In a land where witches wear pink

What a whirlwind the last month has been! The final preparations for the big move kept me busy enough, but life since then has moved even faster!

On the 25th of July, I locked the front door of my wee flat for the final time, at least for a year. I flew to New York City, to spend a few short days with my pal, Effbit, and we crammed a fair amount into those days. However, my favorite moment had to be on the very first night. We took a walk in the evening, and wandered down to the east river ferry dock. We made there just in time, so that my first glimpse of Manhatten was filtered through a stunning sunset, that no camera could do justice to. At that moment, it finally dawned on me that I was really here, and really doing this. No tears for me, just sheer, unadulterated excitement.



Over the next days I took in Fifth Avenue, the Museum of Natural History, FAO Schwarz... And of course, Tiffany's. I loved spending time with my friend but all too soon it was over and I had to move on. Work was beckoning, so I hopped a train to Washington,DC for the next leg of my adventure.

After months of epic emails, and hours of skyping, I was finally going to meet my exchange partner! I arrived at the hotel first, and was very impressed with the huge room I was given, but I was too excited about meeting Rebecca to explore much at first. Luckily, I didn't have too long to wait before I heard the knock on my door.

I'm hoping that Reba will agree when I say we got on like a house on fire. We took every possible opportunity to escape the hotel and take in as many of the beautiful sights as we could and spend as much time together as we could.

Monday's destination was The Museum of American history, and amongst the other treasures, I was absolutely thrilled to see Dorothy's ruby slippers. Especially as Frank.L.Baums story became a recurring theme throughout our lectures.


It was a really interesting week meeting all the other Fulbrighters. We heard lots of interesting lecturers, and learnt a lot about the many different cultures represented. However, I was champing at the bit to get to my new home, and see my new school.

I'd heard a lot about southern hospitality, but nothing could have prepared me for the reality. The welcome I received was totally overwhelming and the sheer generosity of Rebecca's family and friends was heartwarming. I could not have been made to feel more at home, and I'm more convinced than ever that this year is going to be amazing.

I'm not naive, I know that culture shock will hit, and I know that there will be bad days, but I'm pretty sure that the people around me will support me through it.

I'm ready for school. Are you?