My expectations for this study abroad are set pretty high, seeing as I have put a lot of money and stress into getting to go; but at the same time, I really just don't know what to expect because I have very little experience doing the whole traveling thing. You see, I have been to 6 states; and that is even counting Utah. Luckily.. that is soon to change. Maybe not necessarily the state thing, but I can at least up my numbers with a country or two.

I am hoping this will open my eyes to what is really out in the world and help me to see something other than what I am used to. I love learning about other cultures, and seeing new things, so this trip should be a blast. I just want to be able to take everything in so that I can refer back to all of my new knowledge to use for inspiration in designs I will do. I want to take in a lot of the history of the places we will be going. The United States were settled fairly recent compared to these countries we will be visiting. I love that a lot of the buildings we will be seeing have sustained through long periods of time and continue to look fabulous. (ie: Blenheim Palace, as shown below)



Another plus to this whole excursion is that I love accents, and I am pretty sure that we will be surrounded by them the entire trip. Maybe I will be able to pick up a few phrases, cause lets be honest, I am horrible at imitating voices. I wouldn't even mind running into the Queen once or twice.

Some things I am nervous about is just being somewhere I am not used to. Especially on the weekend excursions I have planned. We will see how they pan out, but as of now, only knowing English and not being able to figure out directions when I am out of Utah scares me a bit.

My best friend just got back from London and loved it. She was the shopping is fabulous, but that clothing and accessories are pretty pricey over there. She said that the prices of food wasn't as big of a shocker as she expected. Her favorite place to go was the Walkabout. Apparently this is the happening club in London. I was told that Globe Theater was over rated, but this could have been by someone that wouldn't necessarily have appreciated what it had to offer.

I am just so excited for everything. For the food, or lack thereof because I am practically out of money, for the environment, for the history, for the buildings, for the culture, and lets not forget, for the fellas. (Okay, maybe not so much the fellas, it sounds nice though). I just am happy to be able to have this opportunity at all, so I hope I put everything I've got into learning and experiences this whole shabang.