Young, wild and free

While I was on exchange, I missed out on going to six of my friends 21st birthday parties. I was gone five months! And I have never realised how many of my friends were older than me until I kept declining Facebook invitations because of the geography between me and them. But this weekend I was actually in the same country and was able to attend one of my friends 21st birthday, which was a fantastic night.

Why did I bring this up, you may ask. Well, while I get ready and get worked up for the party, I like listening to certain songs to make me in the party mood. I don't do this all the time, but I knew that this particular friend wouldn't have dancing at his party, and since that is what I like doing at parties, I had to get my dancing fix before I left and feel ready to socialise and talk endlessly with the other guests. I was getting ready with one of my other friends and forced her to join me in pre-party dancing, and one of the songs that was played was Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg's 'Young, Wild and Free'.

Even thought the lyrics aren't exactly deep and meaningful, it is still a great song and encapsulates the party mood, enjoying being young and (reasonably) wild and (relatively) free. One day I should really make a playlist of "getting ready for a party" which would feature many of the songs that I had playing this Saturday because music is key to a great evening.

White Night

Last weekend was White Night. For those who are unfamiliar with what that is, it's a huge event in the city that goes from 7pm to 7am, where the streets are closed off from traffic, and there are mini stages set up across the city filled with live bands and entertainment. There are art exhibitions around various buildings, as well as buskers and performers filling every street corner. And of course, there are the light projections displayed over the main landmarks. It's a great night with an absolutely amazing atmosphere.

But I think my absolute favourite performance was the street dancers who were a group of guys taking turns break dancing, which looked incredible. They were spinning on their heads, flipping in the air, jumping different moves (I don't know terminology, but just imagine something impressive, because that's what it was).

It was also a fantastic way to welcome myself back, spending the weekend with one of my closest friends and seeing my home city at it's greatest. It made me realise how much I love being here and how nice it is being back to a place that I am familiar with and know how to get around and know where things are. People say that after you come back from exchange, it is strange returning to your home, but in terms of the city itself, it was as if I never left, because everything that surrounded me was what I have known my entire life. It's what I'm used to and it's what I've grown up knowing and it was really great to appreciate the places that I once would have taken for granted. 

7 Years

This weekend I stayed over at my friends place and while we were baking these absolutely delicious muffins, we were listening to spotify the recently released song '7 Years' by Lukas Graham came on. I hadn't heard it before, but my friend said they had become obsessed with it, so we stopped what we were doing and put all of our focus on what was being played...  

And now I have also become obsessed with it. We were discussing how we enjoy songs that tell a story, and this certainly tells one. With the bookending of the first and last verses being the same, the lyrics going through a persons' life, which is really sad, with elements of happiness. All of which are incredibly moving and producing a truly incredible song which stands out amongst others. 

The Long Return

I'm once again in Australia and I'm so jet lagged! I arrived back at 6am in the morning yesterday and after quite  a physically demanding day, last night I went to bed at 4pm, woke up briefly for dinner and then went back to sleep straight away, only to wake up at 5am today.
But back to the start of the long return journey:

On Monday, I arrived at Heathrow at 1pm and had to kill time, which I did by getting lunch (macaroni cheese and salad) while reading a book. Then walking around the shops and going into the book store and reading the blurb of almost every book in the 'top reads' section, before going to my designated gate and reading some more. In between these different 'illuminating' activities (sarcasm), I went to the bathroom, just because it is something to do.  Last year, I wrote a blog post about how much I hated airports and having to wait in transit, and because I was travelling alone, I had no one to talk to, to help make time pass faster. And I had three flights to endure.

However on the first two flights (we had the same people on the plane as the first stop was just for the plane to refuel) I was really lucky with who I was sitting with. I was sitting between these two really lovely guys and we had a great time chatting about various subjects. And they were both really buff, so that meant their arms were pressed right against me on either side. Before you go ahead and think of something really dirty, I just made this comment because that meant I was snuggled in throughout the flight, which made it a whole lot comfy-er. They also let me rest my head and sleep on their arms, which was great, so I was able to catch a couple hours of much needed rest. It's funny that even thought they were complete strangers, we were all completely okay with the close proximity and even at one point I briefly woke up and realised that my head was resting on one of the guys heads and we were actually sleeping forehead to forehead. We must've looked like such an adorable couple- just saying. Anyway, the third and final flight was with a different crowd of people, but this time I had the window seat so I tried to use the wall to sleep on.

