My So-Called Glamorous Life...

For those of you who aren't breathlessly following my every Facebook status update, I am safe and sound in England. I've been here for a few days now; registering for classes, learning the bus routes, and getting settled into my new home. I'll have more on all of that in the coming days.

Today, I want to address a common misconception about my trip and international traveling in general. Some of you have expressed envy at this grand adventure. No doubt imagining it to be full of glamour and intrigue.

Let me stop for a moment and say I try to be as honest with you as I can here. I talk about my quirks and fears, the voices in my head, even public nudity. So I feel obligated to set the record straight and squash this big, fat, 'international travel is glamorous' lie you've been told. I give you, as evidence, an excerpt from my journal describing my post-flight state this week:

I haven't slept in 30 hours. I have been wearing the same, slightly rumbled yoga pants for almost that long. My hair is unwashed and unruly; popping out at odd angles despite my best effort to tuck it underneath a baseball hat. I am walking around one of the most fashionable cities on the planet without a trace of make-up (and even less shame). My head feels a bit murky from the sleeping pill I took in San Fransisco. I'm sure the champagne I chased it with helped. I am sleep deprived, coming off my Starbucks, and in need of a clean pair of underwear.

I am many things right now. Glamorous is not one of them.

See what I mean?

Now, that's not to say that international travel isn't totally worth every inconvenience and sleepless, 11 hour plane ride. It teaches you things about life that you just can't learn from the comfort of your living room; lessons about patience and trust and human nature and facing the unknown. It challenges you and changes you, pokes and prods at all of your insecurities, boosts your self-confidence, and leaves you exhausted and exhilarated in equal measure.

I can't recommend it enough.

But it's best to go into this journey with a full appreciation of how tough and scary and lonely and oh-so-not-glamorous traveling in a new place can be sometimes. So I'm going to do my best to tell it like it is -- the good times, the bad times, and the ugly cry times. I will also continue sharing the tips and lessons I learn along the way. For instance, tune in tomorrow for tips on surviving a red eye flight.

And, don't despair, I'll soon get to some of the good stuff too like where I'm living and, most importantly, whether I've met any cute, English boys yet.

See you tomorrow!