"So if you really love Christmas, come on and let it snow"-Billy Mack

I always get mad when my friends don’t update their blogs for weeks and weeks, but now I suppose I am just as guilty.

The holidays have long since been upon us here in London, but now it has gotten very official. Oxford Street is all lit up, the crowds are worse than ever, and there is quite a nip in the air. One British Christmas tradition that I was previously unaware of is German Christmas Markets. There are a few really cool ones scattered around London, and even my inner Grinch cannot stop me from loving them. They are so fun! I have been to the Cologne one along the bank, and the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. The latter is much bigger, complete with rides and far more stalls, but both were a ton of fun.
The entrance at Hyde Park
The markets are very enthusiastically German, so right by the entrance at Hyde Park is this giant moose head that sings Christmas songs in German. Creepy, no?
There is always lots of German food and sweets, but I stuck with my beloved crepes.

Some friends and I with the Santa statue at the Winter Wonderland

The whole group of us inside a giant snow globe. (you had to pay for the pictures, so we all chipped in and my friend scanned the image. It's not the best quality but its still really cute!)


It is crazy to think I am almost halfway done with my year abroad. My goal was to see 10 shows before I went home for the Holidays, and so far I am at 9 (after seeing The Lion King this past week, which was ok). I would love to see Les Miserables or Billy Elliot again but we are going to try to get tickets for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (with James Earl Jones!) if we can.

I will be home from December 19th-January 8th. I cannot wait to go home!!! I have been feeling very homesick lately, and it is hard to be in a foreign country for so long, where you don’t really know anyone. In my organizational psychology class we learned about the stages of Culture Shock (which is actually a very serious phenomenon people go through when they relocate, despite its often trivial use in popular culture), and most people who go abroad experience a very difficult time adjusting, especially if they are planning to stay for an extended period of time (so students who go abroad for a semester have a much easier time adjusting than those going for 2 semesters or more). That is quite comforting, but it still doesn’t make things easier. I miss my family and my friends, and I have never felt so patriotic in my life. Also, I just realized I will be home for the last night of Hannukah, when the menorahs are all fully lit, and its really beautiful. I’m excited!

(extra points to whoever knows where the quote in the title comes from!)

"Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind."- Mary Ellen Chase

I preface this post with this: I am in the midst of writing a huge, boring paper that counts for 40% of my grade, so I am a bit cranky. So if that comes across in the writing, forgive me.

Christmas is big in London. I suppose since there is no Thanksgiving and Halloween is a much less significant thing here (rendering only a shelf or two in the grocery store), there is little else to make Autumn/early winter festive, but seriously, nobody needs to hear Christmas music in mid-October. And the window displays lose their splendor if they do not change for 3 months.

I admit it: I’m a Grinch. I grew up with Hannukah, and those “8 Crazy Nights” Adam Sandler sings of? Not so crazy. The first night is fun and the last night is nice when the whole menorah is all lit up, but between those two nights it’s just underwhelming. Even in my hometown of Mini-Jerusalem, we were bombarded with Christmas stuff and constant reminders that Santa would not be shimmying down our chimneys anytime soon.

But my friends here are determined to be the Cindy Lou to my Grinch and get me in the spirit of things (which I will consent to only now that it is November- again, nobody needs the Christmas spirit before Halloween). So on Saturday morning we decided to go to go to the Christmas Parade at Harrod’s. The parade is a big deal- they shut down Knightsbridge and there’s lot of dancers and people, until, at last Father Christmas arrives and is greeted by Mohamed Al Fayed, the owner of Harrod’s, who leads Father Christmas into the Christmas Grotto, where he stays, meeting children (who have tickets- there is none of this line-up-and-wait-three-hours business here like there is in the States) until Christmas.

