It's a start

Although I have a little experience using and viewing blogs, I've never created and maintained one on my own, so this will definitely be a learning experience for me. This blog will primarily chronicle my three-week-long study abroad experience in London and Paris this summer and also let my friends and family back home see and learn about some of my experiences as they happen. The program doesn't officially begin until the end of June, but I've been unofficially planning and preparing for several months now, so I wanted to start the blogging process a little early and capture all of the fun last-minute details to be straightened out. As more details get finalized and my packing begins in earnest, I'll be adding more posts and hopefully some pictures too.

To make room for more posts and pictures on the home page of my blog, I've added a "Read More" link that will appear at the bottom of each post. This feature allows me to put all or only part of a post on the main page and hide the rest behind the cut--aka the Read More link--to save space or add a little mystery. Clicking on this link opens the individual post on a separate page, where it will appear in full along with the opportunity to add a comment. So, click on the Read More link below to try it out and see the last bit of this post. :)

Since I've never really traveled outside of the U.S. and Mexico, I'm both excited and a little nervous about this trip. I call it my "trip of a lifetime," though, because I've always wanted to go to England and I never imagined I would get to study abroad, especially as a grad student. I'm still daydreaming about all the places I'd love to see while there, but for now, nothing beyond the program destinations is finalized, so I still have some planning to do. Feel free to post suggestions of must-see destinations and/or travel tips. :)