A little diversion to the side...

(A small diversion from my Study Abroad "Day Journals"...)
Time is flying by, slipping away from my fingers, fading by way too quickly.

Strange how these thoughts came up when I am sitting right now in a coffee shop (that has become my favorite since day 1 here in Cardiff) and doing some work. I am reading an article by Stuart Hall on cultural representation and race...the meaning of differences and all the theories behind them. It's quite interesting and something that interests me very much (that's why I am a communication major). Throughout his article, Hall mentions Roland Barthes a lot - which is continuously reminding me of my internship over the summer at the ICI.

I miss interning at the ICI a lot.  It was such an amazing experience of cultural analysis, discussions that would get my brain flowing like none other. I met such great people.

I'm struggling to make a decision about staying here for an entire year or leave as planned in December after just one semester abroad. Whenever I am meeting new people or hanging out with some people whom I've become very fond of in such a short amount of time, I really wish I can stay for a whole year and get the full-on experience of student life at Cardiff. This struck me especially when I was looking into the different ministries that CU runs yesterday (yeah, I'm not there in my "day journals" yet...I'll get there eventually) - there are things that I would have started this semester but would never be able to see how it ends.

I received an email from a friend back in Penn with some mischievous(?) happenings of our group of friends that got me wishing I could be there and here simultaneously. Then, I felt: "that's where I belong." They've become my home at Penn. But I've started to establish a home here too. Walking down the street and hearing, "Hi Ellie!" from a new friend (everyone calls me Ellie here...I started introducing myself as this pet name at first because Alisha and my names were so similar that people got confused, then I realized that Ellie is much easier to pronounce...now it's just gotten stuck) makes me feel like I am home here too.

Where was I going with this entry...?

Oh yeah. Time is flying by. I don't like it one bit. Life has become all about readjusting...adjusting from LA to Penn, from Penn back to LA, from LA now to Cardiff - and in the future, whenever I decide to be back, from Cardiff to Penn. It's so weird how I'm already forgetting what Penn is like as university life here has overwhelmed my so-called "college experience".

One thing remains firm though, whether I decide to stay here for a year or leave after this semester: studying abroad was the best decision I ever made in College, along with joining APO.

:)