Classes start tomorrow! How did that happen? I have noticed from my blogs that I have an absolute lack of time awareness. I am able to keep up with assignments and errands due to my never-ending lists, but I lose track of time very easily – especially during vacations. The last few weeks have been pretty crazy. I haven’t managed to do everything I wanted to before classes started, but I got quite a bit done. I don’t remember if I mentioned this before, but I have been getting a little more into videography recently. It’s been interesting (and by interesting I mean difficult) to balance photography and filming. There just doesn’t seem to be enough time for both! And now that classes are starting tomorrow… I guess we will see what happens. Here is a link to a vlog I made of my trip to Edinburgh, though. You can tell I am still learning how to use the camera and editing software, but I am very pleased with the results. Also, here are my pictures from the trips to Dublin and Derry I took back in December. I hadn’t been able to edit them because I got so sick around that time, but it is always interesting going back and looking through ‘old’ pictures!
Something I have been dealing with for the last week is storage space in my computer. My photos and videos take up a lot of space, and I ran out of storage space in my computer within about 5 months of serious use (I’ve had this computer for over a year, but it did not become my main one until the end of the summer). I found out that Outlook offers 1TB free storage in OneDrive to those with student accounts, so I have slowly been uploading all my files into the cloud. It’s been a slow process, and it will probably take me at least a few more weeks to get caught up, but I wouldn’t be able to use my computer otherwise. I am not sure what I will do at the end of the year when my QUB account is closed, but I will cross that bridge when I get to it.
Another thing you might be interested in hearing about is what a year abroad is like. You know I have been very lucky to travel a lot while I have been here, and my time abroad has more than exceeded my expectations (and I had high expectations). However, there are two things that have been very present in my mind, especially within the last two weeks or so, and I think you should also consider them if you are thinking of studying abroad. One of these things is the political climate in the United States. I am slightly glad that I don’t have to live it in person, but more than anything I am restless to do something about it. It’s strange seeing my country go through so many changes and not being able to truly get involved. I need to figure that out soon. The second thing is missing my first-semester friends. I haven’t really felt homesick during my time abroad, not unless you count the week I spent in the hospital when all I wanted was my family with me, but for months I have been dreading the departure of my friends at the end of the first semester. See, I think this might be a common problem when you study abroad for a full year. Although I didn’t do it on purpose, I ended up friending mostly international students, and although not all of them left, the majority of them did. It is a very weird feeling. I am hoping it goes away soon, and that I make more friends quickly, but I also just want them to come back. I’m not really sure what to think anymore.
Until next time…