That beautiful flight I was talking about ...

Here are a few photos I took on the plane while we were over the Atlantic. The only was I was able to get shots like these was because of the full moon. It just provided spectacular light and this is only just a glimpse of the spectacle I saw.

And for those of you who don't know ... this is a very blurry photo of Dublin. I totally geeked out and pointed out to myself "Oh there's north Dublin where U2 started! And hey, there's the Liffy where U2 does all its Dublin recording! Oh wait, there's Howth, where the house where 'War' was recorded sits! And there's Killiney, where Bono and Edge live."

City of Blinding Lights? Or Unforgettable Fire?

"Never seen a moon like this can you see it too?"

Hello everyone! I'm officially in Scotland, in my room in St. Regulus at St. Andrews! (Click the video below to see what my happy dance looks like).

I live on the ground floor of the building which makes it feel a little like a basement, but that's okay! It's REALLY spacious. As in, I was shocked when I walked in. I've got a twin bed, a night stand, a desk with drawers and a rolling chair, a sink, a shelf, an armoire, a lounge chair, and what used to me a fireplace that now just provides a strange ambiance and a useful mantle. I'll post pictures when I can!

In my last post, I talked about how nervous I was, and I truly was sick to my stomach with the idea of leaving home for so long. I was looking for reassurance, and He certainly gave that to me when I got on my plane that took me to Heathrow today. Looking for a diversion so I could stop thinking about how unwell I felt or how sad I felt, I looked in the British Airways magazine to see what movies they were playing. And I broke out in a smile. Because the movie, "It Might Get Loud" starring Jimmy Page (Led Zepplin / The Yardbirds), Jack White (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs), and the brilliant The Edge (U2) was playing. This has recently become one of my favorite movies and as soon as I saw it, I knew everything was going to be okay. But not only that, when we left there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the moon was full. The flight was absolutely breathtaking as rivers and lakes and the ocean were lit up by the moon, and the mist from the water seemed to meld with the sky. I got one photo that is as close as I can get to showing you just how incredible this was. I've never been on such a beautiful evening flight and what reassurance it provided me that everything would be all right and this was the right thing for me to do. I'm so grateful for that reassurance given when I needed it most.

Scotland so far has been great! My friend Amanda (who just became my friend today, but we both go to Elon and we rode to St. Andrews together which qualifies for friendship), and I had a lovely ride on St. Andrews direct with Paul. Paul is originally from Belfast, N. Ireland, followed a girl to London and it ended up not working out (isn't that always how it works?), he stayed in London for a while, and he's been living in the Edinburgh area for the past 18 years. Paul proved to be not only an excellent driver when we drove through a miniature snow storm (yes you read that correctly), but he was also an excellent tour guide.

We drove past Dumferline, which is on the opposite side of the Leith (river) from Edinburgh. Fife was the seat of ancient power in Scotland, and Dumferline was its capital, with St. Andrews at the northern part of Fife. Then we drove through the town of Leith which is where brothers Charlie and Craig Reed were born. These two are most famous for forming the Scottish rock group The Proclaimers. If you don't know they're music, think of "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" or "I'm On My Way" which was in the movie Shrek.

Paul also told us about the castle on Loch Ness, called Urquhart Castle, which is where Ted Danson filmed "Loch Ness". I hope I'm not the only person that saw that movie. I remember the ending scene as if it were yesterday ....

And continuing on his film theme, Paul told us that the infamous running on the beach scene from Chariots of Fire is just a quick bus ride away ... which gives me WAY too many ideas! He pointed out the old golf course where the British open is played and then gave us a miniature tour of the town.

Amanda and I walked all over campus and town today taking care of a lot of details, i.e. getting water cases, getting the internet hookup material, getting a UK phone, etc. We also walked down to the ocean, which was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! The water here is so much more powerful than anything I've ever seen. I'll definitely be spending some time down there!

Tonight a few of us are going to go see Up In The Air to try to keep ourselves awake until at least 8PM. Then I'm sure we'll all be hitting the hay! Sorry this was a long post, but there's so much to say and I want to make sure it gets relayed back to all of you!

And as promised, here is the happy dance. Enjoy!

That commercial with the storm in your stomach is me right now

Well, I'm sitting in Dulles Airport at my gate, just hanging out for now. My flight leaves in about an hour which means I need to make this a quick post because we'll probably be boarding soon. I've been overseas before, but I've never been this terrified. There are so many unknowns and just things that are out of my control which is throwing me for a loop. Every single emotion that can be felt is rushing through me right now at about 1000 miles an hour. Sleeping was hard last night, and my stomach has just been upset all day today. Hopefully I'll sleep on the plane, or at least find a funny movie. Normally I'm a pro at this, but this is rough. I've never been away from home for so long, and I will truly miss it, especially mom and Jim, who I've had way too much fun with this month! But, I'll get through it and it'll all be okay. I wish I could think of a line from a song right now that fits with how I'm feeling or that reassures me, but my brain is coming up blank, not because I don't know a lyric, but because I'm just that toast physically and mentally right now. R.O.U.GH. Anyway, I'm heading off to get my bags prepped and myself before heading off for Scotland.

AHHH!!! I DO HAVE A LYRIC!!!!

"Breathe in, breathe out, move on." -Jimmy Buffett

Ode to Howard Schultz

It seems strange to be leaving for Europe for four months in less than 48 hours. I haven't even begun packing yet. *Headsmack* No, today I went to Running, Etc. which is Toys 'R' Us for adults, so I'd call it a semi-successful day.

There are so many unknowns in studying for a semester. I'm a pro at the two to three week trip abroad. But longer than that, I'm out of my league. So I'll just have to take it one day at a time, one step at a time.

At least they have Starbucks in St. Andrews.