Day One: DETOUR

Well it is midnight and I am supposed to be on a airplane over the big blue ocean. That, however, is not where I am. I am sitting on an airport bed in new york city. Due to shaky weather on the east coast, I missed my connecting flight and am stuck in "airline limbo" until tomorrow. 

So, I'll make lemonade out of lemons and spend the day in the city tomorrow. I am planning on getting up early and taking the subway to my cousin's apartment for lunch. I have no suitcase (of course!!) so I am going to look like a wrinkly, smelly, tired mess walking the streets of new york city but it will be an adventure. Thank you, continental airlines, for giving me a complimentary toothbrush, plastic comb, razor and hairspray. I can only imagine that any problem I run into between now and when I finally get my suitcase back can be solved with those four things.

If this is any indication of what my journey is going to be like- I am going to come back a much stronger and interesting person. Bring on the detours. 

you never know who lives through your experiences

Yesterday my mom's friend called me completely out of the blue to thank me. He said he had received the letter I had sent to everyone who helped me financially with my mission trip to Jamaica and that it had prompted him to go on a mission trip to Ecuador. He said this was the best experience of his life and that he planned on going back again next year. While that letter about my experiences and the lessons I learned in Jamaica may not have been given a second thought by most who read it, for my words to have encouraged another to do God's work is a huge triumph. 

The same scared that I felt before that Jamaica trip is what I am feeling right now about this London trip. Afraid of the unknown. But if the appreciation for another culture and the lessons I learn there can encourage even one person to do the same thing these butterflies in my stomach are worth it. 

50 pounds or less, please

"I am very strict with my packing and have everything in its right place. I never change a rule.
I hardly ever use anything in the hotel room. I wheel my own wardrobe in and that's it."
-Charlie Watts

I am currently taking a break from trying to dwindle 10 weeks of possessions down to 50 pounds. I really must applaud whoever it was in the airline industry who invented this rule: all bags over 50 pounds must be charged a hefty fine. I can just imagine Mr.feather-light-bags having coffee with the toiletry and clothing industry. They are conspiring together to make us purchase things that we could not fit into our bags when we get to our destination. Maybe it's the stress of packing, or this wine that I'm drinking but I think this is a genius plan and I want in on it!

But really though, I have been told by people in London that the summers are cold and rainy. So for them, I have thrown "cold and rainy" clothes into my <50lb bag. Then I have been told by the dozens of travel books that I have been reading that the weather will be "warm and sunny." (Yet another conspiracy, I believe). So for them, I have packed "warm and sunny." Thus the endless cycle of packing continues.

One other thing- I was unaware that TANS were an American thing. I had been making a point to go to the pool after work a few days last week to become a bronzing beauty but I have learned, from the dozen travel books I've been reading, that this will set me apart as a tourist. Perfect. 

This is really happening

How these past ten months have escaped is beyond me. Yesterday I packed up my entire life (which miraculously can fit inside of a Pontiac GrandAm) and moved back home for some R & R before my internship. I am already finding, 16 hours later, that it is going to be impossible to fit in everything I want to do before I go. 

All the laundry and lists aside, I can't stop thinking about how this is really happening to me. I am moving to London for three months to work in my dream job. The pieces all fell together so quickly that it is just now starting to soak in. This is going to be the beginning to a new chapter of my life. As of yesterday, I am a college senior. Let me say that again: I am a college senior! This time next year I will be avidly searching for a job and a house and a pony (ha!). I can only hope that this internship gives me the contacts and skills I will need to achieve those things.