile, has been beating his brains in trying to finish his 30-page dissertation to satisfy the Hansard society. Frankly, I think that the classes (which both included a large essay and a final exam) and the internship were probably enough for an undergraduate in a foreign country for only 3 months, but I guess they thought differently. Anyway, I've been trying to help him out as much as I can with editing his piece and giving him second opinions and such, but I feel so bad for him. At the same time, I'm so proud of him for how much he's dealt with and how much he's come through.

As this week began, however, the mood started to change. All of a sudden I could see the light at the end of the tunnell, and this was a weird feeling indeed. As I started going though my final classes and saying goodbye to my professors and my classmates, I continuously heard nothing but variations of "we'll miss you." My Latin American Cinema professor even went as far to say that the class would not be the same without me. My journalism professor even took me and the other Americans soon to be leaving out to the pub after our last class. Really, looking back, my experience in my classes in Britain was extraordinary. Now, having a new perspective of how higher learning can be, and how much more involved and gratifying it can be, it may be difficult to sit through my classes at NU this Spring. I guess we'll see with that one too.

But the hardest part about leaving was saying goodbye to my flatmates. On Friday, Germaine decided to single-handedly cook a roast dinner to commemorate our time at Goldsmiths and to properly send everyone off into the holiday season. The dinner was excellent, and filled with talk of memories and goodbyes. After dinner, as everyone prepared to go to the union to party the night away, I said my last goodbyes, as I was headed to Kevin's place to get a good night's sleep before heading back to the states. It was emotional (moreso for them I think, as I rarely get emotional in situations like this), and we all promised to stay in touch. But it was what Jess said that I think will stick with me. She told me that I'd changed her view on the world, and that meeting me was a once in a lifetime occurence for her. And I guess they've all changed me too. Now I think that I have a much more hollistic view of the human race, a view that cares so much less about where someone was born or where they grew up. In our world today, the nation seems to be rapidly making itself obsolete, as the human race, like it or not, seems to be gelling. It'll take some time to think about this further and to really come to a conclusion, but there is little doubt that this trip has changed me, and I'm a much better person for it. In a few hours, we'll leave for Heathrow and eventually for America, but I know that when I look back, I'll find nothing but good memories. Memories of change, memories of experience, and most of all memories of something other than the US. But as much as I'll miss London and England, I am very happy to be coming home to see friends, family, and to return to something a bit more stable. It's been good to be abroad, but it'll be great to be home.

posted by Zachary Nicholson @ 10:02 AM