24 Days and I'm stuck in a daze.

Please forgive the cheesy title for this post.
It is 2am, 24 days until Paris and 31 days until my program officially starts,  and I have spent a long time watching videos on YouTube for "How to pack like a pro!" and "Packing for time in Europe".

I can't believe it  is all happening so soon!

Ok- the game plan for the trip is as follows--
 My mom and I will fly from Chicago to Paris on Jan 21, spend a few days staying in Paris and sightseeing, then we are taking the train through the Chunnel to London. I will be in London a few nights prior to the start of my program (which starts on Jan. 27th).

I will be living in Earls Court, London:

I'll be living in a flat with students from my college as well as some from other liberal arts colleges in the midwest(ish).

I know a few of the girls from my college and they all are really nice (generally everyone from Ripon is nice, actually) so I am looking forward to spending time with them as well as the other people on the program!

Lately I've been getting the "wow, why are you going abroad so early" reaction, which I suppose is understandable because I am only 19 and a sophomore. I guess I just figured that while my major is still undeclared that I should take the opportunity before I really have to worry about credits for my major. All-in-all not really the smartest decision but I'm choosing not to worry about all that yet. 

Last night for dinner my Dad and I made this Bobby Flay special italian pasta over arugula with fresh home-made garlic bread......  which leads me to an important thing that I should mention in this blog early on. I like food, a lot. I watch food network a lot and enjoy going to restaurants and making memories associated with food. (If only I liked exercise as much as I love food-- I don't think I'm alone in that.) So to give you fair warning, a lot of these blog posts, especially once I get to Italy in the spring, will be about food. Try to bring your screen protectors- I wouldn't want you to droll on your computer but I can't promise anything.

Big things that still need to be done:

Suitcase purchased

Phone/Skype Plan figured out

Clothes....

At least I have my passport and plane ticket.... OH! SPEAKING OF TICKETS!

I am also very excited because my second weekend in London, Feb. 3rd, Kristyn (a friend from my college on the program) and I are going to see JOHN AND HANK GREEN IN LONDON!**

I guess right now I am just nervous that it is so soon- but I am also more excited as it gets closer!!!

For those of you just tuning in- Hello! 

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @walesnotwelsh 

and also on Flickr where I will post my photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/91611377@N04/ (so that people without facebook can see them) 

Well, I should probably go to sleep now. 

Ciao!

**John Green is my FAVORITE Young Adult author, Hank is his talented musical sciencegeek brother, they will be there promoting John's book The Fault In Our Stars.

34 Days

(42 days until program starts)

So after finishing the semester with good grades (yay!), moving out of my dorm and saying a sad goodbye to my roommate and other best friends, I am at home with 42 days to go and still SO MUCH TO DOOOOO!

Honestly, I feel unprepared on the whole and there are still so many things I have to do...

This has been a short and uneventful update.



Ciao!

55 Days

Actually more like 48 days until I leave the US.
I think at this point the only thing holding me back from being more excited is that I'm going to miss my family a lot. I know that now it is a lot easier to stay in touch with Skype and cell phones and facebook but it isn't really the same.

Instead I guess I will try to focus on the positive things...
I selected my classes for the Florence end of the trip: Drawing and Art of the Victorians. I'm pretty excited for the drawing course although somewhat intimidated. I don't think that it sounds much more complex then what I have done so far in college but it will be a challenge.

I only have 10 days left in my semester. As I'm looking around my dorm room I'm mentally packing all of my things in boxes which makes me sad to leave. Ripon is a beautiful campus but without snow in December it feels out of place, as do I.

I just can't wait to get there and start the program and meet everyone else.

Ciao,
 Meg

61 Days

Hello there!
    My name is Megayn (said like "Megan") Ray, but mostly everyone calls me "Meg". I am a Sophomore at Ripon College in northern Wisconsin and in 61 days I will be starting a study abroad program through ACM (Associated Colleges of the Midwest). Wow, only 61 days! I am actually leaving the good ol' "Cheese State" on Jan. 20th to travel to Paris with my Mom and older brother, Mason (22),  before they help me get settled in Earls Court. I am really excited, and a bit relieved, to be traveling to Europe with them. It has been too long since we've had a family vacation together and I will be excited to explore Paris with them. 
    As a kid my parents made sure that I had the opportunities to be well traveled. I've defiantly had the opportunity to explore some major cities like New York, Boston and San Francisco and I've even had a taste of some European life when I visited the Baltic Sea six years ago stopping in Russia, Sweden, Poland, Finland, Norway and Estonia. I think that there is a huge difference between visiting a foreign country and actually living there which is something I can't wait to experience!
On this blog I will be posting pictures and hopefully daily posts about my adventures in Europe, along with links to any videos I might snap while I am out and about!

A little bit about me, incase we've never met just so you can get a feel for things:
Name: Meg Ray
Age: 19 
Sign: Aries
Major/Minor: Undeclared, leaning toward Art / History / English
Activities: In high school I was very involved in Drama Club, Choir, and Art- I'm taking a break from those activities but intending to be apart of Student Activities, Admissions and other on campus organizations Fall 2013.
Hobbies: Reading, singing made up songs for daily activities, playing video games, playing board games, dancing crazy like no one is watching, cleaning my room (that can be a hobby right?), taking walks, hanging out with my friends, sketching/doodling. 
Favorite TV Shows: Any show on the Food Network, Lost, Mad Men, Gossip Girl The Newsroom, Being Human (UK), Sherlock (BBC),Doctor Who, Community, Arrested Development, Avatar Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, Sopranos, West Wing, Firefly
Favorite Books: Anything by John Green, Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice, Inheritance Cycle, anything written by David Sedaris.

Favorite Movies: Star Wars, LotR, Singin' in the Rain, When Harry met Sally, Forget Paris, The Parent Trap, Star Trek (2009), Super 8, Catch me if you can, Disney&Pixar Movies

Favorite Music: Coldplay, The Fray, Ed Sheeran, Hans Zimmer, Eric Whiticare, John Williams- I will listen to anything, I'm not picky as to what music other people play.

Family: I have one brother, Mason, and two adorable Golden Retrievers named AJ and Callie.

What am I most excited for: Honestly? EVERYTHING! I can't wait to go to the museums and see some of the pieces I have been studying in Art History this semester, try different food, learn how to say the British word for Eggplant (Obergine? Aubergene?), see fantastic shows, explore the melting pot of architecture, watch the sunset over the Piazza, learn how to speak Italian and possibly meet some Italian boys (wink! Haha, only kidding..) and most of all gain the confidence and independence that goes along with living on your own far from home.

What am I most nervous about: I am nervous but I can't really pinpoint why. I mean, I know that I will have a great, once-in-a-lifetime experience but there is a certain type of fear that come with that independence, and being 3900.347 miles away from everything that I know. I think that my nerves will calm down as soon as I get there!

Stay tuned for more updates!

You can follow me on twitter @walesnotwelsh (although I suggest you wait until January unless you want weird non-trip related tweets from me. I also will be creating a Youtube channel for my trip which I will link in the near future. For now if you have any questions about me, the London/ Florence trip specifically or ACM in general please leave a comment, email me at walesnotwelsh@gmail.com or check out their website at www.acm.edu. They are such a nice organization and would love to help you with any questions you might have! 

Until next time, Ciao!

   Meg