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It's so odd that this whole year abroad thing is finally happening. It's one of the reasons I chose to do a language - I'd been looking forward to this bit for years... but then suddenly it crept up on me and BOOM it was time to leave everything behind and set off to a foreign (weird) country for a year. In typical 'Ellie' style, the weeks running up to leaving were an odd mixture of a number of emotions. Let me explain...
1) Friday 16th. SAD. Left Edinburgh/Owen. Nuff said.
2) Saturday 17th. STRESSED. Packing for a year away is hard enough as it is, let alone trying to do it with a strict 20kg limit.
3) Sunday 18th. EXCITED. 'I'm going to China for a year - that's pretty darn cooool', I think.
4) Monday 19th 6.30pm. SAD AGAIN. Tearful farewell with the family.
7pm. Excitement again. China, wooo!
9.30pm. WTF?! I've just walked past my DoS (Director of Studies at University) in Heathrow. Now for those of you that don't know him, don't get me wrong- he's a great guy. Has great banter, especially after a few glasses of wine. But he also scares me A LOT - and to be honest he's probably the last person on earth I'd want to sit next to on a long haul flight. Oh dear... He hasn't seen me by this point so I run away to hide/write about it on Facebook in the hope of getting sympathy from my classmates (who can appreciate the terror he instils in us). Instead I get teased by Freddie, who is enjoying my pain WAY too much.
We bump into each other in the queue. Oh god. After some awkward conversation we part ways for a bit and I start having nightmares about being stuck in a seat next to him for 11 hours while he tests me on my (very rusty) Mandarin and makes me repeat sentences again and again until I get the tones right. Thankfully, although he's only 2 rows or so ahead of me on the plane, we don't talk at all during the flight, so I only have to get through one more awkward conversation on arrival at HK airport before we part ways. Phew.
Currently in HK airport waiting for my flight to Qingdao. Pretty bored tbh which is why this post is SO LONG AND RAMBLING, so sorry for that - I'm sure they won't all be like this. Better head to the gate now - ciao for now!
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