in the lovely London area. I am getting more excited as the days fly by, bringing my departure date closer and closer. On the evening of June 21st, I will give eight hours of my life to Delta and make my way across the Atlantic to experience a bit of Europe, to take in the sights that bring my British Literature studies to life. Sure beats the heck out of taking the same class in Macon.

I’ll be traveling with a few hundred other students from universities all over Georgia, as a participant in the study abroad program, based in Valdosta State University. I have a jam-packed schedule full of field trips, pub time, a few guided tours, free time, weekends in both Paris and Scotland, and class twice a week.

The extent of my previous international travel includes only Canada and Mexico, which hardly count, because they’re attached, so Europe will be entirely new to me and even more of an adventure. I’ll be staying at the University of Westminster, in my own room with a sweet private bath, sharing a kitchen with five other students. I am looking forward to meeting new people and seeing these places that looked so lovely on the posters covering the painted cement block walls of Ms. Coble’s 12th grade Brit Lit classroom. After arriving in England, I’ll begin my expedition with a guided sightseeing tour of London, followed by a walking tour to become familiar with the campus I will call home, and the surrounding town called Harrow. Our campus has its own stop for the Underground, and plenty of pubs and markets within easy walking distance. The following day will bring us to Stonehenge and then Salisbury, and after a night of rest and hopefully the last of the jet-lag battle, classes and field trips will begin. My class field trips include the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, the Globe Theater, Canterbury, the British Museum, coffee houses, and the Johnson House. I’m also looking forward to the awesome public transportation in between — subways still excite me, and I’m told the Underground is a great system. I have the pleasure of visiting both my cousin, Dwayne, a longtime London native, and one of my closest friends, Felicia, a current London native until she returns to Texas for college.

This vegetarian cannot wait to taste a banger, and it better be good after all the hoopla from my honey. I think I’ll be in paradise, with the variety of new foods, the pace of life, the culture, the attitudes, and the sights — hopefully the characteristic overcast skies won’t affect my jolliness, as they sometimes do here. I guess I could call this summer journey my extended bachelorette party, but I’m going to miss my sweet J. like crazy. I have no doubt he and I return to Europe again, and it will be an entirely new experience when we take it in together.

P.S. I’ll miss my family, too! (Never know when they might pop by the website)