Free Water?

Here is a lovely little treat for all of you out there! Video recording was provided by my awesome camera stand! And now I am sure the people in my hall think I talk to myself but oh well! I am making friends...yay!!

Love from London,

Stacey

A Blast from the Past

Okay so this story is a bit old (it's like so 3 days ago!) but after careful consideration I decided that it was just too blog worthy to not post! So I was at the Victoria Center Shopping Mall in downtown Nottingham earlier last week and we were just kind of walking around getting our bearings. We were looking in all the shop windows and saw this place that was called something along the lines of Happy Feet. All we saw were a bunch of ladies sitting with their feet in these tubs of water. I was like hmmm that must be the English version of a nail salon and they are all at the soaking stage. Upon further inspection I realized that the water had things moving in it...FISH to be exact! According to an Australian girl I have met (her name is Allison) who has been to one at home, the fish swim around and attach to your feet and eat the dead skin off them. I just stood there fascinated for like 10 minutes watching the little fishes nibble away. I think that is one rite of passage that I will pass on!

So anyhoo...today was my first real European sightseeing adventure. We didn't have to adventure far though because we went to Nottingham Castle, a mere 15 minute bus ride away! We decided to meet at 11:30 to catch the Y-36 bus. Now for those of you that are not involved in my day to day life (this would be just about all of you!) you are thinking, cool, why does it matter what bus route Stacey is taking. Well, the Y-36 isn't just any old bus! It is the bus of all buses, the cream of the crop, the cherry on top of the ice cream if you will and this is because 1. it stops RIGHT outside my dorm (instead of all the other buses that stop on the complete opposite side of the giant hill in the middle of campus) and 2. it is only £1 as opposed to the £1.60 the other buses are. So we found the Y-36 stop and waited...and waited...and waited. We ended up waiting for about 35 minutes for a bus that is supposed to run every 20 but oh well, it only cost a £1 and when it pulled up it was a DOUBLE DECKER! I have never been on one of those so I was pumped to climb into my window seat on the top level and cruise away.

After reaching Nottingham in double decker fashion we got a map and started searching for the castle. Luckily we had Beck (another Australian girl) and she magically knew where to go. In England things are a bit more confusing because streets are not in a grid patter like in the US and there are no street signs, just the street name attached to the side of a building, which can be quite hard to see at times! So we found the castle, paid out £4 to enter and were off on an adventure back in time. Okay so like a lot of things in life that castle was not quite as cool as we thought it was going to be but we did get some sweet pictures and it proved to be a nice day and relatively warm (40 degrees! but it feels SO much warmer than 40 at home would!). The castle itself was quite small because the majority of it was destroyed after the English Civil War so that it could not be used as a military stronghold again. I'm going to have to do a little more reading on my own time  because the things I learned were really quite interesting!

After spending a couple hours wandering the castle we all decided we were starving and needed food! On the weekends at Uni (Rae and I have started talking British and saying "uni" but we are all awkward and American about it and say things like "I'm heading back to...uuuunniii" because we forget to say it and get tongue tied!) there is no breakfast served, just brunch and dinner but our journey started off before brunch was served so none of us had had a proper meal for the day. We decided to head to Trip to Jerusalem Inn, the oldest pub in Britain. The pub itself is partially in the giant stone that the castle sits on so a lot of the walls were stone and it was really neat. We headed in to find it quite crowded and had to find a table to fit all 7 of us (I know 6 people now, score!). We ended up squeezing into a table that was really suited for 4 (the one large table in the joint was occupied by 2 ladies having a beer...we were a bit upset about this) but we got comfy and made it work. We ordered, waited for our food, received some strange looks when we ALL asked for ketchup to go with our chips (chips are french fries, crisps are potato chips and curly fries are curly fries...what the heck?!). The food was really good (I had a burger for those of you who are wondering!) and after eating we all realized that we were genuienly full for the first time since we got to England. Now, I promise I am not starving or anything but the food has just not been that great that I want to stuff myself with it (my body is probably actually thanking me for this!). We were all lingering at the table when a group sat down next to us and one of the girls I was with got this panicked look on her face and was like we need to go. We hustled out of the restaurant with confused looks on our faces and asked what was up once outside. She said that her boyfriends ex-girlfriend had just sat down next to us. Now, this girl is from AUSTRALIA which is not exactly close to Nottingham so it was a bit of a funny series of events. 

