Deadlines and Dorm Rooms: Cambridge: Heading Home

Well, I’m sitting on a plane on my way back from Cambridge, home after two more months of study abroad, this time in the UK. Time has gone by so fast, and it’s time for some final reflections before I log off until the fall semester starts in a couple of weeks. First, though, I have a few more adventures to report.

I had planned to see the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival’s Midsummer Night’s Dream before Berlin, but it was rained out, so I ended up going on Wednesday. It still sprinkled, but it was very good, and certainly better than it had been in the middle of the worst downpour we’ve had all summer. I also went punting with friends on Friday (by which I mean a couple of them punted and I sat in the boat) as well as going to a performance of Much Ado About Nothing, which was excellent and did full justice to the comedy aspect of things.

In addition, I went to London for a day trip with a friend on Thursday. This time, I took the time to stand in line for an hour to go into the Sherlock Holmes museum at 221B Baker Street, which was tiny but I think worth it, and then we wandered through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens and took some pictures before rushing back to sit down just in time to catch Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theater, where it originated (they had large discounts for this particular performance). The music was stupendous – not a word I use often – especially for someone who both enjoys epic music in general, and has read the book in question.

As soon as the curtain went down we rushed back to the train station and Cambridge, which thankfully arrived back in Cambridge soon enough that we could change and take pictures before the final Formal Hall. And after the formal hall my friends here gave me an informal birthday celebration, which included a luxurious chocolate cake. It’s been a busy week - silly me, to think I was going to rest when I finished finals.

But now, on to final thoughts, not only about Cambridge, but about my six months of study abroad this year. Cambridge has been wonderful – not only for the substantial conversations, deepened philosophies, and budding friendships that have made it such an enjoyable haven for me, but for all the opportunities I’ve had to travel, tour, and learn. Of course, I’m looking forward to coming back to the States, to one-stop general store shopping, single-sex showers, scarcity of spiders, and the social stigma of cigarettes. (I promise I didn’t mean that sentence to alliterate as much as it did.)

Studying abroad has definitely taught me a great deal. It’s made me more independent, for one thing; I can go on international trips by myself with few worries, catching buses, planes, trains, and taxis as needed, navigating in several different languages, and getting my to-do lists done. I’ve also had the chance to slow down a little because of the reduced extra-curricular and study commitments; for the first time in my college career, I’ve had a lot of time for independent study, touring, relaxing, and hanging out with friends. I’ve had some of the best times in my academic career in Israel and Cambridge.

I’ve had a great time traveling and touring and learning, but I’ve also been inspired – or rather, my inspiration is getting its second wind, if you’ll excuse whatever multi-lingual mixed metaphor that is. (Maybe I just alliterate when I’m tired?) I was always suspicious of people or organizations who claimed to ‘change the world’. In one sense, the world is always changing, whether you do anything about it or not. In another sense, human nature is not going to change, and Star Trek’s idea that science could somehow jumpstart an altruistic utopia is painfully naïve.

All the same, I want to make an impact on the world. I don’t particularly want success or fame or power for their own sake – or at least I’d like to think I don’t. Perhaps it’s better expressed, I don’t want to be successful or famous or powerful for its own sake, but I want to be able to get things done and influence people for the better and succeed in doing those things, and the latter might entail the former, if that makes sense. I don’t know what lies ahead as I start my third year of college, but I hope I’ll make it count and live up to my potential.

And with that, I’m done with my sleep-deprived self-analysis, and I wish you all a good end of summer and back-to-school season until I start posting for the fall semester. See you then!

Pictures: Okay, we made it to North Carolina, so I have time to update now! Thank you to the friends who took my picture!

At the Sherlock Holmes Museum: