Jumping Across the Pond

       On May 19, 2015, I found myself packing my mother's car with my new red and black luggage to set upon a journey I'd spent a little over a year planning. My stomach twisted into tight knots as we cruised US-15 South towards Washington, DC. I can't say exactly what I was thinking, or if I was thinking anything at all. My mind raced round and round in endless loops of "what ifs" and "how could I's." What if I forgot something? What if I didn't pack my passport or my student ID or my entry letter? What if I'm alone? What if the plane crashes? What if I hate it? What if I get mugged? What if my bags are lost? What if... What if... What if... It's always the unknown answers that haunt us at night, the looming uncertainty that drives us to insanity, and it was exactly those things that made me unable to eat when we stopped for lunch, that had me in a cold sweat as we pulled into the airport parking lot.

       My mother walked me in, as I had never flown alone, and helped me get my bags checked and my heart settled before I went beyond the gate that allowed only ticket holders. To say I wasn't in a constant state of feeling like I'd be sick, would be a lie and a great injustice to the point of this blog, which is to impart a bit of wisdom onto those considering studying abroad. Thankfully, once past security I met up with another girl in my program and on my flight named Katy, an odd-duck, a gentle soul, and, to my pleasure, a fellow Doctor Who fanatic. We made our way to the gate, where we awaited the last member of our band, Bridget, who would be my roommate upon arrival in London. She came into sight not long after we sat, her step as bouncy as her blonde curls. And that moment, the exact one of introductions and excited, I'll be it nervous, exchanges, a bond was formed between the three of us. And, when we would arrive in London and meet up with the final member of the London Dream Team, as we so fondly named ourselves, we would become an inseparable group of explorers and constant companions. This was to my great pleasure, and a bit of a surprise to my fearful mind, as it is everyone's worst nightmare to be completely alone in a foreign land. 

       For nearly 3 hours, we sat in the airport, first by our gate, then at a small cafe for food. We kept the silence at a minimum, as I suspect we would have only stewed in our nervousness should it have sat for too long. We prepared for the flight by utilizing the one outlet at our disposal and forming what will forever be known as the "charging pyramid": first, we plugged my laptop in, then the three cellphone chargers into its three USB ports, until another outlet opened up, where we then had a tablet charging and a phone plugged into it. Whoever claims the technological generation isn't resourceful obviously hasn't experienced the crisis of dying cellphones. 

       We boarded the plane after what felt like merely minutes of waiting, and from there we flew the eight hours towards London, towards sunrise, and towards the beginning of our new adventure.