expectations and fulfillment, loss and gain.

I can't even remember what my last blog was about, it's been a while. I've been putting off making a new post til now because in my head they're big tasks and should all be well-written with a clear focus and lots of photos and introspective stuff. I think from now on I'm going to TRY and be a little easier on myself as I would prefer to make posts more frequently. Big posts made sporadically kind of miss out the small, specific experiences I have on this trip because I tend to gloss over them and summarise everything. I want this blog to paint a fuller picture of my experience over here, so I'm going to start trying to make smaller posts more often. Goal: 1-2 posts per calender week (thought: are there other kinds of weeks?).

Right now, it's 6 weeks til I leave London for good. I can't believe it's already April. I'm starting to freak out a little bit, but also get excited about the onward journey that will eventually lead me home. I'm starting to feel a bit more enthused by this city I'm living in, because now the end is near. I was feeling a tad homesick last week, but that's subsided. And it's not place-sickness, it's people-sickness. I wanna be with friends and family. Thankcow for Skype (points if you get the reference ;)).

A few weeks ago Ella arrived in London and we headed down to Brighton for Vegfest. We couchsurfed with a lady we found through couchsurfing.com. I really wanna get more into that site, it's a great way to meet people who have a similiar 'FUCK YEAH, LETS EXPERIENCE THE WORLD' mentality. Vegfest was great, I ate lots of food. Brighton is beautiful, I loved it. The kind of place I instantly feel an affinity with.

Still struggling with motivation in regards to uni, but my project is still chugging along - I just don't go into uni unless I need to use the print studio, or perhaps see a lecture. My uni is on Easter break right now and won't go back til 16th April, and then from that point it's about two weeks till my assessment. I'm gonna be honest, I've been down-right lazy on this trip so I definitely need to get my butt into gear in time for assessment. I can do it though, just print, print, print. Create, create, create.

Ella's back in London now too after a few weeks away in Scotland and the last few days have been awesome. Spring is here, I'm LOVING the sunshine. England does springtime well, even if it does get super chilly in the evenings and then you're stuck in a dress with nothing but a light jacket to protect you from the cold. Going out, meeting new people and enjoying the company of strangers has been an enriching experience. I was thinking to myself last night that social interactions don't need longevity to be enriching - I can have open, honest, friendly and interesting conversations with people I've just met, and just because I don't know them well doesn't mean the interaction means any less, or lacks any sincerity. I haven't really made any long-term friends on this trip, which I was kind of dissapointed by but now I'm thinking that I've gotten lots of little awesome moments instead. It's like... a lot of my time here has not turned out like I expected... and I've gotten lots of fulfilling moments, just not in the way I thought.

I lost my phone at a Couchsurfing event last Saturday, which I was really upset about at the time but now I'm ok with it. I left a message on the site asking if anyone picked it up and I'll admit I'm hopeful someone will contact me about it, but that also could just be me being nieve. If it doesn't show up, oh well. I was joking with Ella that since I lost my phone, but had a really awesome weekend anyway, it's like I just traded with the universe, haha!

 Last week I went to Hyde Park by myself and this monument/statue was in the park opposite. If I remember correctly it's the NZ War Mamorial. Very beautiful.

The, uh... *cough* Award Winning Brighton Beach.

I'm heading to Paris on Tuesday night, so I'm think my new blogging goal might not get off to a great start, but we'll see. I'll definitely make a re-cap post when I get back.

Much love to my friends and family back in Perth-town, I'm starting to look forward to getting back.

-Cathryn.