6 days until Departure

Where has the semester gone???

It seems like yesterday I was signing up to take International Living/Study Abroad and the departure date for London was months and months away. Now I am 6 days exactly from departure and my packed bags are sitting in the living room, my wallet is full of British Pounds and my plane ticket and immigration letter sit on my desk. I am full of excitement, nerves and apprehension. I know it will be a once in a lifetime experience, but it is nerve wracking all the same. Going to another country for 3 weeks independently is a daunting experience. I have never been abroad and I will be gone for 3 weeks away from my family, my dogs, my fiance.... I know the experience will help me to grow as a person and I will learn to love London (I probably won't want to come home) but it is now hitting me just how nervous I am. All semester I have been so excited; planning and packing and researching. Now that I stand in the threshold of this trip, all my preparedness, research, lists and plans seems irrelevant and  so insignificant. Now it is actually hitting me that I will be living in another country for 3 weeks and traveling to Ireland and it is a bit scary. I know I will have a blast when I get there and thank goodness I am traveling with a teacher and 6 other awesome girls that I can lean on when in need. My OCD and type A personality has helped me to be very prepared and I know I am ready for the trip; 6 days full of finals, papers, a horse show, moving home and a few last minute details for the trip are all that stand between me and London now. Despite all my last minute nerves, in 6 days I will leave wide-eyed and full of excitement and ready to take on one of the greatest cities in the world. I know I can do it and it will be the experience of a lifetime.

Now that I have that off my chest, I am delving back into my studies. My day plans include a 7 page paper on Oliver Wendell Holmes... lucky me :(