I just returned from the UK where I studied at the University of Kent for three months last fall. It's been thre months since I've been back in the US, and I miss England every day. To give you some reasons of why I miss it so much, here are my top five.

5. Mannerisms/Culture

When I first arrived in Canterbury, following a very long journey via airplane and coach, I unpacked in my tiny dorm room, then went down the massive hill (soon to be the bane of my existence) to see a friend who had studied abroad in the US at my university the year before. At her house, we ordered British Dominos (far superior to American Dominos) and watched "The Great British Baking Show" (or simply "Bake-Off") and the series premiere of "Doctor Who!" It was that evening that one of my friend's housemates told me that all British citizens had a direct line to the Queen simply by dialing 1 on the telephones. Perhaps because I was jet-lagged and exhausted and perhaps because he looked so serious when he said it, I fully believed him. That was my introduction to British humor and British culture (more than just what they show you in the movies). The photo above is a picture of "Bake Off" as I watched it on a big screen in a classroom on campus after being sorted into Slytherin by the Hogwarts Society (yes, we had a HOGWARTS SOCIETY!) By the way, we all knew Nadia deserved to win "Bake Off" and we are all SOOOO glad she did!

4. Public Transportation

Originally from Texas, the whole idea of public transportation has always been a bit foreign to me, but since moving to Massachusetts for school, I had some relative idea as to what it was and how it worked. However, when I went to England, the Uni(versity) buses cost quite a bit of money, but traveling anywhere in England was much easier than even trying to travel from Western Massachusetts to Boston and, ultimately, The National Express is far cheaper than Peter Pan. I ended up in London just about every two days by the end of the term because I was traveling so much and it was so easy. We could learn from the Brits how to have affordable, accessible transportation.

3. Freedom

Definitely one of the most missed parts of studying abroad is the amount of freedom I had. I had classes three days a week and no job to deal with. I could hang out with friends, travel, watch loads of British Netflix, go to the pub, whatever I wanted. I did not have to answer to anybody for the first time in years. I performed spoken word poetry all over England and in Ireland, made more new friends than I can count, and had some really great memories. All of this was because I had the freedom of not being bogged down with endless meetings, papers, classes, research, etc. I could spend those three months being as adventurous as my comfort zone would let me.

2. History

Of course, the places themselves that I visited had so much history and were magical in that regard. To be able to see Canterbury Cathedral outside my window, to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the University of Kent at Canterbury and to be surrounded by history were all priceless experiences. Walking the cobbled streets of Canterbury and seeing the shops and the sites never became commonplace to me, but were always extraordinary occurrences. When I traveled to Stratford-upon-Avon (aka Shakespeare's Birthplace), I was in awe the entire time with how beautiful and historic everything there was. The picture above is Anne Hathaway's cottage in Stratford-upon-Avon, which was SUPER far out of the main city and I walked the 40 minutes there, arriving two minutes before they were supposed to close down for the day. Thankfully, they took pity on a poor American tourist and let me look around and take pictures for half an hour! I am pretty sure I kept mouthing "oh my god oh my god oh my god" the whole time I was there.

1. Friends

Finally, the friends I made while abroad will always be in my heart, no matter how far apart we are. From the Tuesday night pub crawls to poetry slams to bumping into each other heading to Essentials to accidental meetings for performance events, I never realized how many friends I had made until I held a going-away party and close to 30 people showed up. I had no earthly idea how many friends I had made in a short period of time, especially with traveling and so forth. The pictures cannot capture all of the memories, and I had over 1,000 pictures. For my friends, I hope to see you again soon.

For those wanting to go abroad, it is an unforgettable experience. Don't miss your chance to make friends from around the globe and celebrate the history of this fine planet.