After lunch we made it back to campus pretty easily...the Y-36 was just sitting there waiting for us this time! Except for the fact that we got off the bus a stop early and had to walk a couple blocks (live and learn!). Since we ate lunch pretty late Rae and I decided to head to dinner later than usual just to see what was there and we ended up sitting by some people on her floor and had a really good time. They were teaching us "London Slang" because one of her neighbors is from London while the other is from up north somewhere. They taught us to say have you got your p's, which means do you have your money. When we heard this we were puzzled for a minute then Rae asked...oh p's like short for pounds?! This caused the two English students to think for a second and go "hmm...I never thought of why we said that but now that I think about it, probably!". They also explained to us all of the words for fries and chips (this conversation lasted a while and resulted with a lot of exasperated noises on the American's parts) and us explaining that in the US you would never find packets of vinegar at a restaurant for your fries (chips, whatever!). I've learned that it is a lot of fun to talk to people from other countries and compare how things are different (I'm trying not to say weird because things aren't weird, they are just different. okay, well some things are just plain weird but oh well!). between our homelands. Also, as I get more comfortable in my surroundings I'm slowly figuring out how to reach out to more people in the hopes of making some more friends (I'm sure I won't have much of a problem with this once people get to see my dazzling personality!). Tomorrow is the start of my first full week of classes and there is talk of a possible trip to Liverpool this weekend?!

That's about it for my first weekend in Nottingham. (Saturday night was pretty uneventful with a movie night in a girls bedroom. We watched Heavyweights with Ben Stiller...a personal favorite from my childhood so I went to bed happy!) I'll keep you all updated on how classes go and everything! (I'm wondering if I will get points off in essays for spelling things the American way?!)

Love from London,

Stacey

Robin Hood!

Me at Nottingham Castle with Nottingham in the background.

Look! I'm Robin Hood now!

The Oldest Pub in England

Holy Potatoes

Hey guys!

So all of you have been SO great about reading my blog and asking me questions and stuff (if you every have anything you want to know about my oh so exciting daily life then just leave a comment or e-mail me and I'll write about it!) and so many people have asked me about the food here. Now when I left for England everyone warned me about the food and how bland it is. They were right but they left out one minor things...potatoes! I believe that there are potatoes somehow hidden in every meal (even breakfast on some days!). The other day for tea (dinner) we had what looked like lasagna but instead of noodles it had dun dun dun POTATOES! Good thing I love potatoes at least! Besides the massive amounts of starchy goodness that is put on my plate daily the food isn't that bad. Monday-Friday the dining hall serves breakfast and dinner and then you have money on your university id card for lunch at little cafes all over campus so I at least know that lunch will be good! Saturdays and Sundays are brunch and dinner. I just came from brunch (It's 12:30PM here and you guys aren't even up yet!). It was my first English brunch experience and it was good!! The diet has been lacking protein but today I got bacon!! Now my grandma warned me about this bacon and good thing she did because this is not your average American bacon. It has little fat through out it and is more like a slice of ham/Canadian bacon but it sure was tasty! So now that you all know about my recent dietary habits lets move on!

Thursday night was pretty low key except for the boys in my hallway being rip roaring drunk at 9 PM and congregating outside my door to chat with each other. Now before I came here someone told me that the English love to drink and the Irish live to drink. I think these English college boys must have some Irish blood because they go out EVERY NIGHT! In England, first year students (America is the only place that has names for each year so I have stopped calling myself a sophomore and just stick with 2nd year!) at university just have to pass their classes to stay enrolled, their classes don't count towards their GPA or anything so a lot of them basically do the bare minimum to pass and hence the constant going out. Well these boys had just discovered that an American girl (that's me!) was living on this floor and so they decided to just walk on in my room and say hello. I was skyping my mom at the time and so they left and they once in the hallway decided to give me a nice rendition of Stacey's Mom. While this is not the first time that this has happened in my 20 years (in high school the boy with the locker next to mine sang this to me constantly!) it was the first time it had been done in British accent haha. After they all left for the night I went to bed and slept through the whole night for the first time, go me!