I, being brilliant, decide not to check the service announcements for the tube ahead of time, thinking the Piccadilly line is never down. So of course, when I get to the tube, I learn it’s running on a very delayed service. Delightful. So I was very late getting to Harrod’s, unlike my friends who were early enough to get the good spots. There was a huge crowd preventing me from getting over to them, so I had to go to the front of the store (less desirable) and look like the 20-year-old loser who doesn’t have any friends or kids to watch the parade with.

In honor of the 70th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz movie, Harrod’s has gone all Oz-themed for the holidays, which somehow benefits the Great Ormand Street Children’s Hospital, though I’m not sure how. The windows are actually really cool, but my spot for the parade just happened to be directly in front of the window that was blasting the commercial for the “70th Anniversary Collector’s Item DVD” on a continuous loop. For an hour. I can now recite it from memory. On the other side of my head was a baby who screamed the entire time. Such a fun morning for me.

But even a Grinch can appreciate a good parade, and it was really nice. Nowhere near as good as the Macy’s Day Parade, but it was still fun. I took lots of pictures:

Window Displays (above and below)




Emerald City Dancers
Dancing and hissing witches
The Tinman
Dancing Dorothys
London's version of the Rockettes (but not nearly as good)
Really cute little boys. Some of them were really good at doing the Tin-Men walk, others not so much. They wished us a "Happy Christmas".
The band who led the parade


The Yellow Brick Road is lined with Burberry Handbags :-)


Father Christmas!

After the parade, I found my friends, who took pictures of us covered in the fake snow- as soon as I get them I'll post them here.

"For happiness is anyone and anything at all, that's loved by you"-Charlie Brown

My weekend is not off to such a great start, but I spoke to one of my best friends from home last night and she made me feel so much better, and I looked at some pictures of my family, and that made me happy. But then I started feeling really homesick as a result (moral of the story? My friends from home and my family need to be less wonderful so I will miss them less). So to cheer myself up I am making a list of things in London that make me happy.

1. Parks: There are so many parks here (apparently about 30% of London is parks), and they are all well maintained. And I love that there is a park by my flat that will only let adults in if accompanied by a child. There’s even a gate monitor to make sure no childless adults sneak in. Even though I can’t go in, I think it’s great that there is such a park, especially because it is so close to a major children’s hospital, so very often I will see children from the hospital going there with their families, and that always makes me smile.
2. The Markets: I absolutely adore going to markets. There are the giant ones that are always packed but have lots of cool stuff, like Portobello Road and Camden Market, but then there are lots of smaller markets that have great stuff and there is usually a crepe station. And nothing cheers me up like a crepe.

3. Chicken korma: England loves Indian food, and I have learned it is not hard to cook. I have successfully made chicken korma and it was delicious! I am very proud of myself.

4. Milky Bars: There is an abundance of white chocolate in London, and Milky Bars are just like Hershey Bars, except that they are made with white chocolate so I can eat them! (And they come in 2 types, one of which is only 116 calories).

5. Babysitting: I miss the families I baby-sit for back home so much. But I’ve done a bit of babysitting here, and the kids are just adorable. I ran into one of them on the street as he was heading to the park with his weekday-nanny, and he just looked at me and grabbed my hand (or my finger, because he is only 18 months and cannot quite hold my hand) and walked me into the park with him. It was so cute!! Being around kids always lifts my spirits.

6. My classes: Ok, fine, I’m a dork, but I am here to study, so the fact that my classes are fantastic makes me really glad I’m here. On a similar note…..

7. My art history class: every week we go to a different museum and study the paintings. I haven’t taken an art history class since high school, but this class helps to remind me why I love art so much, and how awesome it is to be here surrounded by so much history.

