End of Year One.

Well, it's done. My last exam is finished and I'm free as a bird, as long as I passed exams and don't have to re-sit. I spent yesterday celebrating the end of the term AND America's independence in the country that it gained it's independence from. Awkward, but it's surprising how many Americans are in the UK. There were July 4th celebrations all over London, including one at the local pub that touted "American-style favorites with a British twist." I didn't end up going there, but we did have a party with all the G&Ts, where we drank and ate barbecue (and I made buffalo chicken dip that didn't really last very long), and then set off fireworks and almost got in trouble with security...whoops.

All in all, it was a great end-of-year celebration. Taking a look back on what my expectations were last year on the 4th, I'm not sure what my feelings are. I'm sad that I'm not home and spending the holiday weekend with friends and family. I missed the firework displays that I've seen almost every year of my life. I missed being near the ocean. But I had a good time here celebrating it with friends who were having the same nostalgic feelings as I was, and glad that we were all on the same page.

So now, I've got one day off before I start my placement, at Wimbledon! I'm excited to go back and spend a couple more weeks with them. And I move into my new place this week. I ended up deciding to move in with my current flatmate J. and two friends, since one of our other friends (who was going to live with them) is going to enter the UF class of 2014 next year (woohoo! SO happy for her). After some hemming and hawing, I decided that I just couldn't turn down the opportunity to save 300 quid a month on housing. So we move in this weekend, which means that I might be able to fly home a few days early and get to spend more time with my family before I begin my pig placement in NY.

Only two more weeks until I'm back in the place I love! <3