We'll always have Cambridge.

So earlier today, I woke up and took all my belongings out of my room in the P staircase that I have come to known as home, and onto a train for King's Cross. I parted ways with the girls, who were headed towards Heathrow and took a taxi on my own to the hotel that my mother and I are staying at here in London.

I'm so incredibly sad that the Cambridge chapter of my life has come to an end. The last five weeks seem like an incredible blur of new experiences, people, and just insanity! This blog consists of numerous written words and pictures, but no combination of words and no single picture can depict what I've just been through. To my new friends Katie, Erika, Alexandria, Rina, Mike, Blake and Rebecca, thank you for everything and I will miss you all. Have fun wherever you may be and I hope to see you soon! To the PAs Heather, Anna, Rachael, Calum and Luke- thank you for all that you have done, these five weeks wouldn't have been nearly the same without your hard work. So thank you for going above and beyond for us silly Americans! To Andy and Charlie, you are both hilarious and I am so glad to have met you both. Thank you for your endless patience and hilarious conversation, I will miss you! This wave of emotion has been coursing through my mind and body for the past few days. It's always hard to say goodbye, and things just won't be the same. I mean, yes you might get to see some of these people back at UCI, but the context is so different. You see these people everyday, eat with them at every meal, live with them on trips and get to know so well that it's going to be different when you see them casually on campus. Some people don't go to UCI and I very much hope to see them again!

My last day was such a bittersweet one. We went punting for the last time where I pretty much failed and simply spun our boat around in circles. After a delicious lunch at a noodle cart in the middle of the Cambridge marketplace, I did some last minute souvenir shopping and went back to Pembroke. I finally visited the College Chapel on campus, which was gorgeous and took some pictures in the beautiful library. Basically, I spent most of the day packing and getting ready to leave this wonderful place. After a dinner on the Pembroke grass (shh!) and a nap (thank Benadryl) the girls congregated to say our last goodbyes to Rebecca, Rina and Blake, which was quite sad. Then it was off to hang out in Luke's F9 room for the last time. There's never a boring day.

Still, I never went back to the Fitzwilliam Museum like I wanted to, or to the Archaeology Museum. But that just means that the next time I go to Cambridge I know what to do! This whole experience has been amazing and I can't wait to come back again. Thank you all and much love!

Sorta-ish Last Day.

TECHNICALLY, today is the last day for all us UCSS kids are Pembroke College. We have all our finals and little things going on so it is a bit frantic at the moment. Our documentary called "Observing America" is going to be shown with all the others at 6:15 tonight. I have to say, I'm pretty proud of our group and our little film. We put a lot of work into it and I believe that anyone can enjoy it.

I've just been very sad today but trying to be positive about it. I wish this program was longer but I've had the time of my life since I've been here so I don't mind so much. It has certainly taught me a lot and awakened my desire to see more of the world and experience new cultures. I think I take after my dad in this aspect. He loves to travel and I can see why now. I'll always be grateful for this experience, thank you mom and dad!

My last "final" starts in about fifteen minutes and by final I really just mean that our British Documentary Film making class has to write an evaluation about our films. Nothing too difficult. The only thing that was stressing me out was the paper we had to write for The Science of Crime and Criminal Justice, but it was actually a bit interesting to write since I chose to write about Serial Murders.

Tonight is the last formal dinner and then some group shenanigans. Some of these people I'll most likely never see again and some I'll see around UC Irvine. It's amazing how fast five goes by.

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Panic.

Today is the first of September. Which means that today is the last full day of classes. Tomorrow is Finals and the LAST Formal Dinner and then Friday is a free day. Saturday we leave in the morning and then it is all over. I'm ridiculously sad. This program has been such an amazing experience and I am going to miss it all when I leave. I do wish that this program was longer and I feel like I haven't gotten to know everyone yet! There is too much to do, too much to see!

Today we took a tour of the Botanical Gardens in Cambridge which was very relaxing and beautiful and there were many people simply lounging about and having a picnic. There were two random cats just strolling around, which surprised me because it was so casual.

On Monday, we had a barbecue for the program, which was super fun and we got to eat burgers and "hot dogs", which were really sausages, and just relax and enjoy each others company. Afterwards a lot of the program played some "Rounders", which is basically like Baseball, but with just a few different rules. There was a lot of intense rivalry going on, some cheating by one of our PAs, and just loads of good fun. Yesterday, a group of us decided to go to a restaurant/bar down the street called Revolution, where we may or may not have gotten into some shenanigans. It was all in good fun! I definitely had a great time and I also finished most of my paper before going out, so I felt pretty responsible as well.

Tonight we are headed out to the Panton Arms, which is a pub well known for their fish and chips. So excited! Afterwards I'll probably be boring and just finish my paper. Wah wah wah. I'm going to try to make the most out of the few days so good luck to me!