Meeting my parents and sister in Tampa, Florida was a big sigh of relief. I had made it through four months without them successfully, the longest time I have ever spent away from the three of them. I had also academically made it through my term and finished my exams and could now relax and enjoy the holiday. I arrived to the airport to my sister (Jennie) standing at the bottom of the escalator and then met my parents a little later in our hotel’s lobby. We left the hotel the next morning to head down to a small island about 2 hours south of Tampa called Sanibel. Sanibel is attached to the Tampa Bay area by a causeway bridge but is only around 14 miles in length itself. The four of us resided in a small apartment just 200m from the seafront in a small cluster of apartments with a private beach. The island had a small town atmosphere but with plenty of outdoorsy activities to keep us entertained. After three weeks together we had all had a good old catch up and I definitely got my dose of England for the meanwhile. We said an emotional farewell, in the knowledge I wouldn’t see them for another six months and I flew on to LA while they flew back to England. LA consisted of more catching up with family, and enjoying the American culture of California which is so different from North Carolina and Florida. We enjoyed Venice beach, Santa Monica, Malibu and lots of activities with my sister (Amy’s) 9 month old son and 2 year old daughter.