<24 hours

Oh hey,

Apparently I'm flying home in less than 24 hours. I'm mostly packed, but I plan on waking up early to clean up my room a bit and take out the trash. Which means I should probably go to sleep now.

But I really want to find out who won The Apprentice UK...

<24 hours

I have finished packing. It actually wasn't too bad. In fact, I'm not bringing a whole lot of stuff; I only have one large suitcase of clothing, a smaller suitcase of stuff (including peanut butter <3), a duffel bag for Week 1/potential luggage loss, and a backpack for my electronics and documents.

Today I went to NYC and bought a gift for my homestay family: a NYC snow globe depicting King Kong terrorizing the city and a baseball key chain. There were a few snow globes to choose from, with varying degrees of NYC loyalty and patriotism. I went with the King Kong one because I thought it was the most special, while still being appropriate in case my homestay family is anti-American. I also bought a baseball keychain because baseball's pretty American and "I <3 NYC" was written on it. Gotta have the "I <3 NYC" merch.

I'm spending my final 24 hours at home not really doing anything. I think I will try to finish the book I've been reading (How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. "Like you need any help with that!" you may jest). As for the bigger picture, I'm feeling pretty excited about spending a couple days in London meeting other American students in the study abroad program and just taking in the sights! As for the even bigger picture, I'm pretty optimistic about how the overall study abroad experience will turn out. I'll definitely be trying new things and, whether good or bad will come of it, I will be glad, regardless, for having the opportunity to see what's out there in the rest of the world. Corny, but true.

And now I will peace out. My flight isn't until 6:25pm tomorrow, so feel free to call me if you want to chat. I will sincerely miss every one of you. If you would like to stay in touch with me (outside of this blog), just ask me for my contact information (I even have Skype!).

Good bye and see you in London!

2 Days

I actually don't have anything important to write; I'm just pinging the blogosphere.

I will say that my Eurail pass arrived at my permanent residence a couple days ago. At least I'm ready for Spring Break lols.

I haven't really started packing. I've only packed one bag so far, the bag that I will be living out of for the first week. I'll get to the other bags tomorrow. I made a list of stuff to pack, and it's not too bad. Today, I even found out that bedding will be provided by my university, so that takes off a couple items on my list. Booya!

Sorry for the lameness. Expect a panicky packing post tomorrow, or Sunday morning...

9 Days

John and I just bought our Eurail Global Passes for the legen-(wait for it)-dary spring break trip across Europe. Oh yes, the reality of Europe is totally hitting me with full force.

Today I was supposed to make a list of things to pack. The day's almost over and I don't have a list yet. However, as far as electronics go, I think I'll only be bringing two that rely on outlet power (laptop and hairdryer), which feels like an accomplishment. Is it?

As for the gift for my host family, I will be venturing into NYC next weekend. I've received tips from a couple friends (Thanks Sweta and Gus!) that non-US people seem to go gaga over "I <3 NY" merch, so I'll probably shop along those lines. Of course, ideas are still welcome, as I still have a week before I go to the 212.

10 days

Hey everyone, I'm still alive and have not crumbled from crippling fear. Over the past few days I've grown more confident and less scared about living abroad for a handful of months. Europe! Yay the feeling of going to a foreign land (a foreign land in the western world, but still a foreign land) is washing over me so I'm actually more excited than scared. Also, Natalie gave me a really cute Paddington Bear for Christmas which is preparing me culturally hehe (I've been watching some Paddington Bear cartoons on Youtube).

Also, I got my housing information today. Apparently I'll be living in an off-campus self-catered dormitory in the Fallowfield Campus of Manchester. Everything about it seems great except for the off-campus aspect of it; a quick querying of Google Maps tells me it's roughly a 30 minute walk to the academic campus. It is along a really convenient bus route, so I'll deal. I guess I've been spoiled by the convenience of Morewood Gardens back at CMU. Haha. Some good things about the Fallowfield location, though, is a 5 minute walk to Sainsbury's, which is a supermarket, and plenty of social places like bars, shopping, etc. Should be a fun time.

There's still some stuff I need to do.

1. PACK! Lots and lots of packing. The challenge is fitting everything I need into 2 checked bags (note to self: call British Airways to make sure I'm allowed 2 pieces of checked baggage), a backpack, and a carry-on.
2. Buy a voltage converter for my laptop.
   
3. Buy a gift for my host family. After the Arcadia orientation, I will be spending 2-3 nights with a British family, "homestay," to get a more immersive experience of British life. I will be bringing a gift that is reflective of my "home." I could bring something that's uniquely American (but what? High cholestrol? Ok just kidding.) or something unique to my region (the Jersey shore? the NY metropolitan area?). I can't really think of anything special, maybe saltwater taffy or something nifty made out of seashells, I really don't know. If you have any ideas, feel free to share them with me.

That's all I really have to say for now. Tootles!

Two weeks

Two weeks until I leave for England.

I'm scared.