Megan’s abroad in London, England, until Dec. 13.

And so I report to you from the good old United States. I passed by the gigantic “Welcome to the United States of America” sign in the Newark airport a few days ago, and since then I’ve unpacked, recovered from jet lag and become accustomed to American accents again.

It was crazy to fill out my customs card on my flight from London and realize I had visited six countries in three months: the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and France, which I’ve already mentioned, and two really quick stops in the Czech Republic and Ireland. I’ve taken in different cultures, befriended Brits and seen more marble statues than one ever needs to see in his or her life. I even ran into a hairy cow or two along the way.

I went through some phases at Goldsmiths where I could have easily hopped on a plane and headed back to America. I didn’t really mesh well with my suitemates and I kept getting a million listserv e-mails from clubs at Northwestern, essentially rubbing all the fun stuff they were doing in my face. But overall, I wouldn’t trade this quarter for anything. Study abroad, at least to me, felt like grown-up summer camp, a kind of alternate universe where you could do whatever you wanted. But, just like summer camp, you had to cry and hug all your friends at the end, knowing it would never be the same.

Keeping this blog was an experience of its own, too. From friends saying their parents kept up with them through my posts to a Swedish person e-mailing me to correct the spelling of a name (thanks Bengt!), it’s been a great way to chronicle the key moments of my Fall Quarter. And once I’m back in Evanston, I can procrastinate studying for midterms by reminiscing, reading these posts and remembering how much fun I had.

If you’re interested, you can see lots of pictures of my quarter abroad here. Thanks for keeping up with me this quarter!

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