My month in review - February

It’s insane how quickly this month has passed by. I honestly don’t know where the time went. It’s like one minute I was saying an emotional goodbye to the UK and the next it was march and we’re looking at the start of Spring and preparations for my study abroad this autumn.

Oh well, let’s just start at the cliffhanger of last month. So, we we're stranded in this little town. Or more specifically, we were sleeping in a hotel in the even smaller town next to the tiny town where we got stranded. On the 1st of February we woke up and went downstairs to consult our lovely hosts about what to do next. I’d already booked a train ticked to Brighton as it was unclear how long it would take for us to get the car back. Fortunately, the guy running the hotel was kind enough to drop us off at the train station, so before long we were on our way again.

In Brighton we checked into the Airbnb that we’d originally booked for two nights. The guy who rented it out was so nice, just like all the other people we’d met along the way. He even offered to let us stay another night as compensation if we hadn’t had to catch the boat back. The apartment was equally lovely. It was very spacious and bright and it had these huge windows overlooking a sort of square. So cosy!

We were pretty exhausted but there was no time to waste so we quickly went out to explore Brighton. We went to the beach where it was foggy and cold but oh so beautiful. I am in love with the beach and for some reason I like it even more when it’s not actually beach weather. Maybe because it’s so quiet and endless. We also explored the city centre for a bit, got coffee and donuts and did some shopping. Finally, we were too exhausted to go on and I was already getting crabby so we decided to go back to the apartment to freshen up and then go out for dinner and a last night out.

We ended up going to Carluccio’s which is a really nice Italian restaurant and they have the best risotto. After dinner we were looking for a pub but it was raining a lot so we ended up ducking into this tiny cocktail bar. In the end that was a good call because the drinks were amazing, the bartender so good and the whole thing was just perfect.

Finally, the next day we grabbed our bags, had breakfast and then took the train back, got out car and started making our way to the boat. And that was it for my UK adventure. It’s weird to end it now. I remember writing my last diary entry that took place in the UK and just putting it off because I didn’t want it to be gone.

Being back was pretty great as well though. That first weekend we went out for dinner with the entire family and after that I moved all my stuff back to my room in Rotterdam and met up with all my friends over there. Over that entire week I had almost zero time to myself. One of my friends stayed over, we went out with a big group and finally by the end of the week I went back to my sister to spend the weekend there.

The next couple of weeks were pretty uneventful. I went back to school and started settling into that rhythm again; doing very little most of the time while thinking about all the work I was putting off. Finally, right before the last weekend of February I had a bit of an accident. It’d been a good week. I’d been really on top of my school stuff and I was feeling really good about that, so I thought I might as well power through and get a work-out done as well.

Only right after I’d started jogging my ankle decided to give out. I rolled over the outside of my foot and it hurt a lot but usually that kind of pain kind of disappears so I walked for a bit and finally got impatient and started running again. Only, this time it didn’t fade. It got worse instead, so I went home and during the evening it just kept getting worse. After an hour I was properly limping and another hour later I couldn’t put any weight on it anymore. By the time I went to bed each movement hurt and I was terrified of having broken my foot.

Fortunately, it wasn’t that bad. My sister picked me up in Rotterdam the next day as I couldn’t walk at all so taking the train was out of the question. Saturday we were supposed to help my oldest sister move so I spent the day limping around trying not to get in anyone’s way as I was mostly useless. After that, it slowly started getting better though. Saturday night I was able to limp again and by Tuesday I could almost walk normally again.

This was also the week of my spring break, so there was a lot of fun things happening. After helping my sister move we went out for cocktails at the one cocktail bar our small town has to offer. The service was crap but the cocktails tasted great so altogether it was a pretty good night. Sunday we went out for dinner at an Italian restaurant where my brother in law found a screw in his food and the waiter most likely didn’t believe him. Finally, Tuesday, the last day of February I went to this spa pool with my sister. We spent the day eating loads of delicious food and just hanging out in the various pools and bubble baths.

A good end to a very strange month. Looking back on it things weren’t so bad but I know that February had a lot of ups and downs for me. It was the month I left behind so many good memories and had to get back into my old life again. Still, by the end of it I got to a point where I was starting to be okay with being home again and I feel like March is onwards and upwards from there. So, I can’t wait to tell you about March. See you soon!