Well, I leave for the airport in an hour to head back to Zimbabwe. I’m not quite sure how I feel. I mean, my body and mind are absolutely exhausted from a month of more-or-less constant discovery, so in that sense I’m quite ready to go “home” and “chill”. Furthermore, I leave with the satisfaction and the memories of truly having taken advantage of my time in London. This trip alone has been worth taking the job in Zimbabwe!
On the other hand, I feel a bit hesitant to go back to Zim. After all the excitement and socializing, it might be difficult to return to the isolation of my life on the farm. And having spent a month with electricity, fast internet, and a shower, the challenges of the farm will probably seem even more challenging, at least at first. Nonetheless, I look forward to seeing my cats and having the time to read books, play guitar, blog, and ride horses.
I realize I haven’t blogged much about London, and that if I decided to update everyone on what I’ve done here the past two weeks, the entry would tediously long and boring. I’m actually not interested in writing a “travel blog”, per se, so I don’t really want to talk about the sites I saw and the places I visited. I’d rather write about thoughts and observations, so that is what I will blog about over the coming days and week. In the meantime, here are some of the event/sight highlights of my trip that will stick with me long after I leave:
– Seeing theatre and dance (Stomp, Wicked, Sydney Dance Company)
– Getting to see Natalie Williams perform not once, but twice – and getting to meet her, talk to her, and be guestlisted to see her at the exclusive Ronnie Scott’s premier jazz bar
– The field trips I did with Christoph, which included a double decker bus tour, a boat tour, the London Tower, seeing a children’s production of The Gruffalo, and ice skating outside Somerset House
– Wandering around the city, soaking in the beauty, the history and the architecture of the city
I leave with wonderful impressions of London, and of Europe in general. I love how civilized it is, how easily I can blend in, that I can speak the language, that it’s clean and beautiful, that it’s got history and culture and music and oh-so-much to spend your money on. I leave absolutely loving “the tube” (underground) – I never waited more than 2 minutes for a train! I took the train everywhere, and love its convenience and extensiveness. But more than that, I love how much signage there is and how easy it is to take and become an expert on. I am good at taking the tube! And I leave intrigued by this city and excited to return and see more. Farewell for now, London! We’ll be together again soon!
