I'M HERE!!!!!!

Well, the day has arrived -- and I have arrived!!!

It all began at 12 o'clock (your time) this afternoon when three of my closest friends and my parents gave me the most precious goodbye I could've asked for. I am now armed with wonderful cards and pictures to decorate my desk in the flat and remind me of the priceless home I have left -- but only for a short while!

Honestly, it hasn't sunk in yet. I'm just waiting for it to... will it be tomorrow when I'm finally showered and no longer jet-lagged, or will it be 3 months from now when I finally have the hang of British society? Only time will tell, I guess, which is usually true of most things ;)

My apologies for any incoherency that you meet in this blog post -- it may be 3:50pm in Nottingham, but in Amy time it's about 10am after a night of no sleep.

However, the 8 hour flight from Chicago to London was not as unbearable as I expected it to be! I bumped my hip hop music the whole way over, and hardly noticed the time inching by... minus the occasional realization that my legs felt like they were going to fall off. The British accents of the flight attendants and passengers were to DIE FOR. "Would you like some milk and sugahhh with that, dahling?" YES, PLEASE. And just say that about 5 more times...

Once I stepped foot in London, my inner voice (the one that reads all the signs to yourself? Yeah. That inner voice...) automatically switched to a British accent.

I found a very comfortable shoulder to snuggle up to on the bus on the way to Nottingham, but unfortunately found little ability to sleep. (I've also realized that my vocabulary and grammar has noticeably improved since landing...)

Nottingham, well... what I saw of it between fitful bouts of sleep... is completely picturesque and stereotypically English. Row upon row of brick houses face the road, which is marked with many zig-zag lines to indicate restricted zones, etc. From my window in my flat I can see the neighbors' gardens, and get this -- PALM TREES. We have one in our flat, too. Seems the grass is always greener...

I miss home already, but I'm not thinking about it yet. There will be time for all of that when I'm a little more awake and a little less grimy. Until then, I love you all, and I look forward to sharing this adventure with you via internet, until I can share it with you again in person!