Saturday, July 31, 2004

I think I finally figured it out

I've been feeling a little bit blase about going to England lately, and a bit distressed over this whole apathetic feeling. I should be excited, right? Thrilled beyond belief. And I'm just...sitting here.

Of course, at any given moment there are about 30 different feelings running through my system, including, but not limited to, fear, excitement, happiness, terror, sadness, apathy, etc.

So why am I not just bursting to get on that airplane and get this adventure started? Well, every time I think of hugging my parents goodbye at the airport, or that last night with my beloved Millie (the feline) curled up next to me, or saying goodbye to my friends, I just want to cry. I am so NOT excited about that.

Little tangent here: I hate the word "goodbye." Too final. From here on out, I will only say "see ya" because it's not as traumatic for some reason.

Anyway, I guess it is perfectly normal to feel some degree of angst at leaving my home. Trust me, I am excited to go back to England. The big revelation I allude to in the title of this post came last night, when I realized that I probably won't be truly happy to go to England until I'm actually on the airplane...or maybe even landing in London.

As I thought about it last night, I remembered something else. A little over a year ago, I went to Rome with several co-teachers. We flew from San Francisco to London, London to Rome. We had a few hours to wait around at London Heathrow. I wanted so badly to get out of that airport and go into London, but I couldn't. It was almost painful sitting in that airport, not being able to see Big Ben or something. Anything. Rome, of course, was fantastic and I enjoyed my time there but being at Heathrow and just sitting there was awful.

This time...I get to leave the airport. I get to see London. I think I'm going to take the Airbus from Heathrow to Euston station, then a taxi from Euston to Liverpool Street Station. From there I'll take the Brit Rail to Burnham-on-Crouch. I will cover some territory in London and get to actually see it again.

So finally, last night, I felt a little bit less apathetic, a little bit more excited. Still, expect tears in the next few weeks. I can't help it. ; )

Enough rambling!

Cheers, Meg

Friday, July 30, 2004

Please, oh, please, buy my junk.

Another preparation for leaving the country...I'm having a garage sale. Well, actually, my brother and his wife are having the garage sale, I'm just hauling a bunch of junk out to their house to a) get rid of my "big girl" clothes (I've gone down one whole size, thank you!) and b) make some money.

D-day is rapidly approaching. I've been systematically weeding clothes out that I don't wear anymore and I even got the number of shoes in my shoe collection into the upper teens (what a sacrifice).  The hardest part is deciding what needs to stay at home (most of my stuff) and what can go with me to England.

Well, it's a short post today...must go through all of my stuff that's packed in the garage so I can be ready for that sale tomorrow.

Cheers, Meg

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

My first blog post (who's got my camera?)

Welcome to my blog...I love that word, "blog." Say it out loud. It sounds so silly. And yet, now I have one.

The purpose of The Wild and Absolutely True Adventures of Meg is to keep my friends and family updated about what I'm doing when I get to England. Just remember that I may not post much here before leaving, unless I have a pre-departure story to tell. Once I arrive in England, I have no idea when I will get my internet junkie paws on a computer. It will be a priority, let me assure you.

My first story:

Today I had my last lessons with two students, Josh and Andrew. Tonight is my last lesson with another family. Yikes! I love my kids, and here I am, leaving them. I know, I know, I'll have all kinds of new students in England. But until I meet them and start to love them, I'll miss my private lesson students and my kids from the Elverta job. Just the way we sappy teachers are.

People tell me all the time that I make a difference in kids' lives. What people don't understand is that these kids make a difference in mine. I learn from them every bit as much as they learn from me.

Well, enough sappiness for today. I want to check out all the features that come with my little blog. What fun!

Cheers,

Meg