Greetings from Nottingham!

I can't believe I'm actually here! The only thing that has really made me realize that I am in England is how cold it is!!! It snowed today!

So far it is hard to sum up what the past four days of my life have been like. I flew on a plane for the first time by myself, I left my family/Charleston really for the first time, and I entered a new country.....and that was all in the first 2 days!
So far God has had a major hand in my journey (of course). I was very nervous about getting off the plane in England, mainly because of customs haha. When I got on the plane to London, immediately I heard someone mention the University of Nottingham. When I asked the girl sitting next to me, she said she was an exchange student studying there too! That made the customs, getting luggage, and trying to find my way through the Heathrow airport a lot easier!

It took a while, but we finally got on a coach to take us 2 1/2 hours from London to Nottingham. The first night was pretty rough because of being SO tired, but my first full day in Nottingham was really great! We have orientation this week (even though classes are going on....) so I met up with some Americans that I met at the airport to go to our meetings and then to go into the city to buy some things that we needed.....like towels. Oh yeah, you know how all you want to do when you get off of a plane after a lot of traveling is to get clean and take a shower...wouldn't you know I left towels at home. ha

Today (Tuesday) I ran all over campus with an American I met, Amy, trying to get everything sorted out for our classes. I think I'm going to like Nottingham, but it seems that organization has been an issue. Hopefully it will all get worked out soon, but it's pretty stressful waiting to make sure everything is in order.


Even though that may not seem like a very eventful 4 days, I feel like I haven't gotten off of this roller coaster yet! I definitely miss home, my family, and friends, but I know that there is a reason God has me here and I'm excited to find out what it is.
Prayers are welcomed ;)


Just a quick picture I snapped as we were coming into London....no big deal :) 

More pictures will be coming soon...once I take them!

Oh, the Places You'll Go

Today is the day!!! I'm not going to post a lot today, but I did want to share something that my amazing best friend/roommate, Shelby, sent me when she found out how nervous I was.

This is a link to Dr. Seuss' classic Oh, the Places You'll Go. It literally could not have summed every thought I was having any better. Thank you Dr. Seuss for being awesome!
http://homepages.ius.edu/harrisla/places.htm

I had many favorite parts, but this one stood out to me.
"You're off to great places!
  Today is your day!
  Your mountain is waiting.
  So....GET ON YOUR WAY!"


I also will be repeating this over and over to myself.....
"So do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your GOD!"
                                                                                     Isaiah 41:10

Here we go :)

Last day in America!

I am SO excited!!! I can't believe that tomorrow I'll be getting on a plane to live in England for six months!! Absolutely unreal!


I am incredibly close to being packed and I was just barely able to fit everything I want to bring in my suitcase. I'm only supposed to bring one piece of luggage....for six months....oh man. Luckily mom and I discovered God's gift to traveling. I'm using those vacuum bags that take all of the air out of your clothes and I literally would not be able to make the trip without them. I will DEFINITELY be over the weight limit but what am I supposed to do?????? It's going to be cold and I need to be warm!

Thank you so much to everyone who has been and will be praying for my travels!! I'm not a big "flyer" so all prayers are welcomed :)


Next stop: NOTTINGHAM

Countdown: 22 days until departure!!

I can not believe that this adventure is actually going to happen! Preparations have long been under way, but it is really just starting to feel real! I have never blogged before (and honestly I have never even kept a journal) but we are just gonna try and make this blog work!!
I will be leaving on January 28th from Charleston and then connecting through Charlotte and Philadelphia. I will be landing in London Heathrow airport the morning of the 29th and then it will all begin! Of course I am a little nervous (I have never lived outside of Charleston and this is the first time that I will really be away from my family), but I know that God has big plans for my time abroad and I am SO excited to see what is in store!!

My school logo!! (Can you tell I'm excited?)