Friday I just had one class so I got up, got breakfast, went running and then got dressed. Now the boys were out in the hallway again and I don't know if they realize just how thin the walls are because they started to recount everything that had happened to them the night before (an interesting night for some) and when I walked out of my room they just stopped talking and stared at me haha. Class was good, all of the professors (tutors) are really nice and want to help you out if you go up and ask them a question. Then since it was Friday basically the whole campus was going out so I decided to test the waters of the going out scene for the first time since I got here. Our group consisted of Rae and myself, 3 Australian girls, a 2 girls from New York. Quite the diverse group! I had never met the Australian girls but they were SO nice but boy can those Aussies drink! Needless to say I will never be able to keep up with them nor do I think I will ever try for the sake of my own well being! The going out scene is really different here compared to U of I because just about everyone at university can legally drink so there are bars in all of the halls that people go to before they go out because alcohol is expensive at bars. And at bars you don't have to pay cover but you do at dance clubs and sometimes is can be around $8 US! Here you also can't walk to downtown because it is a bit of a hike so a big group jams into a cab and then just splits the fare. 

While I'm glad I went out and had a good time and met some people it is still not a favorite pastime of mine. What 20 year old college girl would rather spend a Friday night curled up in her (uncomfortable but warm) bed with a book and some M&M's? Oh wait, that's me! One of the cool things that I have learned through this experience already is that people can really see if you are trying to be someone you are not and they like you more when you are being yourself. For me, this experience is not just about going to school in England and traveling (which is a definite plus!) but about growing into the person that I am meant to be and who I want to be. It's hard sometimes but last night talking to other people I realized for the first time that they are feeling all the same things that I am and this experience is so much easier knowing that you aren't alone!

Since it's Saturday I will probably take it easy today (maybe read a book?!). I think some of us may go to a store later like a Walmart for something to do! Sorry if this post was not that exciting but I think Rae and I are going to plan a weekend trip somewhere soon so you all have those adventures to look forward to! If anyone wants my address it is in my previous post and mail is always enjoyed! Miss you all at home and I'll be back before you know it!

Love from London,

Stacey

I have to go to school?!

So I forgot to put my address in my last post so here it is!

Stacey Burns

N8

Sherwood Hall

Nottingham University

University Park

Nottingham

NG7 2RA

England

(fun fact: it's only 98 cents to send a letter and the post office sells 98 cent stamps :) )

So in all my excitement for being in England I almost forgot the reason I am here in the first place...SCHOOL. (I have a feeling I may have to keep reminding myself of this over the course of the semester!) So after a crazy couple of days registering for classes I went to my first day of class (or as they call them here, modules). Yesterday I had a geography class called Earth and Environmental Dynamics. We learned about cloud and the water cycle so hopefully that is an indication that the course work won't be too intense as the semester goes on! I was all keyed in and listening to the tutor (like the American version of a TA) when he kept saying things like water freezes and 0 degrees and such. I was like "where I come from water freezes at 32 degrees...then I realized he was talking in the metric system and that all the numbers he was using were in the metric system. That will take some getting used to for sure! Since I was done with class pretty early I met up with Rae for lunch and then she said that here and an exchange student (it's so weird being referred to as an "international student"!) were going into downtown Nottingham. I decided to tag along for something to do.

We hopped on the bus (I had my money all ready in my pocket this time!) and were off. We did a little window shopping and walked around this store called Primark which is like the American Forever 21. After some shopping we went for tea. How cute is that! They gave us little tea kettles and everything...I felt SO British! We lingered over tea because it was just so darn pleasant and after a little more shopping decided to head back to school. 

After skyping with my mom she encouraged me to venture into the hallway to meet some people on my floor. A really nice girl named Kat had chatted with me a few times so I decided to go and knock on her door and see what she was up to. As I was knocking a boy walked up to me and said something. I gave him the total blank look because I had NO idea what he said! He repeated himself and I could have sworn he asked if I was brushing my teeth. I was thinking..umm clearly, I'm not! So I said no, I'm not brushing my teeth. He laughed and said no, Kat was brushing her teeth and that's why she wasn't coming to the door (we all have sinks in our room). Then he introduced himself as Josh and said where are you from. Again, another blank stare because 1. I was wearing my sorority sweatshirt...DEAD American giveaway (I mean who else would parade around with random Greek letters plastered to their clothes) and two...um have you heard my American accent?! I said America and he was like I know, I'm just kidding, I'm from Virginia. Again, another blank look because he sounded awfully British to me! He gave it a couple seconds to sink in and said he was just joking, but he was half American and his name was Josh. I told him my name and we walked into Kat's room. After a few minutes he excused himself and held out his and and said "Josh". I responded with an "I know, you just told me that!". He said "no, when I hold out my hand and say my name, you shake it and respond with yours". I was so confused by this little ritual until Kat said, "he won't remember your name, that's why he asked again!". So he repeated it a few times and left. (I ran into him today and he looked at me, pointed and said CHICAGO! haha). That was the highlight of the evening but I was happy with it because all in all it was a good day and the homesickness was at a minimum which is a nice change.

