Friday, September 3, 2010

Once upon a time

There was a little girl who wanted to travel the world. Her desire to travel the world sprung from her babysitter, who spent a semester in Taiwan and then told the little girl about it. A desire was sparked. A few years later, that little girl read a Nancy Drew mystery where Nancy Drew went to Oxford, England to solve a mystery. "Yes," the little girl said to herself, "England. Someday, I will go to England."

I'm semi-grown up now, and about to embark on what I've wanted to do for at least the past 12 years. In two unbelievably long/short days, I'm leaving Chicago for Nottingham, England, where I'll be spending the next nine months. It's a crazy, dream come true, sort of thing that I still haven't completely wrapped my head around.

Most of my packing is done, but my room looks like a disaster zone. I have bright orange post-its on my mirror, to make sure that I don't forget anything that could possibly be important. I've been combing my emails and saying my goodbyes. And it still hasn't hit me yet.

My dream is about to come true. This year, I'll be a legal resident of the UK. I'll be studying at the University of Nottingham, which is a very fine school. And I'll have adventures. Maybe I'll take a ferry over to Ireland. I'll explore a few pubs. I might even get up the courage to try some curry, but for a picky eater like me, that is a fairly terrifying prospect. And hopefully I'll have an adventure of a lifetime.

This is where I'll be recording my adventures, experiences, and adaptations (see, there's the title worked in). It won't be a fairy tale. It will probably be fairly ordinary. Hopefully, though, you might find it interesting.

Bon voyage.

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