Leaving Home

I’ve spent a lot of time this trip reflecting on “home.” I was reluctant to come on this trip, as I knew I would be leaving my house (and of course my personally decorated room) for the last time. The last thing I wanted in that moment of separation was to be tossed into an unknown foreign country, but the house on Gower Street has taught me an important lesson about life.  It is something, perhaps, I already knew and just hadn’t experienced. Home is where you make it.

I came to Gower Street knowing only one other person, I leave with 17 new friends. I know that we will all be sure to not lose touch. When I first got on the tube (NOT the metro!), I was amused by a voice telling me to “mind the gap” and that “the next lift will be lift number 3,” all in a amazing British accent. Now its just part of my daily routine and I know I will miss it.

I took a moment today to say my last goodbyes to this amazing city. I went to the Covent Garden Market, and just walked through the rows of stalls, enjoying the culture. I brought a bouquet of daffodils and carried them proudly through the streets. I then took the tube back to my favorite station, good old “Goodge Street.”  Instead of taking my normal walk straight to the house, I found myself strolling down Tottenham Court (the main road).  As I walked I encounter familiar stores and friendly people. I walked all the way to the British Museum, just absorbing it all. I then followed Gower Street back to number 35.

I open the door to even more familiarity, the face of friends, the chill of the common room, the warmth of conversation (and the radiator in my room). I felt as if I’d just come home from a usual day in a city that truly felt like mine.  Later, we went out to the local pub. (There is a pub just around the corner from here where the bartender knows us when we walk in). I’m very sad to be leaving London, something that came as quite a shock to me. The only word I can use to describe London is “Home,” and for that I will always love every piece of this city and its familiarity. I was only here for a month, but I feel as if I have been here a lifetime.

So, today (it is after all 2 am), I leave home once again, with a new view of its definition. I will greatly miss London, but I know I’ve grown a lot from this experience and will return one day. If you ever have a chance to come to the Eckerd College London Study Centre, I would recommend you do everything you can to get here, you will NOT regret it.

~Amy Esser