Reflecting on my time at Cambridge and saying Good Bye…

Now that I have settled in back at home, and most of my unpacking is done, I am finally realizing that my time in Cambridge has come to an end (I might have been in denial for the past couple days…)

The last week in Cambridge really went by like a blink of an eye. I remember working on a lot of school work, and hoping I had more time to spend outside (so an advice to the future Cambridge groups: start your Art History portfolio as soon as it’s handed out to you!), trying to frantically figure out if I had bought souvenirs for everyone I needed to, and putting off packing as much as I could.

After getting everything off my shoulders, I spent my time walking around Cambridge many times. I walked to the market almost everyday to see if there was anything new. I walked through streets with pretty Christmas lights. I walked to the mall and in the stores where I wish I could buy things, but could not afford (Darn being a college student!). I went into random stores in the streets and found some very cute things as well as creepy naked Barbie looking dolls. Overall, I tried to take in the atmosphere of the city centre as much as I could.
After numerous trips there this semester, I can still imagine in my mind the way to get to the city centre. Walking out of the centre, walking through the street past the hand washing car place, past the castle hill, walking through an area with small shops, the crossroad that took me almost the entire semester to be able to cross, the street that gets much narrower, walking across the punting bridge, being asked by the punters if I want to take their tour, walking past the round church, more stores, and finally reaching the city centre. Even if it is a 20 minute walk to get to the city centre, it was never a boring walk. I hope I will always remember the scenery that I saw walking there and to all of the other places that I have adventured to.
There are SO many other things that I hope I will always remember too. I will never forget how green the grasses were. I will never forget the beautiful buildings filled with history and memories from many, many people. I will never forget the interesting stories – such as the Eagle pub which has drawings on the ceiling by the American soldiers from the second World War, or the ghost that lives on the top floor of the pub and the windows are always open because of it.

I’ve also made great memories with the people there. Talking to a doctor who wanted to become a child surgeon so that he could save the lives of children, which was a great inspiration to me. Seeing a guy whom I had met during one of my first couple weeks there and him still remembering me when I coincidentally saw him again during my last week there. Being able to hang out with students who go to Cambridge University and hearing their lives as students – who go to the number one ranked school (They sure sounded like geniuses!).

This semester has also helped me take a step closer to becoming an independent adult. I learned how to cook, clean well, and go grocery shopping on a low budget (it sure prepared me to become a better wife!). It made me realize that I would definitely want to come to Europe again and strengthened my desire to work internationally. It exposed me to different cultures and how I can adjust to them. It also helped me strengthen my mentality towards certain things and beliefs of my values. I learned how much I love meeting new people and making connections. But the biggest thing I learned is that there is SO much out in the world that I have yet to see and experience.
The mountains, lakes, towns, buildings, grasses, plants – everything I saw was absolutely beautiful and stunning. There were breathtaking moments that I will always keep in my heart.

And a special shout out to my C-90 group. I loved how we were a small group of 10, and that allowed us to become close with pretty much all of each other. There were people in my group that I probably wouldn’t have met at Valpo and am so happy to have had the opportunity to become so close with. I can say that I’ve had special moments with pretty much every member in my group and will treasure those moments. It’s weird to think that we won’t be living together when we return to Valpo next semester, but I’m hoping for reunions where we can talk about this amazing semester that we experienced together. Thank you, C-90, because my experience would not have been the same without you guys (:

Also a big thank you to Cambridge and the program for everything this semester. I cannot be more thankful for all of the experiences I had and am so happy to have made this life changing experience.
Everyone says that studying abroad is an experience of a lifetime…and now, I can truly say that for myself!

Thank you again, Cambridge (:

Until next time…
Cheers!

Aya

Our first weekend in England!

And our last week in England - Merry Christmas!