Packing Advice

Packing oh, packing, and overpacking, and unpacking, and repacking. This is what my days are full of until my departure in just 1 1/2 days!

Luckily my program through Arcadia University provides students with an amazing description of what to pack for Great Britain. One thing students have come back and said is you should pack what you think you will need and then take half out. This half rule is a good one to keep in mind. So after getting this "pack light" advice from about 6 or 7 different sources, I went to work trying to unpack half of my clothes. I would say I have done a fairly good job. Those that know me would be impressed.

One other good piece of advice I got from the site said that Americans tend to stick out on the streets of London because they wear lots of brightly colored clothing. I happen to wear quite a bit of brightly colored clothing which I had packed. This made it easier to take those pieces out of my suitcase further diminishing the amount I packed.

I am still probably a bit overpacked, but we'll see once I get there if those pieces of advice were good ones!

Have a wonderfully marvelous day ~Laura

From Dollars and Cents to Pounds and Pence

It is time to start switching my brain over to the metric system. That means no more inches, feet, pounds (the lbs kind that is), or miles. Time to focus on the genius that is the metric system. I mean seriously, why is the U.S. still talking about 12 inches in a foot, 3 feet in a yard, 5,280 feet in a mile? So confusing. With the metric system all you have to worry about is, the one, the zeros and sometimes the decimal point. 1 meter = 100 centimeters = 1000 millimeters etc... So much more straight forward. 

And a little point of reference for those of you not familiar with the size of things in the metric system, something I still remember from my high school freshman science class: 1 in = 2.54 cm 

The conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit is a bit more confusing. There is not a 1:1 ratio which means you can't simply add or subtract a number to get from one to the other. Here's a little guide to help with future references to Celsius or the weather.

0˚ C = 32˚ F (freezing)

20-22˚ C = 68˚ F (room temperature) 

37˚ C = ~98.6˚ F (body temperature) 

100˚ C = 212˚ F (water boils) 

Now to figure out pounds and pence. The pound is worth more than the dollar right now. 

£1 = $1.62 (£ means pounds) 

In the picture below are some pounds and pence I've found around my house or been given. It doesn't make much sense to me. In the picture I have arranged the coins in order of smallest amount to largest amount. 

As you can see, size does not correspond with value. Just another thing I will have to get used to. Luckily I have more than one change purse so one will be designated for pence and one for pounds until I can remember what's what, so very possibly during my entire visit. Hope these conversions are helpful when these things are referenced in future posts. 

I have just 2 1/2 days left before my departure, getting pretty excited and nervous!

Have a wonderfully marvelous day ~Laura

Hiya! And Welcome.

In just 4 short days I will be embarking on an adventure. What is a New Englander like me going to do for 6 months in Old England? Travel, study, meet new people, and take lots of pictures with the new camera I got for Christmas (thanks mom and dad)! And so with my long journey ahead I have decided to start a blog. It will be a place for the interesting cultural differences, beautiful historical architecture, and new experiences I'm sure to come across in my travels. I will be looking out for funny British sayings and traditions.

I hope you enjoy the read and pictures to go along with it.

Have a wonderfully marvelous day ~Laura