The End Of An Era

Today I boarded a plane and left the UK after spending the last two years living and working there. Its hard to believe it has been two years almost to the day since I first arrived in London. I've come such a long way since then.
It took me forever and a day to find a job and I was starting to think I would have to return to Canada a failure but I found a job and am proud to say this adventure has been a success. My original goal was to visit a minimum of one country per month before returning to Canada and I landed in my 22nd country just a few hours ago and will be visiting 5 more countries that I have never been to before I go home to visit in a few weeks.
I have made some amazing friends who I will miss very much. I never thought I would be sad to leave Blackpool, the miserable seaside town I have called home for the last year and a half, but I found myself fighting back tears a few times as I said goodbye to my coworkers and housemates. I was happy to finish work, and leave the dreary town but leaving friends behind is always hard to do.
I spent my last few days in the UK in London and they were evidence of how much has changed since that first freezing cold morning in December 2010. When I first arrived in London I had never taken any form of public transportation by myself and had no idea what I was doing. I took wrong train after wrong train and it took me over 6 hours to find my hostel. I can now navigate the tube and most underground systems with confidence and ease. Although I still dread doing so with luggage in tow.
I moved here without a plan and it was terrifying and there were times I felt like giving up and running home with my tail between my legs but I am glad I stuck it out because it has been a wonderful opportunity. If I could do it all again there are definitely some things I would do differently but I would still have made the trip. I have learned a lot over the past two years and am looking forward to applying that knowledge to my future travels.
I had planned on writing a more in depth and heartfelt post but it is a beautiful sunny day here in the terrifying city of Marrakech and exploring has distracted me from my thoughts. Sorry boys and girls, I will try to focus when writing the next post!