Reunions and Goodbyes...Bye Bye Sunderland!

I have not posted on here in a while- sorry about that! I have been so busy the last couple of weeks with last assignments, exams, goodbye dinners/parties and organising my departure from my beloved Sunderland!

Since my last post, one of the coolest things that happened was my trip to London to see my cousin Ben! It is a funny story actually... for those of you that have been reading my blog since I started it, you might remember my post from July when I was in Whistler, Canada...if not, here is the link:

http://darlinginpolka-dots.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/day-24-run-through-whistler.html 

Anyway, in this post, I talked about my cousin asking me to meet up with a girl called Maddie, that he used to date when he lived in the UK. I met up with her for a few beers and dinner, and found out that she was living in Whistler and that she had a new boyfriend. I didn't know, but after I left Whistler, she and Ben started talking again and have since got back together! Ben messaged me while I was in France and we organised to meet up in London! So a few weeks later- that is exactly what we did!

Philippe decided to come with me, which I am so happy about, because we had such a nice weekend and it was cool for him to meet a member of my family (one of my favourite family members, to be precise!) plus some of my friends.

So good to see this cousin of mine! Always a good time, but even more so in London! We drank at the pub
he used to work at when he lived here... we had a VERY fun night!

It was also very cool to see Maddie! We got along instantly when I was in Canada, and it was
the same feeling when I saw her again this time! She is coming to Australia to live soon, so I am excited to
go and visit her in Melbourne!

....aaaand, like many drunken nights, this is how this one ended up!
It was such a fun reunion- I was so happy to see Benny and Maddie, and I was even happier that they could
meet Philippe! The four of us had the best night...I only hope it will happen again some day..

The next day, I was pretty hung over. Philippe and I stayed in a hostel and were drinking water from the sink all night... until the sun came up and revealed the 'WATER NOT FOR DRINKING' sign...so I think the massive amounts of unsanitary water didn't help the way I was feeling... so we basically had a very lazy day nursing our sore heads and having a yummy breakfast. Later on, we went to meet Laura for an early dinner at Tower Bridge.

We had a very picturesque dinner overlooking the bridge. It was so lovely to see Laura again- I wish I had a photo!

After dinner, Philippe and I went to Covent Garden and had a few drinks...it was so nice to just relax and talk to him in a fancy pub for hours- it will always be one of my favourite memories...

The next day we had to check out of our hostel. So we took all our bags to Hyde Park and watched the squirrels while drinking a coffee, which was also very lovely considering London gave us nice weather for the whole weekend. Later on we went to Laura's house (where we were staying for the last night) and Laura and Kate cooked a late lunch for us and a couple of other girls- Philippe was the only boy, but I am sure he enjoyed our feminine conversations- especially the naughty ones!

When I got back to Sunderland after London, I realised I only had a week left! The entire week was full of saying goodbye to friends as they left one by one. Saying goodbye is always surprising to me- I never really know if  I am going to cry or not. Sometimes I cry really unexpectedly, and other times I don't- it is completely unpredictable!
A few days before Sina and Mascha left, Sina gave me the photos from her camera- she has been like a paparazzi since the very beginning of the semester- so she had over 700 photos from all the different nights out we had. It was so fun to look through them- so many good memories... so I thought I would pick my favourite ones for my last Sunderland blog post, and these are the ones that made the cut:

Our first night out at Lola's! This was the first big night out that Beth and I had, and it was also the
first night we met Sina and Mascha! Us girls plus Lasse, Patrick and Adam stayed out until Lola's closed...
it was my first taste of what my student life in Sunderland was going to consist of!

Our first PiggyBank experience! We were amazed and pleased by the 50pence drinks!
This is also from back when I could afford to keep my hair looking nice...haha!

PiggyBank- Myself, Sina and Lasse

Sascha, myself and Beth gettin' lowwwww... actually wait, Beth is blowing bubbles!

This is from one of many the Mojito nights at our apartment...

Mojito night! Beth, myself and Mascha

Mojito night- this is the first time I ever met Philippe! 

Mojito nights were also followed by some big nights out on the town! I think this is
at the Cooper Rose pub...

So many good nights out with these girls!

Derby Day was a time to remember...or NOT remember in my drunken case!
Still, when Sunderland won and the pubs exploded in celebrations, I felt
like I was really getting a taste of UK culture!

Watching the game! Beth, myself, Mascha and Sina

This is the night before halloween- at the international student party. Sina, myself, Patrick and Antje

HALLOWEEN! This was probably my favourite night of the whole semester...or it at least provided the best photos!
I loved doing everyones makeup! 

Me doing Sascha's makeup

Girlies! Rose over there to the left, then myself, Sina and Mascha with our half-skull faces!

Our Halloween crew! 

Me and my Twin!

I love this photo!

Beth and I...we were supposed to paint opposite sides of our faces...but my blondness confused me and we ended
up with the same sides painted...oh well!

The international event! Another one of my favourite nights! It was so nice
to get dressed up for a night!

Philippe :)

I may have had a few drinks by this stage...

..and then Josh copied my moves!

Beth and I requested 'Land Down-Under' and when it played we thought it would be a great idea
to dance on the stage. Patrick also joined us in our patriotism...

BETH'S BIRTHDAY! Joel and Beth :)

Lovely ladies

Another Mojito night!

Drinking our favourite beer!

Another big night out!

Matt and Sina :)

And another night at PiggyBank... I guess the cheap drinks kept us coming!

Christmas Mojito party! A nice photo of Antje, Beth, Sascha and Mascha
with some of the decorations!

naughty...

...and nice!

Of course there were MANY photos from our girly night in Newcastle... these are
the more 'appropriate' ones!

Clearly I was enjoying the night!

Cute!

The last night out in Sunderland! Cassandra, Beth, myself and Mascha

Philippe, Patrick, Cassandra and Ruben

Myself and Patrick- the first person I ever met on this exchange! 

Lasse and I 

Our last night out was really fun, but also an emotional one. It is hard to have a really good time when you know that a goodbye is near and inevitable... but we all managed to do it!

The past couple of weeks have been full of goodbyes, and they have all been very hard to deal with. When Sina and Mascha left a few days ago, I was a complete wreck. Saying goodbye to them and watching them get on a train was very hard, but I know I will see them again soon. Then, a couple of days later, it was finally my turn to say goodbye to Sunderland. My last day was a sunny one, and Philippe and I had lunch at the Glass Centre. Then the few people that were left had dinner with Beth and I at the Pub because we were both leaving that night. Once again, it was hard to be very good company when I knew that my time in Sunderland was quickly running out... as was my time with the friends that were left, and with Philippe. I wont write about what it was like to say goodbye to him... but I will say that I will miss him very much. I will miss all my lovely friends, and I will miss Sunderland too. This exchange has been the best thing I have done in life so far, and it has changed me for the better. I have made some gorgeous friends and also learnt how to say goodbye to them. I think the most important thing is that this exchange has taught me how to like myself. This is due to all the people I met here, and for this I am eternally grateful!

Some goodbyes were harder than others...but I am glad I have memories
like this to smile about!

Sunderland has been a great place to live, study, party, make friends and explore. I will miss going for runs along the river and to the beach, as well as around the parks and gardens hidden throughout the town. I will miss all the pubs, clubs...and late night pizza shops! I will miss the friendly locals and even the University! I had the time of my life there, and it is a place that I will always remember with a smile.

Bye Bye Sunderland!