Today I had two classes. I didn't start until 11 but I decided to get up fairly early (8:45 is early for a college kid!) to catch some breakfast and go for a run before class. Little did I know when I was packing that England would be experiencing a bit of a cold snap so I only packed shorts to run in. brrr! My legs looked like they were sun burned when I got home because they were so cold but it did help me get a little view of campus! I went off to my two classes with wet hair (no hairdryer yet...oops!). My first class was American History from 1900-present. I better pass with flying colors because first, I am a history major and second, I'm an American! But it will be interesting to see a different perspective on things. My second class was geography (not my favorite but tolerable). After class I scooted over to the library to use the computer (no computer charger yet!) and was there for a couple hours because the internet was SLOW! I've found that here a lot actually. 

After the library I went to the cafe and got a latte...yum, a nice little reward to an overall pretty good day! I met up with Rae a little while later and we were going to dinner when we ran into all of the people on her floor. They introduced themselves and invited us to eat with them. It was great eating with a group of people (thus far, we have been having little dinner dates with just the two of us) and being able to just listen to conversation and contribute at times and just get a feel for things. Everyone was SO nice and it was great to meet some people that live around me! After dinner there was a meet and greet with our hall tutors (this tutor is like an RA, i've found that they use the word tutor for many things here!). We walked in and they were asked if they could offer us a glass of wine. That was interesting. I accepted and learned something...I am NOT a fan of white wine. It takes bitter and just not good! I opted for a slice of chocolate cake to occupy my hands after a few sips and was quite content with that alternative! That lasted for a couple hours and again, everyone was SO nice and it was good to meet other international students and just hear that everyone is really feeling the same way I am.

It has been a very good couple of days but I still really miss home. Today I didn't cry (well there are 2 hours left in my day but I'll count it as a win!) and that was a nice change! Day by day things seem less foreign but it still doesn't feel like home like room 5 (or room 30) at the AOII house at U of I! Pictures are coming as soon as I get my converter in the mail and have more battery power!

Keep sending the good thoughts and prayers my way! Tomorrow I'm going to try to tackle this whole figuring out what work I have to do for class thing!

Another fun fact: Tea means dinner...I was very confused when someone asked me what I had for tea yesterday. I almost responded with "tea"!

Lots and lots of love from London!

Stacey

The Little Things Matter!

Hello all! Sorry for those of you who have been checking your computer hourly for an update from me (cough cough, Kaitlin). It's been a hectic couple of days to say the least. Yesterday was one of those days when I said to myself, "dang, life is great and I'm in ENGLAND...how cool is that". Today, eh, not so much but on the roller coaster of life and of study abroad emotional mood swings you can will always end up back at the top! So anyways...yesterday we had an orientation for all of the study abroad students, I think there are around 160 of us total. Before our orientation Rae (the other girl from U of I) and I decided to go exploring. While Uni Nottingham (they call it Uni here, how British!) has about 31,000 students the campus is SO much more spread out than U of I...and seems to be one GIANT hill that you are always going up but never coming down..hmm. A girl from my floor named Kat had mentioned to me the day before that there is some building on campus that has a store in it and places to eat but darn, I couldn't remember the name of it! Rae and I were in search of some essentials that we had left at home due to not enough room in our suitcases so we were on the hunt. We somehow managed to stumble upon the Portland Building which is the student union and hub of all Uni activity. Let's just say that it puts the U of I Union to shame!! There are 2 bars in the basement, then a restaurant that you can use your meal card at on the next floor. There are also 2 stores, a bookstore, a coffee shop and stuff that I don't even know! After a rough nights sleep and feeling totally lost and foreign we were ELATED to find this! We practically started dancing right there. 