Overall, the journey was over 24 hours and I got back at 6am on Wednesday morning, where I was greeted by my mum and dad and as a special surprise, my nonna too. I was so excited to see my nonna, that I ran right up to her and gave her a massive hug, while trying not to crush her (she's 91 years old). So, first stop was at my nonna's for a cup of tea and to drop her back home, and then it was back to my parents house, which I guess is also mine. Whenever I think of "home", I still have the visual of my flat in Guildford, so it's strange that someone else is living there now. But entering my old room, I found that I had a book case that I inherited dumped in the middle of my floor, as well as another piece of furniture, so that was the rest of my day: rearranging my room and struggling to make things fit in and having to reorganise books and various objects I have accumulated throughout my life, as well as emptying my suitcase (hence, the "physically demanding day").  No wonder I pretty much passed out when it came to 4pm. My room is still looking like a tip, so I guess that will be my next task: cleaning my room.
Whoever said that when a kid returns to their parents after a long time, and the parents give them special treatment because they are excited to see them again... is a liar! I love my parents, they are the greatest, but they are treating me as if I've never left. No extra hugs, no extra kisses, no "you don't need to dry the dishes, you go and rest".

Life on the floor

Since my accommodation contract ended, I have been living on peoples floors.

First was still at my flat, which technically wasn't mine anymore, but I spent one day and one night living on the couch. It was actually pretty great, because I had my wonderful duvet and pillows and watched netflix all day. It was a time of absolute laziness and relaxation, which I really needed because the days following the end of my exams involved going out clubbing four nights straight and the fifth night was staying up for a food and movie night until 5am (and having to wake up at 8am to start moving out of my room). You may think that is excessive partying, but I only had a few weeks left until moving back to Australia and starting back at uni for my final year.

But that day where I just lay on the couch, I watched a really good movie called 'Spike Island' which is a British film (set in Manchester!) about teens who have recorded a tape and want to go to the Spike Island concert to see The Stone Roses, and try hard to get tickets and give them the tape. It is a drama with comedic elements, with the dark themes surrounding the character's home lives. It also had the actors who play Finn and Chop in 'My Mad Fat Diary' in the film.


Second was in Edinburgh, where I stayed in the room of my oldest and dearest friend who goes to university there. I had a really comfy mattress on the floor with a cosy sleeping bag, which was great. Plus, it meant that I got to hang out with my amazing friend for a couple of week, who I hadn't seen in ages (due to the geography of her and I). There are separate blog posts about my time in Edinburgh.

Third was back in Guildford, where I have been staying with my friends in their flat. We pushed two couches together and covered it with blankets and cushions and have created a type of fort for ourselves. It has been super comfy and each night is like a sleepover party, with three of us camping out on the couches and watching movies all day and chatting and enjoying each others company before I leave the UK. I'm going to miss these guys so much because we've all been like each others family for the past five months and they have become some of my closest and loved friends and I'm so lucky to have met these amazing people.
It was my last day today (Happy Valentine's day by the way) and I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my last weekend before the long flight back to Australia. I've had the best time over the last five months and it's so sad to go, but I promise to come back.

Sound of Silence

Change of plan: originally I was going to leave Edinburgh today and head back down to Guildford, but because I have completely, utterly and wholeheartedly fallen in love with the city, I've decided to extend my stay until Friday.

That has nothing to do with Music Monday, so leading on to today's post... 'The Sound of Silence'

This morning, I don't know which of us started it first, but my friend (who I've been staying with for the passed week) or it could have been me, was humming 'The Sound of Silence' by Simon & Garfunkel. But somehow, for no particular reason, we both had this song stuck in our heads for the entire day. It's a strange song choice, considering I am having a wonderful time in Edinburgh and absolutely loving spending time with my dearest friend, because this song is really sad and depressing. I can even say that it's probably one of the most depressing songs of all time, with lyrics featuring phrases like:

Hello darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again

and

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone

as well as

But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence

But because I'm addicted to sad, dark songs, I really love these lyrics. They are poetic and with the addition of instrumentals, it just captures the whole sense of loneliness and disconnection (which is the complete opposite to what I'm feeling right now- being happy and feeling so at home in Edinburgh). But the harmonies of these two singers is gorgeously beautiful.

