Fellow Brits, friends and acquaintances.

Back on the green shores of the home land! I have spent a rather lovely two weeks in good old England, appreciating being able to eavesdrop on conversations and understand almost 100% of what's being said; talk to people in shops without being terrified I won't understand the response, and, of course, the wonderful art of British queueing! Had also almost forgotten the unavoidable reflex to apologise for everything that happens, even if the situation is completely and utterly not your fault (my friend Megan apologised for having a knife thrown at her in a restaurant. Yes, really).

With only a fortnight in the country, after spending Christmas with the family, I resolved to spend as much time catching up with people as humanly possible. This was made possible by the lack of revision (no Uni exams in January! Woo!), and the rather pleasant amount of money I have gained from actually working abroad, rather than volunteering or such like (we'll see how it is in a few month's time...). It's been rather strange seeing people again, as it's basically been about 6 months since I've been around to talk to, and quite a lot can happen in half a year. With some people, it was a bit weird - the gradual introduction of the  'So, what are you doing now?' question, as people my own age have actually started growing up and getting jobs and things (scary stuff). With others, it's been like I barely went away - we just slipped into the same comfortable conversation that we had before, and will hopefully enjoy for years to come. It's been lovely, and made me really appreciate the importance of being able to see friends and family, particularly as the next time I'll see many of them will be June at the earliest (not even considering what would happen if I decided to move abroad permanently at some point!!). I also feel a bit better about leaving Germany at the end of February (which I know is going to be hard), as I know that some people will always stay my friends, even if I don't see them for a very long time. See you, suckers!