We then headed to our orientation but were early so decided to get some water with our meal cards...big mistake! Apparently our id cards were not registered with the university yet so when the nice British clerk lady scanned them they wouldn't read. This resulted in her getting on the phone for a good 5 minutes and a line building up behind us...oops! After orientation we decided to venture into Nottingham. To get there it is about a 10 minute bus ride on the public bus. We ran to catch the bus and then had to figure out the British money system as the bus driver was impatiently waiting and again a line was forming behind us (in this case us being me). I just kept dropping coins (here everything is in coin form for currency under 2 pounds) and the bus driver was like you are still 75..60..45...etc short. Finally he just exclaimed "you're still 5 short but just take your ticket and get on". Not a very friendly man! In Nottingham we successfully found the stores we needed and I got my UK cell phone (it cost about $15 so you can just imagine the quality!) and a towel to shower with. I didn't bring one because I was under the assumption I would be given one (we got sheets and everything for our beds!) but we didn't so it was a good thing I brought 3 washcloths that I could use to dry off! The town was a bit confusing because it is not a grid pattern like in the US...there are just streets everywhere but it was old and beautiful and the bus ride gave us a fun little tour of the city which is actually quite large! The only thing I forgot to look for was a converter because silly me forgot that my computer plug has 3 prongs and my converter only has 2...good thing mom has one in the mail for me already! Fun fact...there is an Edible Arrangements in Nottingham!

We found our way back to school successfully (I had my money all counted out this time!) and then went and ate dinner. Thus far the food has been a bit sketchy (I'm predicting a possible weight loss between the food and the hills?!) but at least everyone here speaks English so you can ask what you are eating. After dinner I went to a trivia night in one of the bars on campus...my team pitifully lost. (It is SO not fair to ask the question "what county is Stonehenge in?".. England has counties?!) But it was a good time and a nice ending to a day where I felt adjusted and in control of this whole foreign situation!

Today was a bit different and I will just warn you now there were tears. Today was the dreaded class registration day. Now Notts (another cute British slang word for Nottingham) does not have online registration like U of I but instead they do it the old school way that my parents had to do where you have to go to each individual department building and ask if there are spots open in a class. BOO! I got in most of my classes but there were  a lot of people around and it caused me a lot of anxiety mixed with my hanging jet lag. Some people were super helpful and others just stared at you. And I keep finding myself walking up the wrong side of the stairs here so everyone looks at me funny until I move to the left side. There was this cool thing though like Quad Day at U of I where all of the "societies" of the school gather and you can go from table to table and sign up. I signed up for the Exchange Student Society where people go on trips and hang out and stuff. After that I don't really know what happened but I came home and just started to cry. Like, really cry! Being in a foreign country where I literally know no on is tough sometimes but luckily the parents were available to talk to me (gotta love modern technology!). And it was rainy and misty out (but then again, that's how it has been everyday!) and that didn't really help lift my homesick spirits. Some people are out at a pub crawl thing tonight but after my emotional day I just decided to stay in and take it easy because I have my first class tomorrow which I'm kind of excited for!!

I've been getting to know a few people, hopefully more once classes start. There are a lot of girls from Canada here that I have run into a few times and a few Australians. I'm excited for classes to start tomorrow because it's been kind of weird being at school but not in school, I can only sit and twiddle my thumbs for so long! I think that's about it for now! Oh, and I also have my address which I will post below in case you want to send me some love in a box (or an envelope!). Thanks for everyone that has been thinking about me and praying for me...it is days like today that those are SO appreciated and I know that as time goes on I will have more days like yesterday and less ones like today, I just have to give it time! I love and miss all of you a ton! (Shout out to my rooms Kristen for getting into the Versailles program next year, you are going to have a blast, promise!)

Love from London!

Stacey

P.S. I promise to take more pictures and upload them!!

Me in the middle of campus!!

Your Money Is Too Old...

So for all of you out there wondering if I made it...I did!! The day (Saturday) started off with mom and I trying to solve the packing crisis...how to make 56 pounds of stuff fit when the weight limit is 50 pounds. Because my parents are both rock stars we managed to make everything fit. Everything that is except the rain boots and umbrella that I am beginning to think were possibly two key items on this adventure but oh well! With my things packed and loaded into the car it was off to the airport. That's when the water works started and I got a little teary eyed at the thought of leaving everyone for 4 months. The people in the security line probably thought I was a little nuts but oh well! 

