Time to leave...

I am almost officially ready to leave London. My bags are packed with the exception of a few minor things. The trip has been wonderful and I have had a great opportunity to experience so many new places and cultures. I have also gotten the opportunity to meet some amazing people that I am really sad to be leaving now and I hope that I will see them again. I have had the opportunity to experience everything for the first time with these people and I have memories and pictures that will last a lifetime.

Scotland

So the past couple of weeks that I have not been updating the blog have been a little crazy. Last weekend I went to Edinburgh, Scotland and it was beautiful. I think that I liked the countryside more than I liked the city. From the hostel where we stayed we could see the ocean from the downstairs patio. We also found this little restaurant that was about a fifteen minute walk from the hostel that had to be one of the most scenic routes that we could have possibly taken. There were eight people that I knew from the study abroad group that shared this one private room and it was only ten pounds a night.

When we got back to London it was another Lauren's birthday and we had to go and celebrate that on Sunday and Monday. Neither of which were late nights but I think after the cold weather in Scotland I should have slept the whole time. I have been a little under the weather for the past couple of days and I am trying to fight through this little cold that I have developed. I am getting better and will be much better soon!

Happy 4th of July from London

Yesterday was the 4th of July and everyone on the trip was upset that they could not be at home to celebrate with everyone. I would just like for everyone to know that the Brits also like to celebrate with us.

Reviews

The past two days have been awesome. Last night I went and saw Peter Pan with a group of 23 other people that I knew somehow and it was wonderful. I was a little upset that they could not actually make them fly but that is alright. When we walked into a building that looked like a tent I was a little upset but it was great. There was a screen that fully circled the top of the building and it used effects that made it look pretty convincing that they were flying. There were also a lot of trap doors in the stage so the characters would just disappear off the stage. It was a pretty good representation I thought.

Today we went to the Globe theater and I would say that is something that everyone should do but I think that everyone should buy the seats and not the floor tickets. Three hours is a long time to stand up. It is this building that everyone is familiar with and when you are in there it is like you are a part of history I guess. I think that might be my favorite part of the trip so far. The actors were so interactive that I am not sure that I could have been more involved if I were in the play.

Peter Pan

Tonight is the night that we get to experience the magic of Peter Pan at Kensington gardens and I think there are about thirty girls from the trip going. That could get pretty interesting. Tomorrow I am going on a field trip with one of my classes to go and see the tower of London and that will be the second time this week that I have seen it but it is pretty fun so I don't mind. After the tower, we get to go and stand at The Globe and watch Romeo & Juliet. We will be standing for three hours unfortunatly but it will be worth it. I also heard that it will be raining but considering the heat that has been here and the fact that none of the buildings have air conditioning, I think that it will be a nice change of pace.

Paris!

I just got back to London from Paris and I am exhausted! We were there from Friday to Sunday and tried to pack as much into that time as possible and we saw just about everything. We saw the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Jim Morrison's grave, did a boat tour, bus tour, and best of all the Lourve! It was phenomenal but my camera died halfway through and I forgot a charger so I will have to get some pictures from someone else too.

We also took some time out to eat some of the best food that I could have ever imagined! Everything there was good and most of the people spoke English which was a lifesaver. The trip was great and I will try to keep everyone more updated!

Real London

Ok so maybe I didn't land the plane but that was a real picture from the real plane that we flew in on. I thought that it was a great experience and super fun. I think that it was a great way to start the trip off.

Since we got here we have been taking little tours of the city and we have seen A LOT so far. Tomorrow we are taking a trip to some castles and I will keep you posted on how that goes. We went to some local spots last night and tonight we ended up in the Soho district and that is an experience. There were all kinds of people there and it was packed the whole way through. It is way more fun than the places directly around where we are staying but the places near us are great too.

I will keep you posted on future events.

Arriving

I got to land the plane when we were pulling in to the airport! Ain't that something?

Leaving on a jet plane!

So it is official that I am leaving today. I am trying to finish some last minute things and then Grandma is taking me to the airport! Woo!

If there is one thing that I have been told, it is that I must take a lot of pictures and I promise that I will. I will try to not be my usual self and carry my camera around and not use it but I will seriously take pictures.

My flight leaves at 9:15 PM so I will not be answering any calls after that so if you want to get in touch with me you should do it before then. The flight is somewhere between 5 and 15 hours from what I have heard and I understand that is a big difference but I don't know when I will be able to get the word out that I have landed.

Soon you will all have some fabulous pictures (hopefully) from me!

loose ends

The big day of departure is only two days away! I have started packing all of the stuff that I will need and trying to figure out what I can leave. There are some last minute errands that I need to run before I head out and I will hopefully be able to get all of those out of the way today.

Some people seem concerned about my idea of not having a phone while I am over there and I might get one. I had my phone unlocked so I might buy a SIM card there and have it just in case of emergencies. There was also a mention of Skype earlier so if anyone knows about that please let me know what you think.

Happy belated birthday Mom!!! Sorry it took me too long to post it on here.

Time to start packing?

So this weekend there was no countdown on my email and I almost forgot that I was leaving soon. Thank goodness that it resumed this morning because I might have otherwise missed the plane. Now that the trip is getting closer they are getting filled with other things that are way more interesting than the countdown. Mom sent me this website that made it possible for me to do yoga while I am on the plane and also a website that lets you pop bubble wrap while you are on the computer. I know, I know, virtual bubble wrap popping doesn't sound all that fun but is right until you get to the end and you can't get all of them to pop because there is air flowing from one bubble to the next one just like in real life!!

