As is obvious, it's been quite a while since my last posting - many, many things have happened and I certainly aim to catch up on it soon to fill the world in on what we've been up to over here. However, this being my last night here in Manchester, and my plane leaving in just a few hours, I want to dedicate this post to the rest of 04 03. I didn't realize before coming here that the flatmates I'd have would make or break the year, but looking back I realize how important you've all become to me (even when I was being a hermit), especially since I didn't have real classmates like most students. And after hearing stories from so many other George Kenyon residents and other students in general, I've come to know just how lucky I was that I landed not with one or two but with six incredible people who today I can genuinely call friends.
We have had some really great times this year, and there were a few occasions on which I didn't think it was possible to laugh as hard as I did. I'm reminded of that song that goes "We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun . . ." And even though we had lots of plans that went unfulfilled, they were still wonderful to make together. I also realized that I've learned more (way more) from you guys than I did in the classroom and I'm not ever going to forget what you've all taught me.
Irene, Fauzan, Avi, Nithya, Ada, and Carlos, I am truly grateful to have had you guys in my life this year. It would not have been the same without you; your company is what I'm going to remember most when I look back on this experience and what I will emphasize when people at home ask me what it was like to live here. You were the best part of this adventure. It's really hard to part ways, but like we keep saying, it's not really goodbye - it's just "see you soon." And we will :)
