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?