8. Les Miserables: It is my favorite show of all time, based off of my favorite book of all time, and I only got to see it three times when it was on in New York. London is the only place where it is showing now, which is a tragedy, but works for me. I saw it a few weeks ago and it was the best cast I have ever seen. And because of student tickets, I can (kind of) afford to meet my goal of seeing it at least 5 times before I leave. I’m seeing it again on Tuesday ☺(me in front of the theater raising an imaginary glass to The Master of the House)

9. Theater besides Les Miserables: I’ve seen two other shows and they were both fantastic, and I plan to see a lot more. A lot of the shows here are the same as in New York but I think because I’m from New York I don’t always take advantage of what is so close to me, so I have never seen The Lion King and it’s been a while since I’ve seen Wicked. But while I’m here I plan to really make the most of it and go see lots and lots. (Seeing Oliver! on November 19th with my parents!!!!!!)

10. The fact that I no longer feel like a tourist: There are certain things I am used to around my area (the old lady who sits outside the corner pub chain-smoking and drinking, all day, every day; the Indian restaurant just around the block from my flat where the “Special of the Day” has been the same since I moved in) that make it feel more like home. I’ve learned my way around, I know where to go to get the things I need, and I can successfully give tourists directions (sometimes). It’s nice not to feel such like a stranger in a strange land anymore.

"Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind. "- Seneca

My classes are fantastic but sadly my schedule is much less so. I have only one class a day, and I am finished by 1 or 2 in the afternoon most days. I formerly had Tuesdays free, but then I suppose some sadist in the psych department learned of this and decided to crush my happiness by giving me a 9 am seminar on that day. So no free days for me this term.

Fortunately, my Friday class was canceled this week so it seemed like the perfect time to take a day trip. Two of my friends and I took a 5:42 am train (yes, 5:42

a.m. I was not happy about this) to Oxford, then headed over to the breathtaking Blenheim Estate. It was not crowded at all, and it was an absolutely gorgeous day, so it was just perfect. We walked around the grounds until the Palace opened and it was unbelievably beautiful. Pictures do not do it justice at all, but here are some nonetheless:

This is Blenheim Estate. It is really old and historic, but most importantly, really, really beautiful. It was absolutely breathtaking. This is the view we got just as we walked in and we were instantly in love.

This is the one of the bridges over the water. Amazing, right?

Blenheim Palace, where Winston Churchill was born. (The palace is actually even more impressive than this image captures, but the lighting was bad). They have a very cool Churchill exhibit, including a recreation of the room where he was born, which I found creepy. By far the coolest part was the library. It reminded me of the library in Beauty in the Beast that is full of wonderful books that have barely been touched which is a travesty because they are such treasures- only the library at Blenheim has a giant organ (as in beautiful, gigantic musical instrument, not a part of a body).

Another shot of the lake (river? I'm not sure) on the grounds, this time with people in canoe.

This picture is for my mom: apparently they filmed part of the movie version of The Scarlet Pimpernel here, and though my friend could not remember exactly which part, this part of the palace really jogged her memory.

This is the incredible fountain/gardens outside the palace. The best part? The fact that there is a great cafe that overlooks the fountains where we ate lunch.

The Marlboro Maze!! It is the second largest maze in the world and so much fun!! All three of us split up, got totally lost, and then when my friend the amateur photographer was in the lead and made it to the tower first she took pictures of us being totally lost and trying to catch up to her (I came in second!). The bottom picture is the end of the maze. We felt very accomplished to have reached it.

My wonderful friends/travel buddies and I on top of the Carfax Tower overlooking Oxford.

This is Christ Church College at Oxford. Many of the scenes in the Harry Potter movies are filmed here (you might recognize this spot from the 4th movie). Because I am a huge dork, I had been really excited to go and tour it but we got there just after they had closed to visitors. However, they were holding Evensong at the Church, so we decided to go to that and just before the service began I needed to "use the WC" which was really an excuse to sneak as many pictures as I could (which was sadly not too many, but we shall go back!). Evensong was beautiful, as was the chapel itself, but what I found interesting was that the audience was almost entirely tourists, with the exception of 2 or 3 older people who seemed to be regulars at services. The students were all getting ready to go out. What a difference from how they would have been 200 years ago!

