I'm off on on an adventure to Oz, but I'll still miss Kansas!

Get a hold of yourself, Erin. It's just a month. Yes, despite the exuberance yall have seen me express on here, I am somewhat sad to leave home. I'll be missing a large chunk of the Southern summers  I have long enjoyed, and most of all, missing my family and friends. I visited most of them yesterday to say my goodbyes, and I acted like I was  going to be gone for years! (And believe me, that same kind of mentality goes into my packing! Woo-weee, is that one big suitcase I have! I'm gonna be knocking everyone on the sidewalks down when I'm rolling that thing!) One thing you have to know about my family: we are EXTREMELY tight knit. Inseperable. Exceptionally interdependent. I cried with Mom and Dad, I cried with both my grandmas, and cried all the way home from both their houses, worrying to death about every little thing, and almost feeling like I was betraying my family for leaving them! I know, I know. Melodramatic. That word summarizes the whole of my emotions.

But, as I was crying and worrying, the words of a very wise woman came to my mind. Two women, in fact. The first was  my dear aunt, who had reminded me earlier today of Whose hands I am in. The Lord God's. And nothing will happen to me that is outside His plan. His hand will be beneath that airplane going all the way across the Atlantic, His hand will be shielding those I love from  harm while I am away, His hand will be holding mine as I enter a brand new  corner of the world, far from everything that is familiar. I have nothing to fear. Secondly, during my crying spell, the verse that a dear lady in Sunday school had shared earlier that day came to mind. Isaiah 50:7-"For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed." No matter the "what ifs" that flood my worries, I have  to predetermine to set my face like stone in God's direction at the beginning of every day. I have to keep my eyes toward Who is in control of it all.

After meditating on these thoughts, I cheered up significantly (but that's not the end of my crying, I don't think. I still have the airport goodbye to go through with my parents, sister, and boyfriend!) To help me even further, I took one last trip to the  supreme grandeur of Southernness: Bojangles. Hello, Cajun filet biscuit and sweet tea! I also made a list about  the comforts of home for extreme cases of missness to keep in my England notebook. At the top of this list was a quotation of my quirky, spunky, Southern Belle of a Grandma who told me this as I was leaving today: "I've never been on an airplane  before, but if anyone messes with my baby over there,  they'll have to deal with me! I'll hunt them down like a bloodhound and a half! I'd swim if I had to!" Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.

The magical mystery tour is coming to take me awaaayyyy!!!!

Two more days until I leave for a tour through the magic and mystery of England. One of the classes I'm taking is even called English 419: Magic and Mystery Mystery Literature, for goodness' sake! How intriguing!  Here's just a few of places we're going and things we're doing (these are my favorite things on the itinerary!) We will be studying literature in the very locations where it was inspired! May 23:picnic in Kensington Gardens to discuss Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. May 25-26: Stonehenge and Salisbury with a look at the  countryside nature poetry of Hopkins. May 27: the town of Bath while studying Northanger Abbey, which took place in Bath! May 29- Oxford, the home of C. S. Lewis and Tolkien. We'll be discussing  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (one of my personal favorites!) and The Hobbit! May 30- tour of the breathtaking Lake District, which inspired the nature poetry of Wordsworth. One of the most beautiful places God ever designed, if you ask me! June 6- Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, at the Globe Theater!!!! June 7-10: free weekend to go wherever we please! We will also get an opportunity to explore London for a while on our own (my lovely friends and I are thinking of going on the Jack the Ripper tour!) sounds fascinating!) We are planning to go on some day trips throughout England, possibly at the White Cliffs of Dover, Cheddar Gorge, or Liverpool (home of the Beatles! seriously, one time in geography class in my freshman year of college, my professor pointed out Liverpool on a map and I squealed, "BEATLESSSS!!" before taking the time to realize how crazy I must have looked. I got a few stares. True story). Here is a preview of what the pictures of me touring in  Liverpool will  look like:

June 14- Britain at War and tour of Churchill war rooms. This time period (WW2) was the background for some of the works we are studying. June 15-16: Cardiff Castle in Wales, with a study of Edith Nesbit' s The Enchanted Castle! June 17: MY BIRTHDAY!!! That is exciting on its own, but to make it even more grand, we will tour Tintern Abbey, which inspired the MAGNIFICENT poem of the same name by Wordsworth. These are just some of the things on the itinerary! Much more magic and mystery is to come, and I will share it with you right here! Stay tuned! :)

Money may not grow on trees, but it does, at times, fall from the sky.

My trip is paid for, ladies and gentlemen. Yes, I spent long hours being  a diner girl in addition to taking 6 college courses, and tutored 3 nights a week, and scrimped every  penny I got for birthdays and Christmas presents,  but that was only a portion of the money that is going toward the trip. About a  month ago, I was beginning to get frustrated, because all  that work and saving still had not added up to the amount I needed. I was  freaking out, to be honest. Then, through  a letter I got from the scholarship office, God said to me, "Remember, you don't have to handle this on your own, Erin! I got this!" I had gotten a scholarship that I didnt even apply for. God was looking out for me, and continued to do so as the money kept coming in and coming in from so many generous donors. It was indeed rather last-minute, considering I was in the month-before-my-trip-panic-mode right before all this happened. But God has a way of keeping us on our toes like that. I guess every time it happens, it's supposed to be a reminder that we should have started off with an attitude of trust in Him from the beginning, and this panic mode would not have happened. Who knows when that lesson will ever get through this thick blonde head. All I can say is to God be the glory! He  brought all this together so swimmingly! I am so thankful  to Him and to the people who prayed for my trip money to come together (including my lovely mother) and who gave so generously to my England fund. Know that there is a part of you, whether it be your prayers or monetary contribution, that will go with me across the pond. I do not take that lightly, and I cannot than you enough.

20 days until the American Invasion--when I return the favor of the Brits from the 1960s.

Excitement does not even begin to cover my feelings about my upcoming study abroad trip to England/Scotland/Wales as a starry-eyed English major with a special interest in British literature. I spent years, starting at approximately age 5, dreaming of Britain to the soundtrack of my dad's old 1960's British Invasion songs, and now I'm coming for the Brits like they came for us Americans almost five decades ago! ;) Although I will be the one invading this time, I'm pretty sure I as an American will continue the role of the fanatical screamer. Hopefully I can keep my fangirling under control.

The weather here has been rather cloudy and chilly, considering it's springtime in the South, the past few days. The professor that will be leading this study abroad experience told me that this kind of weather is what I need to prepare for. Although she said it will be cold and dreary, the grass will have a certain glow about it, almost as if it is enchanted, making up for the drab lack of color in the sky.

Speaking of enchanted, one of the two classes I am taking during this trip is Brit Lit 413--Magic and Mystery. This is my Brit-lit-expert of a professor's new pilot class. Items on the reading list include The Hobbit, Peter Pan, and The Enchanted Castle. I am ok with that. VERY ok. I just finished reading the Enchanted Castle, which is such a charming little book, and I cannot wait for it to come to life before my very eyes when we visit places such as Cardiff Castle.

Keep in mind, listening to my professor tell us about these works of literature in the setting where they took place counts as our "class" time. Living out my lifelong dream AND getting class credit for it? Yes, please.