I could end this blog post there as that is potentially the most accurate description I have written for this blog, but it's 9 degrees outside and I'm feeling nostalgic so I'm gonna ramble away.
As I said before, I didn't even think about packing until the day before my flight. Chaos ensued. To distract my mind from the horrible thought that I was taking apart my little home, I watched Elf. Five times. Somehow over four months I managed to obtain a lot more sh#@ than expected- I'm like a sponge. Between shoving my belongings in either my suitcase, a box, or the trash, my friend Craig came to keep me company during my dramatic packing state. It's amazing how much the company of someone who is completely separated from your stressed thoughts can calm you down. It will always be so high on my list of things I'm grateful for.
After managing surprisingly well, I took a break from packing to get dinner with my closest friend in Edinburgh- Rico. I met Rico on my flight from Heathrow to Edinburgh, she was in the seat next to me and I said I'd liked her glasses. We chatted the whole way, she's from China studying in Edinburgh for a year to get her masters. When we landed we dropped our stuff in our separate flats and met up for dinner at a Malaysian restaurant. So, to be embarrassingly corny, we got dinner at the same place on that last night. Despite my lack of appetite, it was a lovely meal that her flatmates joined us for, complete with laughs and gifts and reminiscing.
Back to packing, Craig returned and helped me take out the trash, clean, and make 3 trips taking my luggage/unwanted belongings from my flat to Rico's. It was surprisingly devastating to leave my freezing, crappy flat all empty as if I was never there, but I had to remember that I was, and that it was good to me. Once all my stuff was at Rico's, I had to say another heartbreaking goodbye to a great friend, Craig. At this point, it was about 12:30 AM- Rico and Monica had a flight to Heathrow at 7AM that I was going to try to get on (mine was at 9), and then they both were off to Mexico from there for the holidays. This meant that we had a taxi coming to get us at 4 AM. Cry. Since Rico was going to be up all night packing, I got to steal her bed for a whole 2 hours! I remember feeling so grateful to have a warm place to sleep, surrounded by excited people awaiting another adventure as I said goodbye to my own, thinking about all the lovely souls that held me close even knowing I'd be gone in a few months. What was once going to be a horrifically sad night alone turned into one of my favorite nights in Edinburgh, feeling more loved and lucky than I could remember. I chatted to friends awaiting my arrival at home, read a letter from a friend I had to leave, talked on the phone to another friend who had already left, and slept a very short, but beautiful dream for that final night in my favorite city.
