Pre-travels: A dichotomy between excitement and nervousness

   St. Augustine once said, "The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." Well, I've always been a big reader so I figure I should read this World book. Discover a few things, learn something about myself. And so, I am embarking on one of the greatest adventures of my life...studying abroad for a semester.

   I'm a junior in college and studying abroad is something I've wanted to do since my freshman year of high school. I leave Monday morning August 23rd, 2010 to live with a friend in Switzerland before I go to school in Sunderland, England. The semester doesn't begin until the end of September so I figure I might as well go spend time with my good Swiss friend. She was a foriegn exchange student herself while we both were in high school.

   The question I get most from people when I tell them I'm going abroad is "aren't you scared?" Well, yes, as a matter of the fact, I am. Terrified. I'm naturally a quieter, somewhat shy girl. Sure, I went away from home for college, but it was only two hours and my roomate was a girl who went to the same high school as me. I'm worried about getting lost, relying on public transportation, language/culture barriers, not making new friends, etc. etc. etc. But I'm not letting my worries stop me. It is my deepest desire to go forward in life, not dwell in my "what if''s." Some have called me brave, but perhaps I'm just foolish. Nevertheless, I predict I am going to learn a lot about myself.

   This is my first EVER  blog. I was never good at writing in my diary growing up so let's hope my blog is filled with more then just "Dear Diary, I promise to write in you more often" every few months. I created this blog to update friends and family of my experiences while abroad. It probably will be maybe once a week at the min. but I'm still excited to keep my buddies updated on my life since I won't see them all the time like I use to.

   ALSO, I want to apologize right off the bat with my grammer mistakes and sentence structures. I've been known with my past English teachers for sometimes rambling and thinking faster then I write/type so my sentences don't always make the most sense! :)

As they say in England: Pip Pip Cheerio! Be back soon