Is this really happening?

As soon as I arrived at my gate, I pulled out my journal (thanks Erin) and wrote, “Omg! Is this really happening right now?”

For so long, I’ve been telling everyone, "I'm going to England," while filing out tons of paperwork, having endless conversations with countless people, and fundraising like crazy. Yet, it didn’t feel real until I was in the car with my parents on the way to the airport. All of a sudden I felt nervous, scared, doubtful.

But now, I’m here.

I arrived at Heathrow in London, and my friend and I went straight to jump in our taxi that whisked us off to Oxford, a drive of about an hour and fifteen minutes. We were dropped off at my friend's dorm, only to find out that mine was a 15-minute walk away! Thankfully, a staff member was kind enough to give me a ride. Not used to England yet, I almost got into the driver's seat… welcome to driving on the left! It gave us both a good laugh. During the ride, I learned a new bit of British slang, "rat run." When I asked what it meant, the driver explained that it's when people use small side roads to avoid traffic. He even showed me how residential areas try to prevent rat runs.

I’m sharing a room with a girl from Germany, who is incredibly kind. She’s here with a different program to improve her English. Oh… and she’s a swiftie too. We have lots of storage and a sink and then share 3 bathrooms amongst 8 other people. So far, I’ve met people from Brazil, Germany, Nigeria, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and more. It’s amazing to see everyone come together, hearing our different accents, slang, and languages. We played a team game where we had to map out the world from memory. It was so much fun to see everyone bring their own knowledge of their country into the group.

This is just a little snippet of my first day. I wanted to let you all know that I have arrived safely. Tomorrow, I receive my schedule, and classes start on Monday. I'll have a fun update for you next week! And I promise, pictures coming soon!!!

Much love,

Isa