End of the Beginning (Dec 17)

Well here it is. It's 7 hours till I take off from Edinburgh Airport and begin my journey home. It is sad leaving St. Andrews and friends that I have met. I am not sad though because I am sure I will stay in contact with my closer friends. My time here has been short, but it is time to get back. I am not homesick, but it just feels like its time to get back to normal life. Life is going to change drastically from what I am used to, for better and worse. But it is a new journey in itself. With my new experiences, I am prepared to take on new challenges.

Today was rough though. I had my 4th regular latin exam (4 throughout the semester) plus the final a half hour after I finished the other test. The 4th exam went well I believe. The final was tough. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be and I really have no idea how I did. But I am not thinking about that now. I am leaving so I have to take care of all that stuff, I want to see friends for the last time, and its Christmas.  Tonight I saw my newest friends maybe for the last time. It is kind of sad. Most live on the east coast or in the south, no one is really near Minnesota. Things will work out hopefully to see them sometime later in life. I would not be opposed.

My experience has sure been grand. I got to take a course on castles and see castles in the flesh. It gives my interest in medieval history and history in general a whole new outlook. It's rather exciting. I found out that I want to go abroad for grad school and study medieval history. This is not for sure, but its a definite option at this point. Throughout the term I also feel that my writing has improved. You may not be able to tell from the blog, but my essay writing has improved. It is going to be strange to walk through a town that is not old at all. St. Andrew's is over 600 years old, with cool ruins interspersed in the town. I won't be seeing that or be able to look out at the ocean from Minnesota. I am truly grateful for the opportunity that I have had to study abroad. I would definitely recommend anyone interested to have this experience. I feel that my experience has not had many obstacles which has been great. Things turned out wonderfully.  I shall miss Scotland and St. Andrews and the people here. I have grown quite fond of it, but not so much so I forget Minnesota. Minnesota is where the heart is.

I am not sure if this will be my last post or not. It depends if I feel like writing some other things. This blog was primarily used as a journal and record of my experience in Scotland. After I return, I won't be in Scotland anymore, thus my blog will most likely come to an end.  Thank you to everybody who glanced, read, or looked at pictures on my blog. It is nice to know that people to care to read up on what I was doing. I hope it was rather enjoyable, because it sure was for me.

Thanks and Farewell
Parker