Coming a Full Circle - Right Back From Where We Began

Firstly, congratulate me on finishing my dissertation well, printing, binding and submitting it well before time. :D Yayness! :D Thanku, thanku!! :P

So, yesterday, when I  went to the uni to submit my thesis, I saw that it was open day for the new students coming in to study at Leeds this year. And I was immediately transported to my first day in Leeds. You know how they say that when you think you are about to die, you see your whole life flash in front of you? Well, I saw my whole year of my life in Leeds flash in front of me in that one moment - as if it's my time to die as a student of the university of Leeds. I remembered being so cold for the first few days until I acclimatised, discovering Morrisons for the first time, exploring the city on foot one sunny day, meeting my flatmates for the first time, seeing my residence for the first time, meeting people from the School of English and making friends, meeting S for the first time and bonding with her over, wait for it, Bollywood!!!!! (Yea, she was then dating a loser Indian guy and therefore, was interested in gathering all this cultural stuff! :P Of course, it's a good thing coz we bonded and became the best of the friends and then, she broke up with the Loser - yes, that's what his name is going to be on the blog! :P) So many memories. And, how young I feel I was then compared to what I am now, even though it's only been a year!

The first day that I arrived in England, I landed at 7 am, cleared through immigration after 6 hours and all the while, there was this huge, black woman screaming at everyone who went to her who terrified all of us. Besides, a Canadian group of students came in after us and cleared through within 2 hours. So, there was also the heartburn and the small voice in my head which kept saying "racism" and whom I didn't want to believe. But, as the time kept passing and we still hadn't cleared by noon (one counter handling the immigration for a planeful of about 250 students from India coming in in September, one of the busiest times for them,) I was indignant but at the same time, helpless and new to the country. Not that I can do anything about it even today if it happens to happen again but well. Then, I, the protected, spoilt, only child, apple of her father's eye princess, had to drag around 57 kgs of luggage (I, by the way, weigh 45 kgs) and find the coach station at Heathrow airport. Once I found it, after about 2 hours which seemed like 2 days, I had to endure 5 hours of a coach ride (and oh, they are not comfortable) to Leeds. I had not eaten or used the bathroom all day because I was alone and didn't know what to do with my luggage. The only thing I ate was a chocolate that Moon had given me just before I had left home. By the time I reached my room at 10 pm, I was ready to collapse and cry. But, I grew up and learnt. And once I was in Leeds, I learnt to not just live here, I learnt to love it. And I will miss it like crazy once I go back!

Kyra left for home today. And yesterday, saying good-bye to her, I realised, it's just the first one in a long string of  teary farewells! I can't imagine what it'd be like when I leave and S stays on here! I'm sure we'd both cry bucket loads when that happens!! :P But anyway, here I am. Exactly a year from where I started. I feel a bit wiser, a bit jaded but mostly, just content ad happy. Last year has been an absolutely great experience and I'm eternally grateful to a lot of people, a lot of things for that. :D

PS: I'm going for a hiking trip to North Wales with 2 of my house-mates tomorrow for 4 days! :D So, expect a lot of pictures and stories after that. Oh, by the way, please, please, please, pray that I get good weather and no rain!!! ::flutters eyelashes::

PPS: Incidently, I just realised I haven't written about any of my trips in the last year at all!!! So, I guess, once I'm done with North Wales, you'll get a bunch of posts about London, Durham, Scotland, Manchester, Yorkshire countryside, abbeys and castles, museums and moors! I hope you all like it! :D So long! :P