It's more than a little frightening to think that in twenty-eight days I'll be across the Atlantic Ocean for three months and six days. I know I'll enjoy myself immensely, but at the moment I'm still in my homebody mode, which entails flipping out at the prospect of being away from my parents and most of my Hendrix friends for so long. I'm not tremendously worried about adjusting to a different culture; England and America aren't that far apart, and it helps that I've spent the past two years immersing myself in English literature. I'm a bit leery of one book we're to read for Dr. King, though: Ridley's Walk, I think it's called. Because it's set in a post-apocalyptic England where English is dying out, it's written in phonetic English with mangled grammar, which makes my inner grammarian twitch and reach for a red pen. Still, I've decided to make a list of what I need to get done before heading to England, and what I want to do once I'm there.
1) Buy sweaters, sort clothing for mix-and-match-able items (since I'm bringing one suitcase)
2) Figure out my itinerary for the week of travel and make hostel reservations
3) Buy Eurail pass, for Belgium/France/Germany and England
4) Update my Google Calendar (I don't know how I lived without it) with my class times and pre-planned events
5) Buy books, ship them to Donia's
And when I'm there, I want to (this list is subject to frequent revision):
1) See Les Miserables on the West End
2) Visit the Tower of London
3) Visit the Imperial War Museum, maybe get into their archives if I can
4) Go all over the British Museum
5) Maybe skip class on the 11th to attend the Armistice Day Ceremony, or see if I can get excused
6) If possible (a big 'if') I want to get up to Shrewsbury to see Wilfred Owen's home, and to Sambre-Oise to see his grave
7) Visit Verdun, the Somme, Ypres, Bruges
8) Visit Harrod's
9) See Hadrian's Wall
10) Eat real fish and chips
11) Celebrate my 21st birthday
12) Buy gifts for Mom, Dad, and Rachel
13) Go to Buckingham, Westminster Abbey to see the Grave of the Unknown Soldier, and Bath
14) Visit Donia
