The Prep

I have never, ever written a blog post before, so please forgive me. I'm fairly annoyed with myself for not doing it the last time I traveled abroad, and I am even more annoyed with myself that I never kept a journal during college. Since I'm a fresh graduate and I am embarking on a new and exciting adventure, I figured I would try to keep one of these things not only as a personal memento of my travels and experiences, but so I can share these experiences with friends and family since I am never quite able to articulate my thoughts when people inevitably ask me about my adventures. When I was studying abroad in Prague, it usually went something like this:

Mom: so, what's new?

(me, thinking: hmm... since I last talked to you I flew to Stockholm, walked around the Swedish capital, stayed in a hostel on a boat, went to a bar made completely out of ice, spent way too much money shopping, saw the Swedish royal palaces, tried lingonberries, stole a few more beer glasses for my collection, and back in Prague I finally went inside that 500 year old church i've been looking at all semester, got good and lost on public transport and used my unparalleled map skills and lousy czech skills to find my way back to center, figured out how to get to my 5 favorite places without the subway or the tram, and I still see a castle every single day)

Me (out loud): Oh, nothing much. Sweden was cool, I bought a sweater. I'm running low on ramen noodles, I should go to the market today.

and after I came back, it usually went something like this:

Someone else: So, you just came back from a Semester in Prague? How was it?

(Me, thinking: it was incredible. amazing. life changing. wonderful. HOW COULD ANYONE NOT STUDY ABROAD? I saw so much, I learned more than I have in any other semester in college even though I rarely went to class, I had the opportunity of a lifetime and wish I could have made it last forever.)

Me, out loud: Oh, it was great. I loved it.

So, there you have it. I'm going to try to keep this up not only to make you jealous, but, in case you are curious, to try to convey a sense of what it really is like, and also, if you or someone else asks me after, maybe I'll be able to recall a good anecdote or come up with a more substantive response than "oh, it was amazing."I know that probably not all of my posts will be upbeat and perky, I know I am going to get homesick and miss my parents and my friends and my bed and my car and a currency I understand, but I really am SO excited and I think overall it is going to be a great experience. However, be forewarned: I am not good at maintaining these things. I think my record for a diary is 1 month. I'm not promising to update this daily or even weekly, but if I can get a post or two in per month I'll be very proud of myself. But once again, doing this goes against my nature. If you are curious and want to hear more, please pester me to post more often. and I mean PESTER. go ahead, be annoying (or else I might not do it).

Anywho, here's the plan: in 8 days now I'll be flying across the pond to England, where I'll be working as a History teaching fellow at Millfield School in Somerset, England. Since most people have asked, I got this position through the University of Virginia, which has a "UK Fellowship" program. Basically, UVA has a deal with several schools in the UK that agree to take a UVA student on as a teaching/coaching fellow for one year. I applied, and interviewed through UVA then they picked the finalists, sent the finalists information over to the UK schools, and those schools picked who they wanted based on application/ what department they could use an extra hand in (i.e. if Millfield had needed someone to teach Physics, I'd be unemployed right now) and somehow, luckily, Millfield picked me. I'll be working in the history department as an assistant teacher, will be an assistant coach on one of the sports teams, and will be on duty as a tutor one night a week in one of the dorms. I've told some people that the UK Fellows program is basically like Teach for America but instead of teaching to underprivileged Americans, I'll be teaching to the (mostly) very privileged of England. So yeah, that sounds bad, and, for the record, I am a VERY proud American but I still cannot wait to go and I feel so grateful to have this opportunity.

and it is ticking ever nearer... I had my graduation/ going away party this weekend and I got to see lots of friends and family whom I haven't seen in far too long. I had a great time at the party, and I think (hope) everyone else did too. and even though planning the party gave me several headaches, now is when the real stress begins. I have an entrance clearance visa and a plane ticket, but now it's time to pack the bags. I'm going shopping for work clothes tomorrow with my mom, then I'll begin to try to pack my life into 2 large suitcases, head across the ocean, and teach high schoolers as I pretend to know what I'm doing.

So here goes nothing...