Departure Countdown: 2 days

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Like everyone else that is or has ever been in my position, it has not yet hit me that I am leaving. Although I have done all of the preparatory work and have nothing to do until I leave, I still think of my flight as being a glimmer in the distant future. I am unsure whether that is a good or a bad thing. I also have no idea what this trip will be like, which makes it difficult to prepare emotionally. Nonetheless, I leave in roughly 55 hours.

By packing and preparing early, I have given myself free time to relax and say my goodbyes until I leave. My schedule is packed with lunches, sleepovers, and skype sessions with my friends and family. It is quite bittersweet but I could not be happier that I am leaving.

volg #3: ONE WEEK!

Departure Countdown: 14 Days

2 weeks? Are you kidding. Woah.


I want to be freshman-year-of-high-school-poetry-unit deep for a post so stick with me...


I think it is symbolic and wonderful that it has been raining and will be raining while I have been and will continue to prepare to leave. Yes, I wanted to get my tan on so I would look good in the million pictures I will be taking. Yes, I am sad that I won't get to have a beautiful sunny summer in Illinois. But come on. Since I got home, the weather has been unpredictable. Some days it is cloudy all day but never rains. Other days it is sunny all day then out of nowhere it starts to downpour. Sound familiar? Let's get real, if I were back in the poetry unit of any English class I've ever taken, I would make this all stereotypically deep in the most mediocre and condescending of ways. I think it would go something like this:

Rain.

Unpredictable rain.

Drawing parallels between my bleak present and my bright future.

Could this be a sign?

Do I believe in signs?

All I know is this:

Rain is cleansing.

Rain is the only thing that can bring along a rainbow.

I want a rainbow.

Gross isn't it?? But COME ON!

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Departure Countdown: 19 Days

It wasn't until I wrote the title for this post that I realized I leave in less than 20 days. My departure date is quickly approaching and I could not be happier.

Coming home from college for the summer seems like a blast. Maybe for other people it is. For me it's just boring and disappointing. Everyone is busy. I sleep all day. I watch Netflix all night. Don't get me wrong! It's relaxing. But I wouldn't describe it as exciting.

You know what is exciting? Anywhere but here. I'm looking forward to being in a new place. That concept in and of itself is exciting. Even more exciting is that news that I got my class and residence assignments. I found out yesterday that I will be taking Photographing the City: London and Creative Writing. With the knowledge of what classes I'll be taking and where I will be living, I am finally ready to go. I am now confident that I will not only survive this trip... but maybe even enjoy it. I have been so worried these past few weeks that I will have a terrible time. But suddenly, I am ready. Maybe it is because I am relieved that I got the classes I wanted. Maybe it is because I am so damn bored here in the North Shore. Maybe it is because I am tired. But I think I'm ready.

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Departure Countdown: 23 Days

Information overload. CIS Abroad sends me emails everyday with new information and I'M FREAKING OUT!

Gigi, here is how you get your visa!
Gigi, don't forget to print out all 30 of these forms and mail them to us yesterday!
Gigi, don't pack too much... there might not be an elevator in your building!
Gigi, did you book your flight yet?
Gigi, hey!
Gigi, you will not get to sign up for classes until June but tell us right now what class you want to take!

The only helpful and inspiring email I have gotten to date was (of course) a Pinterest board. It has some really great information that I will check out when my CIS email induced panic attack subsides.

Until then, I'll be hiding from the real world and the responsibility that comes with it.

Departure Countdown: 24 Days (Updated Departure Time)

Flight = booked.

This is all becoming very real. Today I booked my flight and I leave June 14th. I never really thought about the flight and how long it would take. It is an eight hour flight from Chicago to London and there is a six hour time change. THAT'S 14 HOURS! I can't wait to become acquainted with my new friend, Jet Lag. I'm hoping to sleep during the flight; but knowing me and real life travel patterns, I will be wide awake the entire time. If I go sleepless on the flight, I will be awake for roughly 31 hours before I can go to sleep on the 15th.

