Waving goodbye to a chocolate city and hello to a familiar city by the water.

My pink luggage (soon to be crammed with Americanness!).  And yes, yes I'm 24 and traveling with a stuffed animal.

It's really random how 10 months have whizzed by and suddenly I'm staring at my suitcases, (pink, of course!) in my cozy English bedroom, ready to take their long passage back to New York, home. Soon they'll be chock-full (they're nearly empty, it was an easy pack this time, mostly clothes and items headed back to Buffalo!) with all of my favorite American/Buffalo things. I'll shop my little heart out this summer and the result will probably be overweight baggage fines on the way back to England! As cheesy as it sounds, it felt like I packed those pink bags up yesterday to come to Birmingham, England. Surely when I booked my ticket if felt like there was more time before I'd fly, right? Departure wasn't supposed to arrive immediately, was it?

In September, all I could think was first, how jet lagged I was, and second, how much I missed Tim Hortons coffee and absolutely everything else about home (especially since it was the beginning of my favorite season at home, Fall-I know its "Autumn" here!). "Straight away" I missed the traffic lights, red lipstick colored stop signs, yellow school buses, family, friends and everything from the life I stripped myself of. The questions in public, "are you from America, are you on holiday, do you miss home?" and my favorite, "why would you come here?" all provoked my homesickness and made the transition seem impossible.

Thankfully, it soon became less about missing home and my old life and morphed into a home away from home. Getting up for school, (on the days I had it, when my family wasn't mocking me for the vacations I get at university!) and visiting with friends all became routine; my British life. People and friends, some English and some foreign like me, my professors at college all challenged me; not to ignore being away from my comfort zone but to embrace and feel welcome in their world. They've made me laugh (to the point of spitting out my drink!), dance on Broad Street, (Alice! and yes, I don't have rhythm!) visit Londontown, learn how inept I am at pool AND bowling (giggling the whole time though!) and feel like I've known them for much longer than I actually have. Although it never feels like America, the people I'm lucky enough to have supporting me and in my life, gave me a new and irreplaceable kind of comfort.

An employee at my train station makes me giggle and reminds me of home (he used to live in Western New York-where I'm from!). I love walking into New Street station and seeing the police men in their uniforms and official hard top hats (not just because I love uniforms either!). On the train home from college, (I feel so commuter-ish! At home I drive, which at first was strange to not do here but now I like it!) I love to see the purple polls and signs signifying I'm in Bournville where everything chocolate and wonderful comes from!! I'm the envy of American friends (the English ones aren't really as Cadbury obsessed!) and family who've all asked me to bring some yummy chocolate back for them (which, of course, I'll do!). It isn't that we don't get it in America but it DOES not taste as delicious as British Cadbury! My favorites (although its hard to chose!) are flake and the apricot crumble bars-yum!
On walks in my neighborhood, (which I still couldn't tell you all the street names...even though I see them everyday!) I love that I know other regular walkers and their dogs now (especially a little wire fox terrier named Star!), the little kids in their uniforms walking home (I love it! It's way better than public schools at home with no uniforms, these kids look adorable!), the shops in West Heath (and the salons!) and the owner of Buds and Woods who always sees me walking and says "hello darlin', how are ya bab?"

Any day I can see how lush and green England is, (which is so different from my area where its all commercial and concrete!) smell the block in my neighborhood that always smells like pancakes, notice the double decker buses (my favorite, of course, is to sit on top!), see horses trotting along the side of the road and sometimes get the feeling I'm not in England but a little closer to home in Canada (it sometimes feels very beachy and smells like it does on Lake Erie, Ontario!).

You can't get this view just anywhere.  I was out on a walk when I took this and this is about 10 minutes from my house.  Brilliant!

At Christmas, I love how alive the city centre (I'm learning and adapting as my friends have told me to do-I'd say downtown!) became with the German market and Christmas shoppers. In some ways it wasn't much different to home (and next year I WILL slide down the big slide in town!). I was like a little kid at the Brindley Place Christmas parade, even attempting to get a picture with Santa!

Brindley Place Christmas (you bet your ass I wanted a picture with Santa...but there were too many actual kids waiting).

I've enjoyed seeing castles, such as Warwick, (which I know now isn't pronounced with two "w's" just say the first!) and feeling the buzz and charm in Stratford (by far my favorite place-tied with London, of course!). The local farms are superb and I loved bottle feeding Emily the lamb at Ellenbee farm. I got to snuggle her when she was small like a cat!! Small things like what I've described and the Pershore fox hunt after Christmas have endeared me to England and shown me a little of what it means to be part of the British culture.

Feeding Emily!

As much as I've enjoyed part one of my time here, I'm thrilled to be off to Brooklyn, Manhattan, North Carolina, Buffalo (home!) and Canada (yay, the beach!) this summer! I'll see people and do things I've missed for what feels like forever and I'll capture it all to the fullest (especially since I've got a gangster difficult school year ahead-year three, eek!!!) Even with my excitment though, I'm leaving part of my heart in this green and welcoming country.