Greetings From Ireland!

Hello Again Readers!

I apologize for my three-week lapse in posts! As you can imagine, my life is constant chaos right now! Since I wrote last, I have been to York, London, High Leigh (a conference center north of London), Dublin, and Sligo! I will attempt to do a brief, one or two sentence summary of each, or this posting will get entirely too long!

York- So meaningful! (Mostly just because of the surname, I'll confess!) We went to York Minster (so gorgeous), walked the Roman walls, and experienced the Jorvik Viking center (Think Pirates of the Caribbean at Disney meets historical Viking town--smells and all). Bought many Christmas presents there, be forewarned!
London- Where do I begin? Such a whirlwind week! Riding the Tube/Underground ("Mind the Gap!), took a red bus tour and saw all the sights, took a river cruise on the Themes, went out dancing, went shopping, basically did the "tourist thing." Next time, museums and shows!
High Leigh- Much needed break after London. A lot of classes (yes, we do study over here!), and a fun "Party" (talent show) in which I performed some self-written "emo" poetry about Edward Cullen (hence, the Facebook pictures).
Dublin- Now I understand all of the stereotypes about the Irish being big drinkers! We were there for the 250th birthday of Guinness, which I'm sure didn't help matters. Went to the Dublin Writer's Museum, went on a James Joyce Walk, and took in a comedy show at a local pub (great way to understand the culture and current events, believe it or not!)
Sligo- Everything I thought Ireland should be! Green, sheep, farms, rolling hillsides, and best of all, the ocean! Our cottages are right by the coast, and fully lives up to the expectations of the gorgeous West Coast of Ireland. Also, a good spot for some "down time" after Dublin.

Next, we're off to Belfast (where we have homestays!), and then France! My birthday (one week from today) will be spent on the beaches of Normandy and banqueting in Bayeux :)

Love Until Next Post,
Allison

P.S. To family and roommates- I won't be able to call until Belfast, because I can't add money until I am back in the UK. So, until then, think of me fondly!
Special note to my mom: I can't wait to see you! It's coming up so fast :) Please bring me some more pens (handwriting 2000 word essays really depleted my supply!) Gel pens, blue, o.5 mm, you know what I like :) And don't worry, we will talk on the phone before then! Don't stress :)

Wales!

Hello From Wales!

I'm currently stationed at St. Deniol's Library, which is a residential library in the small town of Hawarden, Wales (Coincidentally, pronounced the same as Hardin!). We are here for almost a week, relaxing, reading, and writing papers. On our way down, we stopped in Liverpool and visited the Beatles' Story :) (Emily K- I took lots of pictures for you!)
The time we spent in the Lake District was idyllic. Beautiful views everywhere, and a good time of community bonding in our own private conference center.
Our next stop is YORK! I can't wait! I will probably buy their gift shop out :) We are on to London after that, which I'm sure will be unforgettable. We are doing "the tourist thing" this visit to London (I think we end up there three different times...), and will be having fun visiting museums and taking the Tube and such.
This is going to be a quick posting, because I am borrowing a very nice friend's computer "just to check my email," so I should probably get it back to her. Just so you all know, I am happy and healthy (that was mostly for Mom and Dad). By the way, Mom and Dad- When my phone is out of the service area, incoming calls go straight to voicemail, which explains our problems earlier this week. Also, I got my glasses fixed for FREE at the Queensferry Walmart! (Yes, there are Walmarts over here!)

Lots of Love to you all! Next Post: After London...

Allison <3

Many Apologies from England!

Hello All!
I am so incredibly sorry that it has taken this long for me to blog on England Term! As hard as it is to believe, I have already been in the UK for over a week now. We just finished up an amazing week in Edinburgh, Scotland. I toured the castle, experienced the Festival, and saw the Royal Military Tattoo. I fell in love with the Scottish people, their fierce pride, and their hatred of the English :) It was a sad day when we had to leave, even though we were there for almost a week.

We then visited the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, and enjoyed seeing the North Sea coastline. Our next stop was Durham, England, where we visited their magnificent cathedral. We are currently stationed in Keswick, England (Northern Lake District Area). It is gorgeous! Green (and sheep!) everywhere! So picturesque and quaint- everything I had hoped for :)

One prayer concern is for communication (or lack thereof). While I am having an excellent time, I feel like I am being very lax in keeping in touch with loved ones back home, which is taking a serious toll on some of my most important relationships. I don't know an immediate solution. I want to enjoy this experience to the fullest, but also realize I can't neglect those still at home.

But, other than that, I am having the time of my life. "Learning on Location" is better than I had ever imagined! I am forming some amazing friendships, seeing some amazing sights, and learning a ton about all of my favorite subjects. You just might lose me to the UK! :)

Cheers and Love to You All!
(And phone calls and postcards to follow!)
Allison

The Eleventh Hour (or Day)

Hello Once Again!

This will be my final pre-departure blog :/ There are now only 11 days until we take off, so I really do not have enough time to write an installment after this...