It's so interesting to think about the rich history all of these places have. The town Blenheim is in is preparing for its 900 year anniversary. And Christ Church College is several centuries old as well. I am reading Oliver Twist right now (for fun, because I am a nerd) and often Dickens will mention a place like Barbican and I get really excited and think "I was just there the other day!!". But sadly I did not see any orphans being dragged out to perform crimes against their will while I was there.

Things here are going ok. I have not posted much lately, but I hope to do better soon, and I hope to have more to write about. I've un-privatized this blog because I realized some people were having trouble viewing it (ie those without Gmail). So I will not be using people's names or anything like that.

"A house that does not have one worn, comfy chair in it is soulless." - May Sarton

I have now been in London for about a month. I really don’t know how that happened. It has all gone by so quickly and been quite overwhelming. Things are finally beginning to settle down and I have developed a bit of a routine, which helps things to feel more normal, and I have just about mastered the way to get from my dorm to campus (no easy feat).

Classes have at last begun, and so far they are great. Lots and lots of work, but the courses (or “modules” in Brit-speak) are very interesting and the professors (“lecturers”) are all brilliant. It almost makes up for UCL’s complete lack of organization and archaic policies. Not to complain, but when Smith College starts looking organized, there’s a problem.

I have also gotten completely, hopelessly lost so many times that I have learned my way back from many different places and tube stations and learned who to ask for directions (and who will give you dirty looks and tell you the completely wrong thing…thanks a lot Nasty French Lady). I have also learned what stores sell what and in what price range, which grocery stores carry the good yogurts and which have the cheapest prices on produce, which tube stations have Cranberry or are near an Itsu (← my new addictions), and many other important things. Knowing these things has made me feel like I’m becoming less of a deer-in-headlights tourist, and actually making London home.

On a similar note, I seem to have developed an accent! It’s not quite a British accent; in fact, its rather unclassifiable. It is certainly not forced but I have been noticing it a bit and realizing that I have picked up on certain British speech mannerisms, but today a British person pointed it out. She did not believe me when I said I was from New York, because I apparently do not have a New York accent; she said I speak “very posh English combined with a slight American accent.” It’s quite strange but at least I do not have a Long Island accent!

To further make London feel like home, I have been cooking more. I like to cook, but there are several obstacles at the moment:
- London does not have: refried beans, normal oatmeal (just “porridge”, which is disgusting), grape jelly, ground turkey, or garbage disposals. This makes many of my recipes difficult, and the clean up very near impossible.
- My flatmates are gross and do not clean up after themselves when they use the kitchen. This makes me less inclined to use said kitchen
- I cannot find a reasonably priced shopping trolley anywhere! So until I do I can only buy what I can carry on the fifteen minute walk home from the closest big grocery store.
- I have lots of cookie recipes, but very few actual food recipes.
- Time. I’m a busy girl! And even when I’m not busy, I just don’t want to be in the kitchen for that long (see complaint #2).
- (This is where the title comes in) I broke my chair. I was sitting on it and the seat part just caved in! Now there is nowhere to sit in my room (though supposedly it will be getting fixed within the next few weeks). The chair is really cheap and poorly made, but still, I feel really, really fat. And we don’t have dining chairs at the table in the kitchen so I now have to eat on the floor in my room.

But I want to cook! And I want to want to cook. So I am asking my dear friends and family if they have any recipes they would like to share with me! I’d really appreciate it! The quicker and easier the recipe the better. And if they were also low fat/healthy, that would be a huge plus (see complaint #6). Thank you in advance!

Fun fact: There are no “cook books” in England. Instead we have “cookery books”.

“Nothing is certain in London but expense.”- William Shenstone

It’s been quite a week! But I have at last settled into my flat and have been asked for directions several times by tourists which I take to mean that I am starting to seem like a local (granted I was not of much help to any of them).

