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At the moment I'm sat on an East Coast train speeding down to King's Cross. This is probably the last time I will have a definite internet connection so let's begin! My mind is a bit of a mess. I have this uneasy feeling in my stomach every time I think of what's going to happen. There's a realisation this time that unlike university, I really am on my own. There's no getting on the train to York if I'm sick and need some recuperation, no asking mum for some money if I run short.
Of course, that's part and parcel of the adventure here. In less than 24 hours time I will be sat on a plane, and in 8 hours I will touch down across the Atlantic ready to explore Boston at my leisure for an afternoon. My plan at the moment is to follow the freedom trail for around 2.5 miles. Downtown Boston is very compact and I can easily do this (and stave off jetlag in the process!)
I think the culture shock will take a bit of getting used to. I'm bracing myself for the question "Oh, you're English then. Are you from London?" and the general fascination that my accent will no doubt gather. I also wonder what jetlag will feel like. When I touch down, my body will think it's dinner time, but I will be wanting lunch.
But aside from all of this, I literally CANNOT WAIT! I want to go for long walks in the New Hampshire forests, visit a hospital at the cutting edge of stem cell research, see beating heart cells in a petri dish, see Vince Giordano's Orchestra, walk down 5th Avenue in New York, go on the Staten Island ferry, relax in Central Park, visit Louis Armstrong's birth place, drive over the Golden Gate Bridge, see Alcatraz and San Francisco - all this and more awaits me, so bring it on!
