and now some old things.

Cambridge is a small university town north of London, and the international liasion office had organised a tour for this Monday just gone for us international students. There were/are a few other activities for the international students, but this one appealed to me the most.

Since it was a Monday a lot of things were closed (the museum, the art gallery, the veg-restaurant that I wanted to go to for lunch) so I felt a little limited in where I could go. As a result I ended up in the (stunning!) Kings College Chapel (above). Look at that vaulted ceiling! Quite pleased I didn't burst into flames on entering as it would have been a bit of a waste of an entrance fee if I had (haha).

I spent the afternoon in the Botanical Gardens. I was in a pretty grumpy mood for most of the morning, and strolling around the grounds really helped me reset myself. 

I've been feeling quite... flat the last few days and to be honest I think I'm starting to feel homesick/lonely. I would say I'm suprised but really I should have known because in the past if I've been vehemently denying something that's generally when it's actually true. I've been telling friends and family it's all good, that homesickness is a long way off yet and blah blah blah... and to be honest, I believed what I was saying. I've only been here a few weeks, I've been having a good time and keeping in touch with people back home pretty well. But... I don't know. I'm in a bit of a lull I guess. I've settled down in my new home and starting to feel 'at home' in London as a whole. But: I'm limited in my social interactions HERE. Uni hasn't properly started yet. I'm yet to meet my classmates which is something I really really want to do as I feel I'm clinging on to Perth a bit too much. Mornings are good because when I wake up it's afternoon in Perth and I can chat to people and catch up which is important and I don't won't that to stop... but then on the flip side once it's afternoon here no one is online, my day has come to an end and I don't really have anything to do... and that's when I start to feel kind of lonely. I want friends HERE to do things with. I spent my day in Cambridge on my own and then when I got back on the bus at the end of the day the liasion officer asked me (in a concerned tone) if I'd spent the day alone. I said 'Yeah! It's fine, though!', 'cause it was to me: I went on the tour because I wanted to see Cambridge. I was on first name terms with a few of the girls on the tour (one also an exchange student from my uni back in Perth) but when it came for us head off at the start of the day I just went off on my own. And then when I was sitting on the bus heading back to London it occoured to me that the reason the liasion officer had asked me that question in such a tone was because that maybe the purpose of the trip wasn't actually to see Cambridge... but to make friends with the other international students? It seems to obvious now... but that just wasn't my thinking then. I feel a bit stupid now. I can't go on exchange then close myself off to people. I told myself I'd be outgoing; be friendly to everyone and then friendships would naturally develop... and I thought I was (I chatting openly with the girls on the bus on the way there) but I suppose I need to carry that through and persistantly interact with people, not just react when they talk to me. I can't be lonely. I don't want to look back on my time in this exchange and only be able to remember how lonely and sad I was when wondering around all these beautiful and exciting places.

Anyway today I didn't want to mope around so I wrapped myself up in two jumpers (:P) and went to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington. It was awesome! The exhibits seemed to be oriented at school-aged children but that's ok because I'm no science whizz: I enjoy the shit out of learning about how continents are formed and how palaeontologists figured out that certian species of ___ are related to each other by studying their wrist bones... but the knittygritty details (see, I couldn't even remember what species it was!) of such science is a bit lost on me so I happily (not really) relied on diagrams and 'blurb' style info bubbles.

I looooove the front facade of the Natural History Museum. Being in London is really giving me a taste for historical architecture.

I found this in the toilet at the cafe in Cambridge where I had lunch (hello suprise vegan options!):

"You are only ever ONE thought away from PEACE <3"

It was a nice reminder that I can be my own worst enemy at times, and to reconsider my perspective :)