On my last day in Wales they took us up to Gower Peninsula. It is considered one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and it absolutely is. I took pictures but it hardly does justice to how breathtaking it was. What impressed me most was how natural it was; it is one of very few places left that seems to be completely untouched by man. Up at the top of Worms Head it was almost silent (except the barking from another tourist’s dog), and you could just see out forever.




It was sad to say goodbye to my host family. They were so kind and I had a great time with them. But it was so nice to finally move into my own place and have my own room (and away from snoring roommates!) and be able to unpack! I was so excited…and then we got there.

After much confusion and frustration we were assigned randomly to flats. My flat is on the 5th floor (which is actually the 6th floor, because in Europe you enter on the ground floor), and the lifts were broken, and would stay broken for the rest of the day. So I had to carry my very heavy bags up 5 flights of stairs, one at a time. I was sweating buckets and absolutely exhausted by the time I had gotten one very heavy backpack, one duffel, and one medium sized suitcase up to my lovely flat. I came back for my giant suitcase that probably weighed as much as I do, and was carrying it upstairs, when this incredibly sweet guy saw me, took pity on me and offered to carry it up to the 3rd floor. When he realized I was on the 5th floor, he just laughed and said “I can’t let you do that” and took it the rest of the way. I could not believe how kind he was. Sadly, I haven’t seen him since, but as soon as I have a chance to make cookies, I’m going to track him down.

Anyway, my flat is lovely. I have a very nice sized room that gets lots of sunlight during the day, and we have a huge kitchen with two of everything. And now, one week later, the flat is almost totally set up!!! I’m so proud of myself. Why am I so proud, you ask? In the past when I have set up my dorm room I have either had a car, my parents’ have had a car, or a friend has had a car, or there has been a bus, and we have gone to Target to get everything needed for my room. But here I have no car, no Target, and very little money (stupid dollar-pound exchange rate!). I also did not have the internet for 4 days. So I have made about a million trips to Oxford Circus, each time trying to get all that I need for my room and for the kitchen. I started with nothing beyond clothes, so I have made quite a bit of progress. And I have learned that if you buy a giant laundry basket, fill it with a baking sheet, a set of mixing bowls, a million hangers, measuring cups, and sheets, then take this onto the Tube and then the fifteen minute walk back home, you will get lots of funny looks, but you will have such a strong sense of accomplishment that you won’t even care.

I can only buy what I can carry home each time, and it’s a bit of a walk to my flat from the tube stop, so I think that by the time I finally get the last few things I need, I will have biceps of steel. And I no longer feel any guilt over the Welsh Cake addiction I developed in Wales. But now my room is (almost) all set up! And it looks great! Once classes begin it will probably never be this clean again, but for now, I’m quite proud of myself.


This is my room (well, half of it). In the mirror you can see my bulletin board from the other side of the room. At first I thought it was weird to have a sink in the bedroom, but now I LOVE it. I don't know how I ever survived without a sink in my bedroom. It makes life so much easier! And above my bed are cards and things from friends, family, and kids I've worked with/babysat. I hung them up because I was tired of the sad, blank wall, but now I think it's just making me homesick.


This past Saturday two of my friends and I became complete tourists for the day. We started at Portobello Market where we got fruit and crepes, then headed to Covent Garden market, where we enjoyed the street performers and walked around the marketplace, and watched the opera singers at this Italian restaurant. We passed by the theater for The Woman in Black, which one of my friends really wanted to see, and by some miracle we were able to get tickets. We each had an international student ID card, which if you show at the theater an hour before curtain the theater is obligated to give you the best seats they have in the house for 20 pounds. We sat dead center in the last row in the Orchestra section, which was especially cool for this show because the actors moved throughout the theater so they were frequently running right behind us. The show was fantastic; it’s a suspenseful play, similar to Hitchcock’s style, and at certain parts you would hear the entire audience gasp simultaneously. It was different from anything I’ve ever seen, but I really enjoyed it.

