Halfway

Today is the halfway point between the day I left for Sussex in September and the day I'll fly back to the States at the end of the year. When I originally calculated out the middle mark of my year abroad it seemed like an eternity away. Now it's here and I'm amazed by how much I did in the first half. I visited eight countries outside of England and probably a dozen places in England. I've tried foods that I never would have considered even tasting while I was in the States (and really liked a few of them!). I've met scores of people and made many new friends and reconnected with some old friends. Some of those friends have already returned to the States.

I've also figured out that it's okay for me to enjoy myself on this grand adventure and miss people who are back in the States at the same time. My friends and family are still important to me even if I'm some 3500 miles away from them and missing them means that I care. Some of the other things I miss are far less poetic, such as Super Bowl Sunday, Tom Wahl's, and Aunt Cookie's subs. As much as I miss things that are familiar to me, I've learned so much about so many other things by traveling that it's definitely been worth it.
Now I'm a few weeks into my second term, rebuilding my social circle, and trying to figure out all the things I really really want to do before I go back to the States because (surprise, surprise) I don't have time to do EVERYTHING that I wanted to do when I originally set out across the pond. I technically have twenty-one weeks left before the end of the year but between classes, exams, and weekends I knew that they will pass much quicker than I think they're going to.