Arriving on British ground...

I won't get into the flight because I'd like to think of happier times. haha All I'll say is that for almost 9 hours I was unable to move except to cross and uncross my legs. : /

When we were about a half hour out from landing I woke up from a long nap and stared out my window in amazement at all I was seeing. For years I had been dreaming of this and here I was watching Big Ben from hundreds of feet in the air.....I could hardly believe all the landmark sites I could see on the way in. Usually when you are landing/taking off everything below just kind of starts to look the same, but this was the one and only time I had ever clearly been able to pick out spots and sites.

When we touched ground I remember closing my eyes and mentally giving myself a pat on the back. I had done it....I was on English soil and everything was going to be okay. = ) Next thing I know I'm wandering through Heathrow...juggling bags and searching for my taxi driver.

Fast forward to my arrival at my dorm.

England was in the midst of the biggest snow storm it had seen in decades which was ironic because the last time I had visited they were having the rainiest weekend they had had in decades also. haha I ended up having to drag my bags through a literal foot of snow and up four flights of stairs which was no easy task, but once I got in my room there was this odd feeling. It was exactly as I had pictured everything to be from what small views the school websites gave, but it actually seemed a tad better.

I was HORRIBLY UGLY. I was still recovering from one of the worst breakouts of my life....I was greasy, tired, swollen, and swamped with work. I had to go to the store that night and get all these essentials before I could go to bed.... that was a daunting task and still to this day I look back on that and realize my own strength, determination, and will from moments like those. I just can't explain how exhausted and horrible I felt and then to have to venture into a strange town on foot in the dark and find groceries....ughhh.

Well I did it...I managed to get everything I needed at Sainsburys(which would come to be my safe haven many a time haha).

I remember setting up my bed that night...putting on every piece of clothing I could possibly wear(the radiator wasn't up an running yet) and passing out.

Sincerely,

Annie