Gray skies (are gonna clear up).

Today was the first semi-rainy one I've seen here, which is kind of surprising I suppose. All you ever hear is that the UK is always gray and dreary, and yet there's been an abundance of sunshine lately.

But today the weather was kind of fitting, as it reflected my mood. My mom left today. We met up in France on the way over here, and she's been close by, just exploring. But this evening, she took the Eurostar to France and will be headed back to the States tomorrow.

I met her for lunch and then we grabbed her stuff from the hotel and made our way to St. Pancras so she could catch her train.

Which meant we got to lug her suitcase up these babies again.

I tried really hard not to cry on the way back home -- I absolutely hate crying in public, and I was on the Tube, which is like extra public -- but more than a couple of tears managed to sneak out and slide down. People stared. I avoided eye contact. They kept staring. I brushed frantically at my cheeks.

It was the first time I've actually been alone here. Now, literally no one knows me. Yes, I've met people. Really nice people. But they don't know me. Not yet. So it's kind of scary, you know?

Don't get me wrong, I'm still so excited and happy to be here. And I'm still looking forward to a great year. I just had a bit of a gloomy day. But I came home and listened to this song a couple of times and skyped with one of my favorite people, so now I feel better.

And tomorrow, the forecast calls for sunshine.