End of an Era
This week marked my last days in Cambridge, at least for this calendar year. The time has flown!
Monday marked Rebecca’s last day in Cambridge and after a hotpot dinner, a large group gathered at the Prince Regent to bid her adieu. Dom quickly realized that she still had some wine in her locker so we moved the party to the Judge lobby. I found some Cobra beers in Emily’s locker too. We spent an hour or so talking about the past year. Our highs, our lows, and most memorable moments. Rebecca went around and told us all the memories she has of meeting each of us for the first time. Then we played some 20 questions to try to guess what name we had on our sticky note. I was challenged to open a beer with another beer. This engineer struggled a bit with that one…overall this was such a special night. There was just something about reflecting on the year in the building that brought us all together. As Rebecca would say, it’s a core memory. Luckily I will be seeing Rebecca in a few short weeks in NYC, but it was still bittersweet to say goodbye. Rebecca became one of my dearest friends over the course of this year, from workouts to all our trips together, her friendship has been a highlight for sure.
On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to travel to the Harwell Space Campus outside of Oxford. It was very interesting to see which companies are operating in that area and see firsthand the growth in the UK sector. That evening went to see the Book of Mormon with Brandon. Hilarious to watch it with him.
I woke up on Wednesday and finished packing up my room. Met with Hadeel for one last lunch at Queens’ dining hall. Queens’ dining hall has kept me, and several other MBAs, going for the past year. The salad bar was definitely a highlight, it’s unbelievably difficult to get a salad in Cambridge. That evening I had dinner with Taylor and Ian. I had the chance to meet Taylor in DC in March of 2022 while there for a work conference. When I first got to Cambridge, I met up with Taylor and Ian dinner and drinks. The two of them have played such important roles in this year for me. So excited for them to get to stay in the UK!
On Thursday morning, Brandon and I hopped on a train to Glasgow, and 6 hours later we were there! We walked around during the afternoon exploring the University of Glasgow and stumbled upon a band or two practicing. Brandon was surprised by my ability to hear a bagpipe from a long way away. To be fair, I’ve had a lot of training. We met up with Jacob and Holly for a quick drink with some of the Alumni Band. We were ravenous so we left and found Scottish Mexican food for dinner, it did the trick. My favourite part had to be the croffle that we got for dessert, although I could’ve used a different waiter. Hadeel and Jasreen joined us after dinner!
Friday took us to Edinburgh where we picked up Jimmy in the morning. We started at the castle which was sold out for the day, and then walked down the Royal Mile. It’s Fringe in Edinburgh right now so there were street performers everywhere! I think the consensus was that the best (most unique at least) one was the squeaky guy. It was surprisingly chilly outside so we all picked a tartan and got some scarves to keep us warm for the evening activity. We were able to go to two free stand up performances at Fringe - one was a little more unhinged than the other, but we all enjoyed some laughs. Holly, Dominique, Harsh, and Hadeel all hit Edinburgh around dinner time. Once again it was a mess to try to find a spot to eat but we were able to get into a Thai restaurant, thank goodness.
Then it was the main event of the night. The Tattoo! After years of performing at the Scottish Festival at the Compaq and Toyota Centers, it was incredibly exciting to see the Tattoo. It was nothing like what I expected and surpassed my expectations at the same time. I had a smile on my face the whole time and was impressed with each country's performance, even the USA’s (although the Americans were convinced that wasn’t the USA…). We trained back and had McDonald’s waiting for us when we got back to the Airbnb.
Saturday meant it was time for the World Pipe Band Championship. I was able to introduce my new friends to some of my oldest friends. We watched the STE Alumni Band perform. While we were on the Green, Jasreen noticed the Malaysian flag. Turns out Malaysia had a band competing and we were able to go see them compete! They were quite good and it made me so happy that this unique little world reaches all corners of the world. I also unexpectedly ran into a fellow Humanity and Hope volunteer! Annie and I met in Denver many years ago and bonded over our love for space and our heart for the community in Honduras. She was studying at the University of Edinburgh (I almost went there too) so it was quite kismet to run into each other in Glasgow at the end of our programs! The Cambridge crew left after the afternoon medley and I stayed behind to hang with the STE crew and wait for the results. The B Band with the school placed 1st in drumming and 5th overall, and the Alumni Band placed 14th overall. Afterward, I rejoined the Cam Crew for dinner at a delicious Indian restaurant. Where we outlined a whole movie about ghosts. Coming to no theaters anytime soon.
We checked out on Sunday and rented some cars to go exploring. We hit up the Kelpies first, Dom was adamant that these were worth the journey and I’d say they were. Very impressive. There was also a dog convention going on there. At first we thought we were going a little crazy cause we were only seeing one breed of dog everywhere we turned. Afterwards we mad our way to Stirling to visit the Wallace Monument, the nostalgia was HIGH at this point. We made one more quick stop at Bridge of Allan and then drove back to Glasgow to catch our flights. I had to say see you later to Brandon and Jasreen at the airport as they were staying in Scotland a bit longer. Bittersweet to say goodbye but it is easier knowing that these folks will be in my life for a long time. The rest of us flew back to Stansted and when we landed quickly learned that there were no trains running from the airport. We ended up having to take a bus to Bishop Stortford and from there, Hadeel and I could catch a train to Cambridge, and Dom, Jimmy, and Harsh could catch one to London. It was going to be a wait at Bishop so we walked to Pepe’s for a little late-night snack. Dom was super excited to eat at Pepe’s as a vegetarian. Pepe’s has a great reputation for vegetarian food.
This trip was really special for a lot of reasons. I grew up listening to bagpipe music and dancing competitively at various Highland Games around the US. After 13 years of that, I had the chance to go to Scotland on a school trip. The band boys competed, and us gals danced. It was the summer after graduating from high school. There were three of us girls who were seniors and had just graduated. I remember the feeling of knowing that everything was about to change. I had known most of these people since Kindergarten and parting ways after 13 years was going to be weird. It was difficult to fathom what life would look like in college and beyond.
It’s been 13 years since that Scotland trip.
I find myself in a very similar life stage once again. I know where I'm going and what I am doing, at least until the end of the calendar year. But beyond December, I haven't a clue where life is going to take me. If you had asked me in 2010 if the next 13 years of life were going to look like this, I would have said there's no way.
It is funny how the saying 'the more things change, the more they stay the same' has held true in my life. The difference is that at the end of my first Scotland in 2010, I was scared and afraid of the change. 13 years later, at the end of my second Scotland trip, I feel ready to tackle the inevitable changes that come my way. Hopefully, it doesn't take me another 13 years to visit Scotland, but in case it does, I am excited to see what life brings in those years.
In a lot of ways this trip felt like a full-circle moment, but it was made more special because I was able to share it with my new friends. While it felt very vulnerable to merge these two worlds, there really is nothing more that I love than 'forcing' my friends from different life chapters to be friends. It was nice to see the old and the new mix, and mix well.
While we were in Edinburgh, I saw the sign Where do we go from here? in one of the buildings. Man, talk about timing. Life is in flux and the constant question is what is next. Who knows? Where do we go from here? The one thing that I do know, is that we have an incredible network of friends all over the world who will be along for the journey - and that has made this whole year more than worth it.
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