One week to go!!

Hey Everyone!

Sooooo... Here we go! One week from now, I will be in a plane on my way to London Heathrow airport for the experience of a lifetime! I'm still in a complete state of disbelief, even with it being this close. I still have so much to do! I haven't started packing yet, I have a few forms that I need to fill out, and things like that, but I think I'll manage. I can tell my family is getting sad that I'm leaving, but I can't help but get more and more excited as the days go on! I can't believe it's finally here! After signing up for this program last March and counting down the days (Literally. Back in March, I counted 300 days until my departure), the time has finally come!

So I guess I should tell you all a little about my destination:

Brighton is a city with about 156,000 people (that's about 20 times the size of Sebastopol!!!), which is located on the southern coast of England, in East Sussex. It is really famous for it's piers which, from what I understand it, have a lot of cool little shops, and stands to go look at. It is also very well known for having a large gay population (leave it to me to study abroad in the gay capital of England. Typical.). I will be attending the University of Brighton, which has about 21,000 students (about 1 1/2 times the size of Chico State), and will be staying in the dorms on the Falmer campus (one of the five campuses that are part of the university).

I have a 10 and a half hour flight, which leaves on Thursday evening at 5:50 from SFO, and should be arriving at LHR at around 12:20pm London time. It'll definitely be an interesting experience, considering that I have never set foot on a plane by myself before, let alone flown internationally by myself. When I get off the plane and through customs, etc., I will be taking a 2 and a half hour bus ride to the bus station in Brighton, and then a taxi ride to my dorm, where (if I'm lucky enough to get there during regular business hours) I should be greeted by someone who will help me figure out my rooming situation. My program directors have been a huge help, giving me directions as to which bus and taxi to take, and where to go once I get there, but I am still a little nervous about the journey from the airport to my dorm in Brighton.

I am lucky enough to have been able to communicate via facebook with some of the other people that will be on my program with me! My friend Madison, who is also a theatre major at Chico, will be going too! I am so happy to have one person that I know there. Everyone else seems really nice! There are people from all over the country (and some from other countries!) who are going on this program, too! I am also incredibly fortunate to have some friends who will be studying abroad in other European countries while I'm there, so I am in the process of making plans to go see all of them and take in as much of Europe as I can! So far, my list of countries to travel to includes Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and France, but I have DEFINITELY not limited myself to that list!

I'm so excited to be going on this adventure, and I want to thank my parents for giving me this opportunity! I know it will be the experience of a lifetime, and I am so glad that I can share it with all of you, even if I won't be able to see you all until I get back! Feel free to comment on my posts and I'll try to answer you when I have time! I would love to hear from all of you!

Goodbye, all! Next time I write, I'll be on the other side of the pond!!

Bon Voyage!
~Jenn