First Days in London!!

I made it to London!!! :D

The flight went very well, I slept a little bit which helped with the jet lag. When I got to London Heathrow I went through customs, which took FOREVER but the guy was really nice at the desk. I got my student visitor visa quite successfully! After that, I went to find my luggage (which was thankfully not lost or broken into) and was met by my driver and 2 other girls in the ASA program. We took a black cab to Regents. 

By this time, it was about 9:30 am and I already felt like I could sleep for 10 hours, but my roommate and I stayed awake and unpacked. At 11, my group met with the ASA program advisor, Emma, who took us out to London for a little orientation and lunch at Pizza Express. I had the gluten free superfood salad, it was delicious! 

 Got back to the college for 3 pm for the Regents "Welcome to London" talk. After that, we had the "Marylebone Challenge" where we walked in a group around Baker Street and Marylebone Street as a was to introduce us to the local surroundings. It was fun, but my feet definitely hurt! Note to self - find gel pads for shoes!! 

Later on was the Welcome Drinks in the student bar. I was practically asleep standing up at this point. So I left at 8 and passed out around 10. I'm glad I didn't sleep during the day, I got over my jet lag much faster.

Yesterday we had another long, boring orientation in the morning, then a Scavenger hunt in Trafalgar Square. I bought an Oyster card and took a double decker bus there. It was AWESOME :D We walked  for about 2.5 hours and saw so many big sights like Big Ben and parliament, the London eye, etc. We met at a pub at the end and I found £10 on the floor (WIN) then my group won the scavenger hunt and we won another £10!!! My lucky day :) 

We took the tube at Temple st and I found a fruit stand where I got 2 bananas, 2 apples, a nectarine and my beautiful fig. I ate dinner, then I just chilled in my room and read a bunch of paperwork from orientation. There is so much to remember. A little overwhelming, but great to know. 

I woke up today at 6 am and went for a run in Regents Park. The rose gardens are stunningly beautiful. There was even a waterfall! Pictures to come, I'm sure :)

Today we have another orientation about academic life and also a meeting with our academic advisors to review our schedules. I'm hoping to switch my theatre class to the Monday and Wednesday section so I have a 4 day weekend! 

Tonight is the Boat Party on the Thames, I'm very excited for it! 

So, that was my first couple days in a nutshell! I love London so far and can't wait to do more exploring and traveling.

Lots of Love,

Casey

Bon Voyage...Almost! :)

I can't believe it's TOMORROW. The day I've been waiting for since high school... I'm finally going to LONDON - the city of my dreams!!! 

This past week has been pretty hectic, between packing and preparing for my flight, getting everything ready for my Bon Voyage party, and making last minute runs to Walmart for all the little things I forgot! I can safely say now that I feel very prepared - just a few more things to do!

Saturday, Mom and Dad threw me a "Bon Voyage" party. I had so much fun, and I loved seeing my family and friends all together before I leave. That was the best part of the whole day!

Bon Voyage!!

:)

My pretty Union Jack and Big Ben notebook

Bon Voyage!

My beautiful sister :)

Volleyball Fun! (I epically failed)

Yesterday was a great day, too! Mom and I went for an awesome "last run" around Brookes Village Rd. in Templeton (my favorite route), then she helped me finish packing. Later on we went out to dinner.........

UNO's, did you guess?? :P

.........and ice cream!!! (sorry if this embarrasses you Tobi, but I look worse so it's all good)

Today will consist of:

• Packing
• Seeing Mortal Instruments (FINALLY) with Tobi
• Finishing up my To Do list
• Spending more time with my family :)

Tomorrow is my flight - 7:45 pm from Logan. Mom, Dad, and Gramma will be dropping me off!! I HIGHLY doubt I will sleep much tonight ;) But it'll be all worth it once I'm finally in London!!!!!!!

1 Day, 10 hours, 47 minutes!!!

Lots of Love,

Casey

One more week - packing, trips, and more!

Today officially marks 1 WEEK until I leave for London!! Time is flying by! 

Packing is..... coming along. Actually, it's more like "I'll just pile everything on my desk and wait until 2 days before to throw it all in the suitcase." Here are some pics of my progress:

Some of my clothes and snacks ;)

Contacts, meds, hair essentials, carry-on items, school supplies, passport

The (still empty) luggage and carry on

Shoes! :)

Passport and my pretty British money :)

So, it's coming along, but I've still got tons to do!!


Now: onto the exciting stuff!!! :D

Yesterday, Regent's University sent an email with my orientation schedule for next week, as well as their schedules trips.

Here is the tentative schedule for my orientation:

They are packing in quite a lot for the orientation (I hope I have enough time to buy a hair dryer/flat iron when I arrive, a girl's gotta represent), but I am so excited for it, especially the London Bus Tour and Camden Walk on Saturday! :)


Regent's also sent their scheduled trips, which are separate from the ones included in my Academic Studies Abroad package. I will (hopefully) be going on 4 overnight/weekend trips and 5 day trips:

Overnight Trips:
      -Pony Trekking in Wales (2 nights, 3 days : Nov. 15-17)
      -Edinburgh, Scotland (2 nights, 3 days : Oct. 4-6)
      -Paris, France (1 night, 2 days : Oct. 12-13) : FREE included with ASA
      -York, England (1 night, 2 days : Nov. 9-10) : FREE included with ASA

Day Trips:
      -Harry Potter Studio Tour (YESSS) - Sept. 21
      -Brighton, England - Sept. 28
      -Oxford, England - Sept. 7
      -Stonehenge & Bath - Sept. 15
      -Dover Castle & Canterbury - Nov. 23 - FREE: included with ASA

I am SO excited for these trips!!! And I will also have a 10 day break in October that I will hopefully be traveling around Europe with friends :)


“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” 
- St. Augustine


Love from,
Casey

First Post - 2 Weeks until lift-off!!

Hey everyone! 

I wanted to create a blog for you to follow my studies and adventures in London. I will try to post weekly updates while I am abroad if you are curious to know what I am up to! :)

Today officially marks 2 weeks until I leave for London! I am so excited - but I feel like there is still so much I have to do, think about, and prepare for! 

Yesterday was a big day: I received my official Visa papers so I can get into England, I found out who my roommate is (she looks super nice, I'm so excited to meet her!), and I got my international cell phone, voltage converters, and plug adapters! 

This is my class schedule:

M/W : Literary London 9:30-10 am

T/Th : Contemporary London Theatre: 10:30-12 pm

T: History, The Making of London: 2-5 pm

W: Intro to Studio Art: 2-5 pm

So, as you can see, I have 1 class Monday, 2 classes Tuesday and Wednesday, and 1 class Thursday! No Friday classes means (hopefully) traveling and exploring London! :)


Thank you for all the support in my Study Abroad adventure!!!


Love From,
Casey