First of all, I am SO inexpressibly excited! Even though it still has not hit me that I will be overseas in less than two weeks (and probably won't hit me until I get to the airport), it is definitely a reality! I now have only one day left of each job (Oh Happy Day!)-- After Saturday, it's game time! Mom (who I am so grateful to have helping me!) has helped me make lists, and we're officially starting to pack on Monday... OK, confession time. I have not had time to do ANY of my class reading yet! That is Goal #2 for next week (behind packing). Other than that, I plan on spending as much time with my family and Matt as possible. I know they're excited for me, but are also going to miss me terribly (the feeling is mutual, believe me!)

That leads me to my main motivation for this posting: Prayer Requests! I'll try to keep this short and sweet--

1. Please pray for peace of mind for my family (especially my parents and my sisters), friends (mostly roommates!), and boyfriend that I'm leaving behind! I'm so thankful that they're behind me (especially Matt- Although he's a little worried about me running away with an Irish boy :), he's thrilled that I have this opportunity, and loves me enough to let me go), and hope they continue to have my back as time goes on...
2. Please pray for my professors and travel buddies! This trip will be "made" by the people going on it. Pray that we all get along swimmingly and are able to support each other no matter what the UK might throw at us...
3. Finally, please pray for me! This is my first time leaving the country, and I pray I have a smooth adjustment. I also pray that I learn everything I possibly can from this experience, and have a wonderful time while doing so...

Thanks again for reading! The next time you hear from me, I'll be in the UK (more specifically, Scotland!) Until then, enjoy the rest of this fleeting summer!

Allison <3

3 Weeks To Go!

Hello again!

It is now 21 days until I take off for the UK! I'm feeling less stressed (surprisingly), and am getting more excited each day :) Even though it feels like I just got home for the summer, I'm already thinking about saying goodbye. I'm also thinking about starting to pack, which I am sure will make things all too real...

This blog, I want to lay out some of my personal goals for England Term, and my goals for this blog. A few weeks ago, one of the profs. going with us asked us why we were going on England Term (aside from a line on the resume). This got me thinking in "big picture" terms, so I apologize if these aspirations seem a little vague:

Goal #1- Feel comfortable living in a completely different culture.

Goal #2- Broaden my American worldview.

Goal #3- Gain a more personal and substantial connection to the authors I study and the literature I read.

Goal #4- Figure out who I am in relation to others and to the world.

Goal #5 (and most importantly)- Have a blast! Pick up an accent! Try something new every day!

Admittedly, these goals may not be easily measurable. That's where this blog comes in. I hope that by recording my journey, I will be able to track how I'm progressing in these areas. I also hope that by physically putting these goals "on paper," I will feel more accountability toward accomplishing them. (So, if you see me growing/struggling in one of these areas in my writings, please comment on that!...Outside eyes tend to see things more clearly on stuff like this.)

That's going to have to be it for today-- Subway duty calls!

Again, please feel free to comment! (To those of you who replied to the blog's email: Thanks for replying! But if you could actually go to my blog and click "comment," everyone else could see what you have to say, too. Thanks!)

Thanks for reading! <3

T-Minus One Month and Counting!

Welcome to my inaugural blog post! I decided that today would be the lucky day because (as you may have noticed from the title) I LEAVE FOR ENGLAND TERM EXACTLY ONE MONTH FROM TODAY! My obvious excitement is also mixed with a whole lot of anxiety, but I'll come back to that later...

First, I should tell you why I am writing this blog. Most of the study abroad literature that I have read recommends journalling. While I may not be dedicated enough to keep a journal everyday, I think I can keep up with a weekly blog :) I also want to let my loved ones know that I am doing ok, even if I don't always have the time or money to call them...

Now that you know why I am starting this blog, you probably also want to know why I am doing England Term. England Term is a program run through Bethel that I like to think of as a travel study abroad program. Rather than simply staying at a foreign university for a semester, we are traveling all over the UK, Ireland, and France. I have always wanted to leave the country for a while, yet where I could be with people I know, and where the people I don't know can speak English! (Second languages DO NOT come easily to me). I also like living out of a suitcase (I will probably regret saying that in about three months), so England Term seemed like a good fit.

Back to the anxiety... While the prospect of going halfway across the world for three and a half months is exhilarating, it is also slightly terrifying. I have never been out of the country, and have never been away from home for quite that long, with such limited communication. I am also a very organized person (slightly obsessive, actually), so not knowing exactly what I am doing, when, or where is also a stressor. Add to that an ever-growing to-do list, daunting class reading load, and two summer jobs, and I'm practically more stressed than I was during Finals Week!

(Sigh) Ok, now that I've got that out of my system... I am so thrilled to have this opportunity! I cannot wait to actually see where the amazing literature I have read was set. We will be walking in the footsteps of some literary greats! I feel so privileged to be a part of this journey, and can't wait to see where it will take me. This is starting to get a little long, so I'm going to cut it off here. I plan on making about two more posts before I leave: one with my personal goals for studying abroad and my goals for this blog, and another with final pre-departure thoughts and prayer requests! If you got put on my email list for this blog, it is because I love you and thought you might like to know where I am and what I'm doing for this next semester. If you are not on that list, feel free to subscribe! Comment at will-- There is more to come! <3