Day 80: England!

I'm in England.

We've just gone through Newcastle and York and a whole bunch of other places, and in just over an hour we'll be in London.

I'm so excited. Back when it was actually light and I could see the countryside, I just couldn't stop looking out the window and smiling. The train ride from Edinburgh to London is just so gorgeous. It goes right along the coast, presenting some lovely views of the ocean.

It's dark now, so I can't see much, but whenever we go through a city I can catch a glimpse of some of the larger buildings, like a church with stained glass windows lit up. I'm a little sad that I'll arrive in London at seven pm, so I really won't be able to see much, but I can afford to wait until tomorrow.

But... I'm in England. It really shouldn't be this exciting; after all, I've been in the UK for the past three months. Still, there's something exhilarating about entering a new country.

It's not just any country, either. It's England, the country where all my favourite authors lived. The country where my grandparents came from. The country I've wanted to visit my entire life.

I can't believe I'm here. The odd thing is that, despite how this is all completely new to me, it still feels like coming home. This is where my roots are. Maybe I'm Canadian, but my ancestors (well, on my dad's side) were English. I'm going back to where my family came from.

London should be amazing. The purpose of my visit is to attend the Doctor Who fiftieth anniversary convention this weekend (which means I get to see Matt Smith and Colin Baker and so many other cool people... Jealous yet?) but since I'm here all the way until Monday I'll get to do a lot of other things too, like hopefully see some plays, visit the British museum, and see some landmarks like Big Ben.

I just can't stop saying this.... I'm so excited! This trip is, quite literally, a dream come true. By the time I post this (no wifi on the train, so gotta wait until I get to the house of the friend of a friend who I'm staying with to post this blog) I'll be in London. I can't wait.

Day 7: And So It Begins

This one's for my dad. :)

The (in)famous Fresher’s week has started.

Frankly, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I’ve been to three universities, and this is the first time I’ve every actually done orientation week. I had no idea if it would be a lot of games, or information, or drinking, or meeting people… or what.

To my relief, I’ve really been enjoying it so far. While Fresher’s Week technically just started today, the past three days have been a bit of a whirlwind with near constant activities. There has simply been so much to do and so many people to meet that when I go to bed each night I only have enough time to write in my journal: “So tired, but today was fantastic.”

I had to visit a bookstore-- so weird seeing
the UK covers on all the books!

Last week, I was still adjusting. I was getting used to being independent again, and I was trying to figure out what life would be like here. It was a good week, but one filled with a lot of mornings where I just really didn’t want to get out of bed and face all the paperwork (bank, phone, etc…) ahead of me.

But that’s all taken care of, now. I am officially a matriculated student of the University of Saint Andrew’s, which is rather cool, and I have a British bank account (with plenty of British money) and a British phone, and British friends… I’m even starting to develop a British accent, which is lovely.

I think I might prefer these to the North American covers.

Sometime soon, I should write a proper Fresher’s Week post, outlining some of the events I’ve been to so far and others I plan to attend. But right now my brain is a little too scattered… As soon as I’m done writing this post I’m going to head off to a pub to go hang out with some of the other Bobby Jones scholars for a few hours, then run to Toastie Bar (where toasted sandwiches are just 50p), then return home and sleep to prepare for another busy day tomorrow.

And this one is for Uncle Marty. :) Still haven't found the
church where he preached, though...

For the record: I’m a fan of Fresher’s week so far. Maybe it’s because I arrived early, or maybe it’s because the Christian Union is just so welcoming, but I don’t feel overwhelmed at all. I feel like I’ve been here for much longer than a week, and I’m really looking forward to term. So far, despite all my nervousness before coming, St. Andrew’s has been wonderful.

Little creek/river thing that runs through St. Andrew's

Got flights?

I do!

To say that I'm excited would be an understatement... we just booked my flights about an hour ago! It's not the best flight ever, with far too many transfers, but it's booked, and it wasn't expensive, and I'M LEAVING FOR SCOTLAND IN 61 DAYS!

I know I'll hate it at the time, but right now I'm actually kind of excited about my many transfers. I bus from PEI to Halifax, then fly to Boston, then fly to Rekyavik, Iceland, then fly to Glasgow, then bus to St. Andrew's. Within twenty-four hours, I'll visit six cities and four countries. Considering that as of now I've only seen Canada and the US, the idea of visiting four countries in a day is pretty fantastic. My biggest regret is that I'll only be spending an hour in Iceland, and it'll be dark.

I've also got my VISA application off in the mail, so hopefully I'll hear back from them within a few weeks. It's been a lot of stress recently with all this paperwork, and I know there's a lot more to do, what with power of attorney, travel insurance, and money transfers, but at least I've got some of the major things figured out.

At this point, I'm just going to enjoy the fact that in exactly two months I'll be in Scotland...!