So.Excited.

My bags are packed. Well, mostly anyway. I have just reserved an aisle seat on my flight and printed my boarding pass! It seems like just yesterday I was applying for the program and 24 hours from now I will be on the plane flying to England! I am so excited! Mom and Dad hung out in my room tonight as went over my checklist several times. Hopefully I have not forgotten anything. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that I am going to another country to study Biology and will be there for an entire month. It seems like such a long time to be gone but I know that time will completely fly by. 

My flight leaves tomorrow, Friday, May 31st, at 7:25 p.m. We arrive at Heathrow, (London) around 1 in the afternoon. From there we will be transported to West Bay, which I understand is a good couple of hours away. The group will be all be staying near each other but we all have different places. Brooke and I, as well as another girl, Karilyn, will be staying in a cottage just off the beach. How cool is that? Below is a link with pictures if you want to check it out. 
http://www.westbaycottage.co.uk/cottage.html

We should have internet but I do not expect to be on the computer until Sunday. We have a class dinner on Sunday night and then we will begin classes on Tuesday! 
I am hoping to remember to keep this updated with news and photos but if I start slacking send me a facebook message! 

Lots of Love
Taylor

Studying Abroad!

I am so excited to announce that I will be leaving May 31st and traveling to West Bay/Dorset, England to study abroad for the month of June! I will be joined by 12 other students from Northern Arizona University. During my time in England I will be taking six credit hours through two classes, Microbiology and Genetics. These classes will be taught by the faculty member, Alison Adams, who is accompanying us on the trip. 

While in England we will be staying in apartments on the beach. West Bay is a little fishing village approximately 2 miles from Bridport, a market town. West Bay has two major beaches and is surrounded by great cliffs. These cliffs span for several miles and are great for hiking and site seeing. I am excited to be staying on the beach and am hoping to go for some nice, long, morning runs! 

We will be in class Tuesday-Friday from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. The afternoons and weekends (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday) will be ours to study and travel around England. The classes will be difficult as they are usually taught in semester blocks and we will be taking them in four weeks. I am excited for the challenge and look forward to getting them done in only a month! As a group we will be going on two class excursions. They have not been decided yet but there are lots of fun ideas being talked about. There are several museums in the area that I am looking forward to exploring. 

One of the other students going on the trip lived in my Residence Hall this year and we have had the opportunity to get to know each other. Her name is Brooke and she also just finished her Freshman year at NAU. We will be staying 4 extra nights in London after the program is over. We found a lovely bed and breakfast located in central London, The Windsor House Hotel. We haven't made any plans but we will explore the city and see what happens. We will be flying back into Phoenix on July 3rd. 

I plan to blog while I am gone to let friends and family know how things are going. I will try to remember to post links on my Facebook page as well but feel free to check in, here, every so often. 

-Taylor