Seven Days More

Today I am only one week away from my flight to Oxford! I first knew I wanted to go to England with my school when I was still in Italy. I was about to leave and I thought of how much I wanted to make it back to Europe; I was afraid it would slip away and that life would get too busy. So, I made a plan. I saw the information for this program and had a pretty good idea that I wanted to go. I knew I would want to save for the trip myself because my parents had already been so generous in paying for me to live in Italy for seven months. So, it's now been over a year since I first started planning to go. I can't believe it's only one week away. I was beginning to wonder if these moments of packing and preparing would ever come.

Earlier this morning I booked a hostel for the Lakes District. I'm going there with some friends on one of the weekends for a couple of nights. It may be the only weekend I spend away because I want to stay close and really absorb the local culture, but it's possible that I'll go to the beach once. A lot of my friends will leave the country each weekend, but after having lived in Europe and seen students do that, I know it's not for me. It's exhausting, it makes people physically ill, and it includes the sacrifice of really learning about where you are and what you came for. Since all of England is new territory for me, I am for sure staying in the country, and I think the London/Oxford area will have plenty to amuse me.

I've gotten some recommendations from a British friend of mine and from a friend who just returned from studying in London for six months. Those will be fun to follow, and there are so many things to see in London (especially as an English major)!

I wrote the fourth of five papers today, so only one more until I'm done with that whole aspect of the trip. I'll probably have to revise, but the worst will be over. I've mostly gotten the things I need for my trip but there are a few things I'm missing still. Among things to buy were several books for the plane and for any down time I have: "The Thirteenth Book", "Wicked", "Gentlemen and Players", "Cranford", and I'm currently reading "The Way the Crow Flies". It should be relaxing, and there's nothing better than vacationing with a good book.