1 Week Left

I have 1 week left in London, less than a week in fact as it is 10:40 on Friday night and my flight leaves at 12:50 next Friday afternoon. I still plan on writing about the adventures I had over here since I never got around to publishing them before I left. After all I will be having surgery about 10 days after I return to remove the dermoid cyst that was most likely causing my pain last month so I will have to do some recovering from that surgery -- what a perfect time to reminisce and blog!

But before I do make it home I'm not sure how I feel about leaving. I'm excited to go home and see my friends and family -- the ones I saw two weeks ago and the ones I have not seen in almost 3 months. I'm even more excited to see my boyfriend after such a long time apart.

There is the thought in the back of my mind though that I may never make it back here again. I may not ever get on a 24 bus and ride on the upper deck from Mansfield Road to Torrington Place. I may never walk to Belsize Park to take the Northern line to Tottenham Court Road, change for the Central line and take it to Oxford Circus. Any city I live in for the rest of my life will not have as much history as this one, nor nearly as many people (which I am definitely okay with.) Camden Town will not longer be an option for Friday nights with its blazing street signs and teeming markets. Pubs will be a novelty of the past and dearly missed.

I love London. While I may not have enjoyed every minute of it, this is a city unlike any US city and someplace I may never return to.

I do not know how to react. Is this saying goodbye forever? Is it a possible "see you later" to an entire city and possibly even an entire country? (I did love dearly other parts of the country as well as London) Will I ever see many of the people I had life changing experiences with? I don't know. Thankfully I am friends with most of them on facebook, and already have plans to keep in touch with the people I became the closest with. Not many people back home have had an experience like this and will be able to relate. I'll definitely need my closest friends from London at those times.

I guess this week I will spend as much time as I can soaking up London for what it is.

I don't know if this is goodbye forever.

London you will be missed.