Great Expectations

Well let me start off by saying "Happy Fourth of July!" to everyone. Today is not only the birthday of America, but also my nephew Kolt's first birthday....so happy birthday Kolt!

Today is 4 days before my three week study abroad in London. Right now I am sitting in a Panera enjoying the free wifi so I can set up my netbook for my trip. I have been over all of my pre-departure materials and I am really excited for this adventure to begin. This is the last class that I will be taking before I begin student teaching, and graduating in the fall. What a great way to end my undergrad classes! I know a lot of you have been with me in the journey getting to this point, but some of you probably didn't even know I was going abroad. Well...now here is your chance! I intended to stop in a few times a week and let the people who care back home know how its going and what I'm doing. Expect plenty of pictures!! I also decided to create a blog because one of the scholarships that I received requires me to give presentations about my trip once I have come back. I think this will be a great way for me to go over the expectations, worries, concerns, and key parts of my trip.

"Nobody succeeds beyond his or her wildest expectations unless he or she begins with some wild expectations" -Ralph Charell

Right now my biggest challenge is packing! I have to handle all of my own luggage so I decided to go with one of my lighter suit cases. Problem is I want to take a lot of clothes with me! So I have had to cut back, and cut back, and cut back some more. Today I have several errands to run and much more packing to do, but I wanted to take the time to set up this blog and let everyone know how excited and nervous I am for my big trip. Three weeks may be a relatively short amount of time...but its also a lot longer than most camps or vacations. Not mention I will be leaving behind my family and husband. Most people who take of these trips are not married. Thankfully I have an awesome husband who has encouraged me to go for it. (Love you Andrew!) Not to mention who has helped me stick to a strict budget to afford it. So...at this point I'm just getting everything together for my big trip!

-Lacey