A Bittersweet End to the Summer

And just like that, my first summer living in Europe has passed. I had a bit of a shock in July when I realized that I have been living in London for six months already! It got me thinking about what I have accomplished in those six months; I can proudly say that I:

• Found a permanent and well-paying job;
• Have a great boyfriend: Dan;
• Made some good friends;
• Visited new (Wales) and old (Paris, England) places;
• Got hooked on some aspects of British culture (Percy Pigs, BBC, the Tube);
• Missed some aspects of Canadian culture (Kraft Dinner, proper peanut butter, clothes dryers); and
• Somewhat embarrassingly started using British words in my everyday vocabulary (although I still have my Canadian accent!) such as: "hiya" (hello), "I'm not bothered" (I have no preference), "ring" (call), "ga-ridge" (garage) and "alright?" (how are you) just to name a few.

All that said, I haven't written all summer so here's a bit of what I've been up to:

• Geeked out a bit at the London Film & Comic Con where we saw some amazing costumes and met Hodor from Game of Thrones.

• Injured my hand in the most British way possible: a tea-related incident! (Boiling water spilled all over my hand)

• Went to a few great BBQs, despite the traditionally wet British weather.

• Celebrated Dan's parents' 50th wedding anniversary, semi-tortured a dog (Daisy) by making her wear hats and visited Haylings Island which is one of the beaches where the Allies practiced the D-Day landings.

• Had a wonderful visit from my friends Lauren & Nick who replenished my Canadian supplies.

• Met Casper the pub cat (this one is just too cute for me not to share).

As the rain drizzles outside ("drizzle" is me downplaying the water pouring out of the sky for my own sanity) and the temperature drops several degrees, it has become clear that summer is over in London. Not to worry though, it has been a great summer and the next few months will be very fun and exciting! What's next for me this year?

September

• A visit from my friend Jen and a trip to Oktoberfest in Munich

October

• A visit from my friend Breanne
• A move - my flat has officially been sold and I have to find a new place to live. While this is still a bit of a stressful process, it's nothing like when I first got here in January!

November

• Wallet recovery!
• London sightseeing (I have really been neglecting this)

December

• A Day trip to Bruges to see the Christmas markets
• A visit from my mom, my brother and his girlfriend then travelling around the Scottish highlands for Christmas.

I am still shivering and soaked from the rain as I write this so I feel that this is the perfect quote to end this blog post:

What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.
John Steinbeck