Well, I’m sitting in the Boston airport waiting for my second of three flights. I’ve been looking forward to this day for months, and now that it’s here, it’s kind of surreal, and I’ve had butterflies in my stomach all day! Dad wrote me a note last night to look back on over the course of my travels: “Nothing will go as planned. If you plan it, it will go ok.” I think this really describes my nervousness right now! I’ve been planning this day (and this year for that matter!) out in my head dozens of times and making it all go “just so.” I get very nervous when I don’t feel in control of the situation, which for me in this case means having “all my ducks in a row” with my passport and tickets and knowing exactly where I’m going, etc. So I’m hoping to learn over the course of this trip that there are things that I can’t control, but I can create plans so that if unexpected circumstances arise, all will still be ok in the end.

I got quite a few phone calls/visits from friends and family yesterday and this morning, and it was wonderful to know that so many people were excited for me and wishing me safe travels and a fun time 🙂

It was a bit difficult saying goodbye to my family this morning. Skype is a wonderful invention, but it’s not quite the same…

It’s still kind of surreal that I’m going to be in England “tomorrow morning!” I feel really discombobulated sitting in the airport watching people. Everyone else seems so “put together,” while I have a mismatch of a coat, my purse, my little passport/important stuff bag, a little pillow and shoes tied to my backpack (which looks as if it might burst at the seams)…etc… Kind of silly, but I guess most people aren’t packed for a year with very little being sent to them. On that note, I didn’t quite succeed with that whole “not have Mom and Dad send anything.” I was close, but not quite. Oh well. Thank you Mommy 🙂

When I checked in at the Pittsburgh airport, there was a couple checking in next to me, each with twice the amount of baggage I had, and when asked by the attendant, they said they were going for two weeks! The biggest thing is that I need to be able to carry it all, and even so, it’s ridiculously heavy. But we’ll see how that all ends up.

I’ve just had dinner, gone through security again, and now have camped out at my gate, about two hours before departure. I’ve decided a seven hour layover is quite a long time, but it’s not so bad with my computer and wireless available. Without those…I’d be hard-pressed for entertainment. And I feel like I can really just chill out now and wait.

I have a bit of a plan to battle jetlag, based on the times of my flights. I leave Boston at 9:30, so I’ll sleep until Reykjavik, when I get in 6:30 local time, and that will be my “night’s sleep.” Then that flight to Manchester leaves at 8, so I’ll try to stay awake on that “morning” flight, and then it gets in 11:30 local time. And then of course forget about EST for a few days so I don’t confuse myself thinking “well it’s __o’clock at home.” So in theory, I think I may be able to trick my body into adjusting quickly. I’ll post an update on how that plan went 🙂

I’ve started to hear some English accents floating around, as the plane they’re boarding now is going to London Heathrow. It must be a huge plane going, because they started with “rows 75 and higher.” I suppose that’s logical though, because Boston and London are both major airport hubs. I do wonder how big the plane will be to Reykjavik because I’ve been told that airport is very small, and apparently it’s a “typical Scandinavian airport,” which supposedly means very bare-bones and decorated all the same (?). I’ll report on that based on my experience with one “Scandinavian style airport” later, as I’m quite curious about it, and see what I can do about a few pictures 🙂

Goodnight, and I’ll update again at sometime tomorrow…whenever time presents itself!

Location: 1 Harborside Drive, East Boston, MA 02128