Day 2ish

I leave for Aberdeen in two days, and I could not be more excited! I have been battling some sort of nasty virus that has sent me to the ER and it's been quite unpleasant, but today I finally feel more like myself than I have in the previous five days. I've had to call out of work, go to the doctor, get a bunch of tests done, and take more medication than I care to think about it. BUT in two days I will get to visit a graduate school that I really want to go to - that's if I end up liking it as much as I think I will.

University of Aberdeen was founded in 1495, and started out teaching mostly religion and medical stuff. IT IS 500+ YEARS OLD! Can you imagine? It's Scotland's third-oldest university (only after University of St. Andrews [yeah, where Will and Kate met] and University of Glasgow), and it is ranked among the WORLD'S 150 universities (there are a little over 4,000 universities/colleges in the USA alone). Here, this Wikipedia (and if you have a firm stand against wikipedia, then you clearly don't use it enough and don't know how to sift through the crap) page gives you a good overview: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberdeen_Uni

The family I'm staying with while I couchsurf seems delightlful - and I can't wait to meet them either. Other things I can't wait for (I would say secretly, but really I've been quite open about it): Primark, Costa coffee, chocolate caramel squares, honey cheerios, and good beer.

I'm hoping tomorrow brings a day where I actually feel like myself - being sick is just awful.

Ya know, I feel as though I may have started this blog super early - like why not wait until I actually START my master's degree? Well, because I want to look back on how I felt when I was visiting Aberdeen and before I make my decision. (Although I must say, seems as though everyone thinks I'm choosing Scotland.)

Hopefully my next post will be from across the pond!

Day 1ish

So, today I've started my Aberdeen blog. At this point in my grad school journey, I am just visiting Aberdeen to see the University of Aberdeen to make a decision. I'm about 9 days away from my flight from Philly to Aberdeen - about 10 hours from here to there total.

If I choose Aberdeen, it will be the first time I'm truly away from home for school. I went to college about 3.5-4 hours from where I was born, and I didn't get to study abroad but I had close access to home for all four years, which turned out to be a good thing. However, with this next step in my life, I think that something completely different is just what I need. Eventually, I would like to get my PhD (at least, I think so... plans always change), and maybe teach at the university level or just some decent job that involves conservation work. I miss school and I can't wait to start this fall 2013.

I JUST CAN'T WAIT... to go to Scotland.. to make my decision.. to couchsurf with a family I found on couchsurfing.org (I'll write my recommendation later as I haven't yet had the experience... but I've followed tips people gave me for a good/safe experience)... just to have an adventure on my own.

Cheers for now, I'll write again soon.