10/23/11 ----- Minneapolis, Minnesota

Parents and I at Trafalgar Square 

Hey all!! I know that a lot of people have been wanting all the details from my trip to England and France so while I was there, I had been writing posts every now and then and emailed it all to myself. I’m going to put all the posts here all at once but they’ve got the dates on them so it’ll give you all a better idea of how the trip went step by step. It goes from most recent all the way down to my first day in England so you'll have to scroll down quite a few posts to get to the beginning of the trip :) 

Guess who’s back in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota? Okay okay, it’s not that bad but man I miss England! Alright before I go all weepy on you, I’ll take you back a bit to my last few days in London. Well, the day I had gone to Kent, my parents went to Trafalgar square, Big Ben, Edgeware road and all those places and I had missed it all so they took me on Thursday, the day before we left. It was really nice cos I didn’t really remember it much from ten years ago and being in the center of London felt perfect for it being the last day out. We did end up getting lost as well! Instead of going to Edgeware Road, the Arabic street full of shawarmas, we accidentally went to Edgeware, the suburban area at the very edge of London. It was really pretty and we did get to see a part of London that was really different! We found our way back though and that night my parents and uncle and aunt were planning on going to the mosque since it was Thursday night. Don’t get me wrong, I love going to mosque, I really do. But it was my last night in England and I really wanted to spend it being out and doing something. Luckily, thanks to Abbas, the great big brother he is came and picked me up from the house and even my other cousins who I was living with came with and we all went for some shisha and dinner. It was a really great night since I didn’t get to spend much time with the cousins in London that I was actually staying with cos we were out a lot so it was nice getting to talk properly and hang out. I also got to see London by night one more time on the drive home and it felt like a perfect last day of vacation. 
 

All I can say about the morning we left is basically that it was really not hitting me. I kept thinking that I’m just going on another drive to see the city instead of the airport to leave the country. When it did hit me though, it was a pretty sad moment. I had fallen in love with England and all my family there. It felt like I was leaving home in a way as weird as that sounds. After a long day of flights and stopovers, I finally did get to my actual home. It feels so surreal and I’m actually pretty disoriented being here. It feels like I never left and have been gone for years at the same time. It’s a really bittersweet feeling but three weeks was long enough that I got the chance to fully enjoy my time out and it’s not completely terrible being home. I think just having a break in general has been refreshing and has rejuvenated me mentally and physically so I’m actually more energized to go back into my routine. I’m only being so positive though because I know that I’ll find one way or another to go back to England as soon as possible! :D