The Official Countdown Has Begun!

The official countdown has begun! 30 days until I will be boarding a plane & heading for England! I still sometimes feel as though it's not real, and the next 30 days will go by and I will be no where near England. I shared that thought with my mom, who also studied abroad in Greece during her college career, and she told me it was not real to her until the moment she stepped on the plane... So if all of my emotions don't emerge before that, I am sure they will then.

It was tough saying goodbye to my friends when I left this semester, especially not being able to see most of them until next Fall. I thought that I would walk away being extremely sad, but it amazed me how much they all encouraged me, and made me feel so much more excited for the whole experience!

Within the last week I have received some information about my host family! I will be living with a couple in Surbiton, which is located about 11 miles from central London. Also, I will only have a 8-10 minute bus ride to Kingston! After I received the address of my host family, I immediately went to Google Earth and began scanning the area; it looked absolutely gorgeous and I was even able to see the house I will be staying in. It made me laugh when shortly after googling their address, I received an email from my host family, saying that they also had looked up my address on Google Earth and had noticed that there was quite a big difference between where I am from, and where I will be living (I am from a small town with a population of about 3,000). But I was soon comforted when they added at the end of their email, that I will also be living with their cat named Tigger! I am very excited to meet them and to see the area where I will be living for 5 months.

One of the things I am most excited for is to schedule classes! I have heard a lot about how different schooling is there and I am very interested to see it for myself! The day after I arrive I will be attending orientation and getting my class schedule. But before I get busy with studying at Kingston, I have been doing a little studying of my own here at home. I purchased these Fodor's Travel guides that had been recommended to me, and they are full of great information!

Fodor's Travel Guides to London & England!

I would recommend them to anyone traveling anywhere! They have them for just about any place you could travel to. They include everything from prices at local restaurants, to tips from locals! They have been very enjoyable and I have learned a ton of good information that I will definitely use when I am finally there!