UK trips #10- Stirling

While I was in Edinburgh, I went on a day trip to Stirling with a few people I made friends with while I was there. It was a rainy day, but that didn't stop us from having a great time walking around (my feet did get soaked). I had heard of Stirling before, knowing that Stirling silver is a thing, but other than that, I had no idea what was there or even where it was. Well, now I know that it is in Scotland and that there is a castle as well as a long interesting history.
Unfortunately we missed entry into the castle, as they closed just when we arrived, so instead we walked around the base, which meant we were walking through an old cemetery. Because it was on a hill, we had great views of the town and the surrounding mountains, with the rain making everything look mysterious.

For days in the lead up of our visit to Stirling, I kept on being told about how good the milkshakes are there, so my friends and I walked for ages across the town to find this milkshake place. By the time we found it, it was dark, still raining, but the milkshakes were definitely nice and thick. I had the vanilla flavour, and I know lots of people see this as the boring, unadventurous flavour, but I'm one of those people who genuinely loves the taste of vanilla and consider it one of my favourite ice-cream flavours- it's a classic.

We didn't get the opportunity to explore much of the old city centre, because it was raining and it was dark for the majority of our visit because we left Edinburgh a bit too late in the day, but we also walked near the Wallace Monument, which is located on a hill nearby. It was built with gothic-revival architecture, which made it look like a haunted tower in the dark, but it is there to acknowledge the Scottish hero, William Wallace. Once again, we couldn't go up to explore because it had already closed for the day, but we still were able to admire it from the bottom of the hill before heading back to Edinburgh. Many people may think that my friends and my touristic visit to Stirling was pretty unsuccessful with missing all the main attractions, but I still think today was a success and lots of fun. 

UK trips #9- Edinburgh

Sorry for not writing for a while, but I've been spending this week with one of my absolute favourite people in the universe. This is not an exaggeration, because I've been friends with her since we were born, with our dad's being best friends from uni and despite a lot of the time, living geographically far apart from each other, she is my closest and most treasured (un-blood related) sister who I love to bits. Now she is living in Edinburgh, and now that my exams are finished for the semester at Surrey, it was the perfect opportunity to catch the train up and stay with her and explore the most beautiful city in the world.

I visited Edinburgh when I was twelve years old with my parents when we did a big European holiday. It was the first place we visited and I instantly fell in love with the city and remember saying that I wanted to live there. Almost nine years later, I am once again utterly, completely and madly in love with Edinburgh and it's like I'm twelve all over again and thinking "I want to live here." There is something magical about the place, so it's no wonder JK Rowling found inspiration and wrote Harry Potter here. The buildings all look like small castles, plus there is the castle on the rocky cliff, Arthur's seat and other mountains surrounding the city centre. The alleyways are cobbled and the stores are filled with cute cafes, restaurants, food stores and vintage stores. And another thing that is wonderful about the city is that it isn't big and daunting and you can walk everywhere. Over the past few days, I have walked around exploring the different streets and I'm not even joking, but with each step, I just love the place even more. This probably sounds crazy, but it's as if Edinburgh is my true home, it just suits me so much and I'm seeing it in the middle of winter, which means it's cold and extremely windy and rainy, but that doesn't affect how much I love it. It's insane how much I have acclimatised to the British weather (I think 10 degrees is a warm day).

Some of the places I've seen the past few days have been Carlton Hill, which has a beautiful view of the city; The Royal Mile; Princess Street; the Grass Market (which is a street square and not a literal grass market); climbed Scott's Memorial; went to the Scottish National Museum. Just walking around and going into shops and exploring. Also, since I've gotten here, I've tried deep fried mars bars, which are really nice, as well as Scottish tablets, which is sort of like a sugary fudge thing, and my friend and I are going to try haggis one night too, which I'm really interested in tasting.

I've been welcomed into my friends friendship group, and even though I haven't known them for that long, I already feel like I belong. We all went out last night together and have have been getting dinner together every night, and it's as if I've known them for years, which just makes my visit even more of an incredible experience as well as making me even more determined to come back to Edinburgh soon.