A World Away....A Week Away!

I'll be in London in less than a week. Wow.

As my excitement about my trip is building, so is my anxiety! I am really worried about being away from work for a week and also worried about how my daughter will feel with me gone for so long. I will not be able to make any calls from abroad, and I will have limited access to my computer (mostly for blogging and checking maps!). It will be refreshing, yet scary to be somewhat 'disconnected' from my home and from the world that I know.

I have begun contemplating my packing. Do I really need that many outfits? Or do I need more? I lie awake at night thinking about what's in my suitcase. Last night, I read my London travel guide from cover to cover and have mapped out all the spots I want to see - some of them are 'touristy' and others are not. I have currently been reading Emily Bronte's novel, Wuthering Heights and I am quite prepared to imitate the Cockney accents of some of her characters while on my trip. It's very much the same experience I had when I read Zora Neale Hurston's novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. In my head, I was speaking in the dialect of the characters for weeks after reading the book! It's probably a little corny that I am on Brisith literature overload before my trip, but it's my area of teaching specialty and my primary interest in this trip.

I have a London-themed calendar in my office and I am looking at the picture for March - it is the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace. I'll be there in 7 days. Yup - me in front of a palace. Who would have figured?

My Kingdom for a Hotel

The first real challenge in planning the London trip was realized today. The other trip coordinator, Heather, called me this morning to tell me that she thought the hotel we had booked, The Prince William Inn, did not have two beds in each room. This realization is problematic, considering this is a school-sponsored trip! After doing some more investigation, we decided to switch to another hotel.

I spent about half an hour on the phone today with a woman named Jade who works for Hotels.com. She was fantastic - she booked our group of 11 people and had all the details and confirmations in my e-mail inbox before we finished the phone call. Much better customer service than what we received with the Prince William - it took a month to book six rooms and we have still been waiting on email inquiries sent two weeks ago. I wonder how long it will take them to respond to my cancellation e-mail when they realize how much money they'll be losing.

Now, our group is staying at the Shaftesbury Paddington Hyde Park Hotel which looks to be wonderful. It is a 4-star hotel that is extremely close to Paddington Station, where we can catch the Tube to various locations we plan to visit on our trip. This morning, I was worrying if we would get off the plane with even a place to stay because of the poor customer service we had received.

I am packed, I have a place to stay, and most of the paperwork is completed for the trip. Good thing - it's only 9 days away.

Epic Packing

My most recent discovery is that I am quite the efficient packer. After discovering that my family's largest suitcase got destroyed in my last flight (interior plastic liner was crushed into a million pieces), I embarked upon a journey to purchase a new one. Sadly, there are no nice, large suitcases available for individual puchase for under $60.00. Determined to save my money for spending at Harrod's and a host of English pubs, I returned home with a simple mission: cram a week's worth of clothing and necessities into the medium-sized suitcase.

The packing job I have done is nothing short of epic. I used the rolling method, but I also packed clothes inside of clothes - I downsized as much as possible, opting for trial size in all of my beauty products and using all available compartments. It helps that I have somewhat of a container fetish; I had several cosmetic bags that I used for various items like batteries, jewelry, and medicines.

A lesson I learned from my very first flight experience was that 99% of everyone who travels has a black rolling suitcase. A companion on my last trip to Boston decorated her suitcase with garbage bag strips and another tied blue ribbons on her zippers. I have puchased bright pink luggage tags and I have also tied neon green and electric blue ribbons on not one, but all of my visible zippers. My bag looks a little like it is sprouting blooms, but I am sure that I will find it more quickly. Last time at the baggage claim, I got dizzy watching the rotating conveyor belt in search for my bag.

I am also pleased to report that I have managed to pack some fun things, as well. I have magazines, a journal, my PSP, my mp3 player, and my mala beads. I'm ready to rock and roll. I will probably end up taking a novel with me as well, and I still feel like a travel pillow couldn't be a bad purchase.

Regardless, I am one step closer to London than I was yesterday....and one day nearer to my life-changing adventure!

Countdown to London

I am a little overwhelmed as I sit here at the kitchen table contemplating the arduous task of packing well for my first international trip. In eleven days, I will be flying to London, England for a week-long stay as a trip coordinator for my college. The empty suitcase glares at me, taunting me with the fact that there is no way to truly, completely, and perfectly pack the right things.

Simply put, I'm nervous. I'm a nervous flyer; I hate the takeoff and I hate the landing, but I absolutely love the middle of the flight. Weak-stomached, I am easily nauseated and my level of anxiety is much higher than the average person's. Add in the fact that I'm extremely obsessive-compulsive, and it's easy to see why packing for a trip of this magnitude is stressful for me. The fact that I am semi-responsible for the students (granted they are all adults capable of decision-making) in a foriegn land is daunting. The only thing I know about London is that Chaucer and Shakespeare are both buried there, and I am absolutely thrilled to be going.

In truth, I know a lot about London - but only about London hundreds of years ago through reading poetry. As an English teacher specializing in British Literature, this is my pilgrimage to what is basically the equivalent of Mecca for avid readers and nerds. I'm not sure why some of the other trip participants are going. Certainly, London is a world-class city and there's lots of fun things to do there, but I feel something internal pulling me there, as if it's a place I have always been destined to go. Rather, it's a place I must go - I need to feel and see that the literature I have dedicated my life to teaching is tangible and therefore real. I must walk in Shakespeare's steps in Stratford and breathe in the air of inspiration and creativity. For me, this trip will be life-changing and even more life-affirming.

As I look at my empty suitcase and contemplate the things I will be taking with me, I am more excited about what I will be bringing home. Not souveneirs or photographs, but memories and emotions. I plan to do a lot of writing there, as well, because I want to preserve how I feel about everything. My friend Rhonda always tells me that when people go on trips, they gain perspective. It's true - everytime I have taken an extended trip (the fathest away from my 'home' in the southern states that I've ever been is Leamington, Ontario and San Antonio, Texas), I have come home full of ideas and inspiration. My soul is rejuvenated by the new experiences and my mind is clear of old clutter.

What I'm even more worried about, however, is what I will be leaving behind. This will be the longest I've ever been away from my daughter, and that pains me. I will miss her so much. She's only almost 2, so I doubt she'll miss me terribly! Part of me feels guilty for being away from her for so long, and to be honest, I was very torn about taking this trip in the first place. But it is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I'd be foolish not to take it. London is calling - and I am answering!

Countdown to London: http://www.bored.com/makecountdowns/show.php?id=158004