What a wonderful way to start my trip: crippling fatigue and subsequent moodiness/crankiness.

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I'm studying up on some ways to avoid jet lag. Below is a link to some good tips that I will keep in mind on my flight but mostly likely disregard.

WikiHow: How to Avoid Jet Lag

Departure Countdown: 27 Days

Now that I have officially finished sophomore year (exams and all), I can finally start thinking about my trip. I leave in 27 days and that means that I have 27 days to shop my brains out, do paperwork, save money, pack, and emotionally prepare myself for what lies ahead. I am hopeful that all of this hysteria is worth it in the end... HAH! Just kidding!

LET'S DO IT!

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Departure Countdown: 31 Days (ONE MONTH!!)

Woah. I just realized that one month from today I will be headed to London. Rather than excited, I just became extremely anxious and I think I'm going to throw up. Annnddd I still have 2 finals left.

Departure Countdown: 36 Days

I have officially finished my classes for sophomore year. Now, we're looking at a paper and four finals. Let the apathy begin!

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Departure Countdown: 39 Days

It's important to prioritize your stress before it gets out of control.

I know that only because I suck at it. Even though I start finals in 7 days, all I can stress about is getting everything ready for the UK. It looks like I need to back off of the travel stress for a while. In 11 days I can get back to pulling my hair out over booking flights, buying clothes, packing, and registering for classes abroad. For now I need to worry about starting the paper that is due in 4 days and studying for finals.

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Departure Countdown: 42 Days

I'm starting to get the uneasy feeling that my trip to the UK won't pan out like my favorite movies. A girl can dream though, can't she? These movies set the bar unachievably high. And I'm realizing that I have terrible taste in rom-coms.

Eurotrip

What A Girl Wants

(and possibly the worst photoshop job ever)

Chasing Liberty

Passport to Paris

The Lizzie McGuire Movie

The Holiday

Midnight in Paris

Leap Year

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Departure Countdown: 45 Days

(maxi)Million Maxi Skirts!


Lately, I've been especially worried about what to wear in Europe. In the meetings I have attended and the research I have done I found that people in Europe do not wear shorts. Wearing shorts abroad is a great way to make yourself stand out as an American! The goal is to NOT look American because you may become a target for ridicule, harassment, and theft. In addition, wearing bright colors and patterns is an American style that will also flag you as American. The suggested style for a hot day is a subtly colored maxi skirt/dress.

I'm all about that life. Don't have to shave my legs? Are you kidding me?!

Because I am still at school and do not have the time, means, or funds to shop for Europe as much as I'd like, I again have taken to Pinterest. I have been hella-inspired by some of these styles and thought I'd share some of my favorites. Some of these styles feature a little more color than suggested... but let's think outside of the box.

Departure Countdown: 46 Days

I started this blog 46 days early for two reasons:

1) I need to organize my thoughts.

2) People are getting sick of me constantly talking about Europe. 

Just like how I know I will inevitably be a cat lady, I know that I will be the girl that comes back from studying abroad and talks about nothing but what it was like in Europe. I don't care. Down with the haters. I'M GOING TO EUROPE! Everyday that I am closer to leaving, it hits me a little more. Unfortunately, that is accompanied by fear and anxiety. I have been coping by taking to Pinterest. I keep finding inspiring quotes and style ideas that take the edge off of the fear that I will get there and immediately want to go home.

On Saturday, all of the study abroad students had to go to a mandatory meeting. While most of the information was commonsensical and dull, the meeting started off with a quote that really got to me.

Take a minute to wrap your head around that... 

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Woah. Can I get an amen? Can I get a hell yeah? Amen and hell-to-the-yeah. Seeing as how I am not at all comfortable flying alone, being in foreign countries, traveling alone, not having friends, and doing pretty much anything... I guess this is where my life begins.