getting to Swansea

Leaving Blackburn's campus on Thursday morning was not as hard as I thought it would be. For the previous three weeks or so I had been trying to prepare myself for the moment when I had to say goodbye to my dad in Ludlum's parking lot. As much as I want to say that it was heart-wrenching to leave my family, friends, co-workers and the whole lot of Blackburn's campus community, it wasn't. Even writing that seems weird and slightly wrong, but I know that I was ready for a change in scenery and lifestyle. Don't get me wrong, I love Blackburn. The school and the people are probably two of the best things that have ever happenned to me, but when I got the chance to leave the small towns of Girard and Carlinville, I jumped, with almost zero hesitations, at the opportunity! I say almost zero hesitations, because going to a foreign place requires some hesitation. I would've been worried had I not been a little scared to come to Wales. I spent the night before packing and that is when it really hit me that I was leaving..for six months! That same day I also found out that I would be going by myself. My best friend was supposed to come, but could not due to medical reasons at the last minute. We had been planning this trip since freshman year, when we met in an art class. To say the least, I was bummed that she was not coming. However, we had already talked about that possibilty. She told me to go, no matter what. I thank her for that, because if she had been angry with me for going without her, I may not have left. I know now that I would have regretted that my whole life....These are the thoughts that came and went as I traveled through rural southern Illinois on my way to Lambert Airport. By the time I reached St. Louis, just about every negative and positive thought had come and gone through my mind. Now, it was time to board the plane that would take me to New York's JFK Airport. I was so anxious to get to New York, one step closer to the UK, but once I got there I knew that it would be another four hours before my plane left. I spent that time getting lunch, watching people rush about in the terminal and trying to get my laptop connected to the free WiFi. I had no luck, only frustration. Finally the flight attendant spoke the words I had been waiting for, "We are now boarding passengers in section H for flight 1 to London." I slung my camera bag over my shoulder and quickly picked up my backpack. I couldn't wait to get to London!...Hours and hours and hours later, after several not-so-good naps, a typical airline dinner and a crabby seatmate, the plane landed in London. Just as I was getting off the plane, I heard two girls behind me talking about their housing assignments at Swansea. I turned and said, "Hey. Are you both going to Swansea?" Their eyes lit up and they said they were and asked me if I was. We exchanged names, shook hands and decided to travel by train together from London to Swansea. I was thrilled, because I was really nervous about trying to figure out the trains to Swansea. Now, I wasn't alone. After going through customs and baggage claim, we bought our train tickets and headed to the platform. Our wait was only about 30 minutes. Once we boarded the train, we all let out a little sigh of relief.. We were actually on our way to Swansea! We switched trains in Reading(pronounced like Redding) and then settled in for another couple hours of train travel. While waiting in Reading, I met two more students coming to Swansea. Now, I was traveling with four girls, all from the same college- UNC Wilmington. Coincidentally, two of them are named Tricia, the other two being called Lucy and Janny. Each pair contained one Tricia and neither group knew each other. I guess, that's what happenns when you go to a school with more than 600 hundred students. Several people came and went throughout our journey. One women was constantly talking on her mobile (cell phone) making it difficult to nap. I was able to watch the countryside fly by as our train bustled towards Swansea. The train got into Swansea's station a little after 7 in the morning on Friday, but we still weren't there yet. We all grabbed up our luggage and headed outside to catch a taxi. With so much luggage and five people, we had to split up. Since they were already in pairs I decided to link up with another student who was also headed to Swansea, Jesseb from Colorado. We rode through the town, halfway admiring the local people walking beside their squished houses, or flats. We were both so tired to even really care what was going on. All I knew was that I was almost to home, at least for the next six months. The taxi pulled up next to the Superintendant's office. We pulled our luggage along with us, went inside to get our keys, then parted ways, each of us anxious to see where we would be living.