On second thought, I think I'll take the high road this time...it's usually faster during rush hour.

I haven' t left yet (good thing, too, I haven't even started to think about packing), but I figured I'd get a pre-departure post down before I took off and end up without internet for a week wandering about Europe. The purpose of this post is more so I know what the blog will look like, and so I can lay out a bit of an explanation of what's going to be happening before I change all of my plans. 

That having been said, it's a little bit different this time. In Rome I was on a University of Washington program, attending the University of Washington (but in Rome), so it was more like a big field trip than anything else. In Scotland I will be participating in an actual direct exchange; someone from the University of Aberdeen will be attending the UW, and I will be attending the U of A in their place. I will take University of Aberdeen classes, and these will all count as UW credits due to the direct exchange program. I am set to be living in a self-catered flat in one of the halls of residence in Aberdeen. I'll find out exactly what that means on the 20th when I move in. 

My itinerary as it stands is pretty tentative at the moment. My departure will be Saturday morning at 7:50 AM from PDX, I think I have one layover in Dulles and then Ross (my good friend and former roommate) and I will arrive in Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, France on Sunday, September 14th at about 7:00 AM. Later today Ross and I are getting together to work out what we want to do for the next few days. We are planning to spend a few days in Paris, a trip to Normandy so I can see the Bayeux Tapestry (you'll hear plenty about that later; look it up on Wikipedia if you can't wait), and then we'll spend the majority of our time (hopefully) in Britain. Ross has already spent a year abroad in France in high school, and will be studying in Paris on a Comparative Literature program through the UW this fall; I wanted to spend as little time in France as possible, since he's already been there and neither of us have been to the United Kingdom as of yet. After wandering about England and Wales for a bit, Ross is on his own for a week (his program begins a week later and ends a week earlier than mine) and I will arrive by train in Aberdeen on either the 20th or 21st to move in and begin registration at the University of Aberdeen. Then it's pretty much all homework and highland hiking until December ("I'll be home for Christmas"...really). 

Hopefully I start packing soon.