Then we went and saw The Monument, walked around Westminster, and took lots of touristy pictures! We went to a pub for a dinner of meat pies and fish and chips. We felt like proper tourists, and are quite excited for A Love’s Labor’s Lost next weekend at the Globe.

The Monument

Westminster by night. We walked next to it on our way back to the tube and this drunk girl walked past us, as she was talking on her mobile. I guess she was lost and trying to explain where she was, so she said "I'm by the...you know, the f***ing big clock!" then when her friend still could not help, she handed her mobile to a policeman and said "Here, he's going to tell you where I need to be, so can you then tell me how to get there?" It was very funny

Classes have not begun yet, and registration is a very confusing process, and I’m bored stiff with all the orientation programs, but I am really liking UCL. The resources here are incomparable, and it is one of the best universities in the world (#7 to be exact. They like to remind us of this), so I feel very lucky to be here. The psych department seems great, and I am excited for my classes. I’m praying I get my art history class-I’m showing up 2 hours early for registration just to be safe! I am a bit taken aback by how much alcohol the school buys for the students. I can honestly only think of one meeting I’ve been to in the past week where they have not provided drinks, and the other night a student actually died of alcohol poisoning at a UCL-sponsored event. They don’t provide us with toilet paper, but the booze flows freely. Am I the only one who thinks this shows strange priorities?

"Do you seriously expect me to be the first Prince of Wales in history not to have a mistress?"- Prince Charles

Hello from Swansea, Wales! I have been here since Friday, for the homestay portion of orientation. It’s a beautiful city, and there’s a very strong sense of culture and Welsh pride here. Despite the fact that Wales is part of the UK, there's a definite rivalry with England, and no one here seems to care for the monarchy (perhaps because of quotes like the one I've chosen for the title). I’ve fallen in love with Welsh food; I thought I was losing a bit of weight in London but Wales has quickly put a stop to that!

My homestay family is wonderful! The mother and father are very kind and fun to be with, and they have two adorable children, a 3 ½ year old boy, Morgan, and a little girl, Manon, who is almost 1. We spent today at Margam Park, and it was by far the best day I have had since I left New York. The park was beautiful!! The fields were so green and it was a gorgeous day so we got to make the most of our time there. There was a small farm with cows and a few other animals, but we did not have enough time to go in, so we just drove by. We started at the Orangery and then went up to see the Roman ruins and the Margam Abbey that dates back to 1147. We had a picnic lunch in what must be the coolest playground on earth. I wish I was 5-years-old again just so I could fully appreciate it. It was based on different fairytales and nursery rhymes, so there was Snow White’s house, a castle (made of real stones!), a shoe house for the old woman who had so many children she didn’t know what to do (Michelle Duggar?), a house based on a Welsh nursery rhyme that I imagine was great for kids who speak Welsh, and a few others. Morgan and Manon had a ball!

After our picnic we went up to see the Margam Castle, built between 1830-1840. A fire destroyed most of the inside, so we could not go in, but the outside was simply breathtaking. The detail on all of the stones is all so intricate and stunning. I took loads of pictures!

After that we went and got ice cream in what was once the castle’s stables, went to a castle-themed playground, and headed back to the car just before the park closed.

My host mother is a wonderful cook, and has introduced/gotten me addicted to some great British/Welsh dishes. We had Spotted Dick for dessert tonight. I admit the name made me giggle at first but it was delicious and I’m determined to learn to make it myself.

Yesterday we had the day free to explore Swansea. We tasted some Welsh food and explored the different markets. We are heading to Gower tomorrow, and I’m praying that will involve more than just hanging out on the beach. So far, I’ve been rather disappointed with the orientation of the umbrella program I’m going through, and their planning of itineraries leaves a lot to be desired. Tuesday I will be heading to UCL, though, and I’m hoping their orientation will be better. And I’ll finally be able to unpack!

And now for some pictures!!



