what an adventure...

Well, we made it! After baggage rules changing, our flight being an hour and a half late, being taken to the opposite side of London than we wanted to be, 2 bus rides, a train ride, and hiking about 15 miles (felt like it, probably more like 3) with baggage, and 2 nice British gentlemen helping us with our baggage, we finally made it to the flat!

Jennifer and I plan on popping around London for a few days before hopping over to Wales to start the real work! God bless those kids, because I hope I don't ruin them!

Happy New Year! Will be posting again soon!

Final Countdown....3,2,1!

With only a few days left before departure, all of our plans are coming together quite nicely, and packing will commence today.

Christmas was great; getting to spend time with my family before I leave. I also received a few necessities for my trip: a guide to Great Britain, wool socks, the important face lotion for that dry winter skin, and footed PJs (thanks Brattons). Just so you have a little preview...

My Aunt Robin and I

If you have been keeping up with my blog or know me at all, you will know that I am not the most well dressed person, so I have had to invest some money into "teacher attire" so here is a little taste of what I have now. Notice the necklace I am wearing is one I bought while I was in Prague on my las t romp around Europe.

I also wanted to tell you all of my dear friend Jessica's blog. She is an aspiring photographer and does phenomenal work. She asked if I would be a model for one of her shoots, since it was a traveling theme, and I was happy to help her out. Here is the link to her blog, jessigene.blogspot.com. Check it out, she has some really great photos...and not just of yours truly!

...and the excitement builds!

So, the preparations for my departure are getting a little more serious. Incase you didn't already know...I'm not the sleekest chick on the block, so a little wardrobe update was necessary. It would have been necessary regardless of me leaving or not. New trousers and sweaters had to be purchased. I have been strategically picking my suitcases to maximize space; three months worth of clothes is a lot to pack in one suitcase.

It still seems surreal. I am so excited about having the opportunity to student teach abroad! I was able to talk to my uncle yesterday and he was telling me about his time in Wales, which made me even more excited!

Now all I have to do is move my stuff out of my house in College Station, and keep gathering the essentials for my trip to the UK!

Here is a picture of Denbighshire county, the area that Howells School is in.

courtesy of www.denbigh.com

I got ants in my pants!!

It's the end of the semester, and as you can guess...I have senior-itis! Tomorrow is my last day of class, two presentations, two tests, and two more assignments due at a later date (for online classes). Can it just be December 30th already?

On an unrelated note, the weather is becoming more like the weather in Wales, so I'm getting a little taste of what it will feel like! That is really exciting, and since I like rain and cold weather, it's perfect!

Only 27 more days!!! Coming up so fast!

Everything come with a Price-Tag!!!

Why is it so hard to concentrate on the here and now...oh because I'm going to Wales! Finding out so late has proved to be a little stressful, price-tags on everything have gone up!!! AND considering its New Years Eve the day we fly in can't lower those price-tags, unfortunately! We are still trying to work out details for our few days in London and Manchester before we report to Howells. I think after Thanksgiving, and Jennifer and I are both finished with the semester, (December 3) we will have more time to devote to planning and what not. If anyone has suggestions...let me know!

Itinerary

Jennifer and I bought plane tickets last night!!

We are leaving December 30th and are scheduled to return March 28th.

So exciting, but at the same time, it was hard to push the "book flight" button...thats a lot of cash, but sooooo worth it!!!

The News!

I found out the news today! I will be traveling to Wales, at the end of this year (yes, like 6 weeks) to complete my student teaching! I will be at a school called Howells! (here is the link Howells School) It is an all girls boarding school in Denbigh, North Wales. Check out some pictures here.

My partner in this crazy adventure is Jennifer! We have hit it off really well, and I am excited to have her as a roommate next semester! Jennifer is an Early childhood-4th grade generalist so we have a little different career focus but it will make things interesting!

We have been praying and pleading for almost a month now that we would get news, and now that we finally got confirmation, we are both overly exited to start the journey! All of this wouldn't be possible without our favorite person in the world right now, Kim Parish! Thank you so much!!! And thanks to everyone else for the encouragement and support!

I will be keeping this blog up over the next several months, leading up to departure and throughout my time away, so you should subscribe so you can get email updates when I post a new blog!