I got the the gate with plenty of time and proceeded to board the plane only to discover that the airline gods blessed me not with a regular economy ticket but with an economy plus ticket (5 whole inches more of leg room, people. not that I really need it but still!). The flight wasn't full but of course I had someone sitting next to me pinning me into my beloved window seat. He was a nice English bloke but I couldn't understand a word he said, this is when the "hmmm, I thought they spoke English here" thoughts started to creep in! 1 book, 1 movie, 1 interesting airline meal, 1 can of coke, and 8 hours later we were landing at London Heathrow Airport at a ripe 7:55 AM. I gathered my bags, managed not to get in trouble when going through customs and made my way out of terminal one. Only to discover that the other girl from U of I in my program was not on my flight or anywhere to be found. I called the house to check in (yes, it was 2AM) and managed to find Rae after stumbling my way through the airport half asleep, starving, and with blisters since I neglected to take advantage of the airports free baggage cart things. 

Then we got something to eat and this is when the comedy comes in. I had traded some American money for a family friends leftover British Pounds the day before I left so I wouldn't have to worry about exchanging at the airport. I pick up my bottle of water and lemon muffin and hand the man a 20 pound bill only to have him give me a funny look and say something. My jet lagged state did not allow me to fully comprehend what he was saying and at first I thought he was saying that my bill was too big and he didn't have the change to break it. After a second of blank stares I realized not that he had said your bill is too big but your bill is too old. HUH?! Since when does money get too old to use? Being a quick thinker I pulled out my British Pounds Debit card and said he could use that since I didn't have any other pounds. He swiped it and asked for my pin...good question, I thought. Luckily I had written down the pin to my card in my notebook before I left for situations like these but my notebook was across the hall so I had to run and go get it. Lets just say I did not leave my best first impression on the British!

I finally got my money changed into "new" bills with shiny silver decal things and waited a couple hours for the bus to take me to school. In that waiting time I met a girl from Australia and a plethora of Canadians. I found my room okay and have yet to unpack. I haven't eaten a real meal yet because thus far the cafeteria food is a bit shady but maybe (hopefully) it will improve! Campus is BEAUTIFUL...very green and sprawling. My dorm is kind of like U of I but I don't have a roommate and my floor is mixed boys and girls (not sure how I feel about this yet as the boys across the hall are quite loud!). Everyone has been SO nice and welcoming so I think that good things are to come, even though it will take a couple days to adjust to everything. Tears have been shed but not totally out of sadness but from sensory overload! Skyping with the family and Kaitlin and Anna was a nice end to the day and now I'm off to unpack, read through the bundle of info the school gave me to read, and take a shower (it's been a while : / ). 

Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts people have expressed to me and the family, they are so appreciated! I'll try to take some pictures tomorrow to post. Sorry if this entry was a bit dry, there's not too much excitement coming from a day of travel but don't fret...as long as I am involved there are bound to be laughs to come!

Love from London,

Stacey

It's Almost Tomorrow!!!

Well I'm writing my first blog post...dang that's exciting! I remember talking to my mom a couple days ago about my upcoming trip and my blog came up. She said "that's what you are most excited for, isn't it?" and I just had to admit that yes, it is! I have always wanted to blog and to have fabulous things to write about and now I do! In a mere 45 hours I will have said goodbye to my friends and family and boarded the 5:51 pm  United Airlines flight to London. I told everyone at dinner tonight that I'm scared to go to bed tonight because when I wake up tomorrow I will have to answer the question of "When are you leaving" with "I'm leaving tomorrow", yikes! I'm currently packing (well not right at this very second but you get what I mean). And by packing I mean I am throwing all of the clothes and things that I think I could need in the middle of the floor of my room. The plan is to over pack and then when I realize that my whole closet will not fit in my suitcase I will take out the things I deem not as necessary (I have a feeling that is going to be a lot of stuff!). I'm currently waffling between feelings of sheer excitement and sheer terror that result in stomach aches that require me to sit on the floor in the middle of the travel aisle of Walmart (it happened, I promise, just ask mom!). I know that this opportunity is a total God thing and that God isn't throwing me into this situation to watch me sink but instead to watch me swim (thanks for that bit of encouragement, Kaitlin). But yet the idea of not being with friends or family for so long is pretty dang daunting and yet everywhere I turn there are people telling me how awesome England is and how much of a great time I am going to have. It's going to be a great experience, I just know it, and I have a feeling will look back and say to myself, "why were you so nervous!?". I should probably get back to packing because time is ticking. I'm going to try to write as often as possible to keep you all updated on my fascinating life (well at least I think it's fascinating!) Thank you to everyone who is praying for me, supporting me, and thinking about me! 

It's almost tomorrow, ahh!

Love from London (almost!:) )

This is said pile of stuff...I don't think it's all going to fit in 1 suitcase :(