I am really excited about the trip overall though. I think that it will be a great experience and I am sure that I am going to have a lot of fun. Now that I know that the plane ride will be fun too, there is nothing to worry about...except the packing? How early are you supposed to start packing for a five week trip? I feel certain that everything that I am going to need while I am over there is something that I am going to need while I am here. Well if anyone has helpful advice for me it will be much appreciated. Thank you and goodnight.

Old and New Concerns

I signed up for this trip around October of last year with my biggest concern being weather or not I could find someone that would be able to watch my dog for 5 whole weeks. I feel like that is kind of a big commitment for someone even if he is a really low maintenance dog. Now, I have people fighting about who will be able to take care of him and I have become more concerned with whether or not everyone will get enough time with him. While some people will tell you that he is spoiled, I just say that he is loved.

Everyone that knows about the trip is doing what they can to help me which I really appreciate. It means a lot that people are concerned about what is going on and also what my plans will be while I am there. I have been told that I need to keep up with my blog so that people can keep tabs and not worry about me and I will certainly try hard. I plan to take full advantage of the trip and make the best of it because it is a great opportunity. I hope to be able to tell everyone what they want to know and show them pictures and have detailed descriptions of all the things that they want to see.

I feel like as it gets closer to the time to leave people start talking about it a lot more. I don't worry about things until people keep asking me about them and then my worrying begins but I know that I will have a fabulous trip. I am really excited and I hope that I am able to keep everyone in the know with everything that is going on while I am there. It will be a 15 hour plane ride with no layover and I will not be communicating during that time but I will try to post something as soon as I get there.

Just in case I don't say it enough, I appreciate that everyone is being so supportive and that you are all just as excited as I am about the trip!

Some Specifics

Everyone has been asking me some of the same questions about the trip and I think that I should just go ahead and answer them here.

I am going to be staying at University College of London and I will be right in the middle of the city.

Sources (Mom) tell me that Google Earth identifies it as a real landmark so it has to be right. For anyone that is familiar with London, I am told that it is about five minutes from the British Museum which is apparently an excellent location for a study abroad.

Everyone that is going on the trip is going to be staying in the dorms at the school and they are suite style so I will have my own space but I will have to share a bathroom with everyone. The room that they showed a picture of at the orientation looked a little less than warm but it has a desk, book shelf and it's own window.

I am leaving June 18 and coming back July 24 and I understand that is prime time to tour London. The weather is supposed to be in the mid to high sixties during that time and that is when they are supposed to have the best weather of the year and it still doesn't sound like it will be very good weather.

They are also supplying a trip to Paris at no extra cost and a tour of the Louvre while we are there. That will be on June 26-28 I think. I am pretty sure that the first actual weekend we are there we are going to do a scavenger hunt in the city to familiarize ourselves. The third weekend I will possibly be going to Dublin, Ireland because there is a group of Kennesaw kids that are all going together. I might just decide to cut costs and that I would like to stay and take in all that is London.

A little preparation insight

So today I ran some of the errands for the trip that I have been saying that I am going to run and just now got around to them. Not surprisingly, I picked the hottest and muggiest day of the year to do them and the air conditioning in my car apparently boycotts days like today. Fortunately, I was smart enough to not straighten my hair but rather to put a lot of product in it, scrunch it up and hope that I don't look like I stuck my wet fingers into the socket. But anyway, I went to Target for the second time and got more of Allie's errands done than my own. (They did not have the power converter that I need but they did have Allie's eye makeup remover.)

After all of the fun at target I got to go to Best Buy, and that company can definitely take far more of an advantage of the ignorant first time travelers than you might expect. I spent 45 minutes roaming around the store like I was an expert bird watcher trying to find a new species. Some nice employee finally saw the pure confusion in my face and asked me if I needed help. Of course he led me over to the bottom shelf in the far corner of the last row to a little area of six very similar items ranging from $14 to $40. He handed me the first one that only cost about $20 and then I had four in my hand that just kept going up in price...then he told me that my laptop would blow up if I used anything less than the best so to be safe I had better buy the $40 one. I mean hey, those people that live in Europe that told me which one to get never mentioned anything about a laptop so it was a justified purchase.

Eleven days ago I went to orientation for the study abroad and got some homework that they strongly suggested that I do before I get to London. I have read from the book everyday...it has been the same page but we're focused on progress not perfection. I feel that the importance of doing the work grow everyday because I have 31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25... days to get it done. Thanks Mom. This ominous countdown could not be more helpful.

The best part about the anticipation of going on the trip is that I am not worried about being there in an unfamiliar area. I am about taking pictures or posting to this blog enough so that everyone else is not worried about me.

Beginnings

I am just beginning to feel like this trip abroad is actually going to happen. I have only about 23 days left and a lot to do to get ready and with everyone telling me different things about London I have no idea what to pack and where to find things that I need. I am fortunate enough to be able to talk to people and get information about what I will need and apparently I am going to need a rain coat.

Typical conversation between me and stranger:
Stranger: What do you do?
Me: I'm a student at Kennesaw.
Stranger: Oh yeah? That is a great school. Are you taking summer classes?
Me: Actually I am doing a study abroad in London.
Stranger: That's great! You'll love it...but it sure does rain a lot. :(
Me: Well I guess I will just melt and not get to enjoy that wonderful city...

The great thing is that just about everyone that I talk to have been there before and/or know someone that lives there now. I know that I have gotten more information/business cards than I know what to do with. It's great though because I pretty much know every place that I should and should not visit.

Hopefully people don't worry about me too much while I am gone because I may just opt out of getting a phone while I am there just so that I don't have to worry about paying the fees for it.