1 Month Mark

One month ago to this moment I was crammed in my little (teeny, tiny, microscopic) all-red Virgin Atlantic seat about to embark on my five and a half month long journey to England. Trying so hard to sleep, knowing I would definitely need my energy for the adventures to come but being way too jittery and anxious to close my eyes for more than five minutes. It's one of those things where it feels like I've been here forever, but it also feels like it's been no time at all. My awful Fall semester feels like nothing but a bad dream that I've semi-blocked from my memory and it feels like time stopped when I left Boston Logan in August and started again the moment I got to Heathrow.

I literally cannot believe how it has flown.

My weekend in Beccles was exactly what I needed and I think going back allowed me to compare how much I have grown since when I first landed there one month ago to where I am right now.

I've figured out pounds and pence (although not quite figured out how to be a wise spender). How to use the funny plugs. How to stand on the right on the Underground escalators. How to get into the car on the wrong side without automatically going to the driver's side door. How to maneuver the Tube (and kind of the buses). How to use the self-checkouts in all the grocery stores. How to text a little more coherently on my little HTC phone. How to pay rent and how to order coffee ("white Americano"). How to plan and book a vacation in a foreign country (Dublin!). How to determine which Starbucks, McDonalds, Costa's, Pret's, and Eat's will give you free WiFi. To avoid the Covent Garden Tube station (no more elevators for me). How to walk to the Quay, order fish and chips, and which Cadbury's are the best.

And that's only been a month.