I went to the National Portrait Gallery and there was a mini exhibit about Bob Dylan. I don't care at all about Dylan, but my family does. So this is for them.













The program told us they were taking us to see a castle. It's actually the remains of a castle (a small piece of a wall) after it was bombed in World War II. It's now across the street from a McDonald's. It was pretty though!
Manon
Morgan on the way to the Orangery. (In the car park he said "Be careful Morgan. There's lots of cars here!" aloud to himself. He's really cute!!!!)

The Orangery.

Me in front of the castle in the playground

The ruins and the abbey

The castle
different view of the castle
Castle from far away (can you tell how much I loved this castle?)

more pictures on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026722&id=1356330129&l=560134c081

And Away We Go

I arrived in London yesterday (Monday), and so far I'm loving it! Orientation is going well, we're going to see a play in The West End tomorrow, and we got to meet 2 Members of Parliament and 1 Member of the House of Lords today and then went and toured Saint Paul's Cathedral (AMAZING!!). I'm having a really difficult time with Jet Lag and became very sick this morning and am still completely exhausted. Sadly, the internet in the hotel is rather expensive and I can barely keep my eyes open but the time difference and international calling rates make it difficult to call home, so I just wanted to quickly say: I'm alive, things are going well, and I am already sick of the rain. I promise to update more soon (with pictures!).

This post seems sad and empty and probably makes absolutely no sense because, as I said, I'm exhausted, but my roommate does not have her key so I can't pass out until she gets back so I can let her in. So here's a picture of Saint Paul's. Cameras were not allowed inside so I got this from the internet, but it doesn't to it justice.

Any Place I Hang My Hat

I'm going to be moving around a lot in the coming weeks. I am leaving on September 13th (ten days!) and arrive in London on the 14th. From there, I have orientation at a hotel in Kensington Gardens, from Monday through Wednesday, then have a homestay with a family somewhere in the UK from Thursday through Saturday, then I finally move into my permanent housing at UCL's Langton Close:(thanks Becky for telling me how to add pictures!)
It is actually a pretty nice place- I'll have a sort-of flat with a few other people with my own bedroom and shared toilet and shower (not actually called a "bathroom" though, and I'll have a sink in my bedroom) and a small shared kitchen. There's no living room and from what I've seen the kitchen is pretty tiny, so having people over will be a bit of a challenge. Still, I'm really excited!

I realize orientation and the homestay are very important, and I am looking forward to them but I am a bit nervous about moving around so much in the beginning, especially when I will have to be taking all of my stuff with me. Lugging around everything I am taking with me to London is not going to be fun. And I am afraid that not having a place to really come "home" at first will make me quite homesick. But that's just my pessimism shining through.

Despite my pessimism and feeling a bit overwhelmed right now, I am truly ecstatic and can't wait for this all to start. I would love to send out postcards, so please give me your address!!

10 days to go!

I made a blog!

Yay me. I always wanted a blog, but I have never really had a reason to have one. I don't have a family to update people on and show off cute pictures, and I'm not out on my own living some really cool life. But now... I'm going to London! For just shy of a year. And because the fact that I am absolutely horrible at keeping in touch will certainly not be helped by the fact that I will soon be on a different continent I figured this would be a good way to keep in touch with people, show off pictures, and whatever else people do with a blog.

I tried every possible variation of my name/nickname, and every catchy title I could come up with but every one was taken! But I love Winnie the Pooh quotes, and he holds a special place in my heart. I especially like this quote: "My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling, but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places." I can't spell, and please don't assume the spelling in this blog will ever be correct. And even though I have a decent amount of self-esteem, I think I'm somewhat smart, and I somehow managed to get into UCL, in some ways, I am of very little brain.

This blog is private simply because I have seen far too many TV specials about creepers on the internet. If you're reading this its because either you asked me, or you have a blog that I am currently stalking you on so now you can return the favor.

Anyone know how to post pictures on blogs???