Unrealistic Packing

I have a little over 2 weeks until I leave. Within these two weeks, I will be packing two suitcases. Said suitcases appeared "big" until I pulled them out the other day and put a few items (a towel, a yoga mat, an adapter) into one of them. Holy cow. This is what I hope to fit in them:


Clothing - Bottoms (1 pair shorts, 3 jeans, 2 pants, 2 skirts), Tops (tshirts, sweaters, blouses, sweatshirt, fleece, trench coat), Dresses (3-4), Workout attire (2 gym shorts, 1 yoga capri, 2 sweatpants, tshirts), Pjs, Socks, Etc.


Toiletries - which originally included extras of brands I think I won't be able to get over there, but has since become "What Mom can send me later when I run out"


Accessories - 2 belts, 3 scarves, 1 pair gloves, 1 hat, jewelry, sunglasses


Shoes - This is tricky. Ideally, 2 pair flats, 1 pair heels, 1 pair slippers, 2 pair Keds.


All paperwork, my Bible, a laptop, camera, yoga mat, ipod, Oxford Guide to Literary England, and a hair dryer.


HA. HA. HA. There is no way, no possible way that I will fit all of this into these bags. Obviously there will be a serious reconsideration of what is "necessary" and what is "preference," but man, a girl's got to have some variety in her wardrobe! Oh well, at least for one year my mother won't be able to say "You wear the same outfits every week!" - this time, I'll have no choice.


Other than this technical difficulties, the excitement is building. In the meantime, I shall continue to justify my sleeping-in everyday and eating too much as necessary preparation for a year with little sleep and little money to spend on food.

The Details

All the little things - the details that tend to bog one down before a grand undertaking - are finally coming together. This week, I have pre-registered for classes, pre-enrolled at Queen Mary, submitted my first piece of paperwork with my UK address, and received my library pin number. While all of this information will be important no doubt, it can ruin the magical aura of going to London - I mean, would you want to be bothered with a library pin number when you would rather be imagining yourself walking through Hyde Park? My point exactly.

Anyways, I thought this would be a good time to share the details.

My UK address (for all those lovely people who will write me letters):

Feilden 04B

Feilden House, Westfield Way

London E1 4NP

My courses:

Society and the State in Britain, 1450-1720 (full year)

Gladstone and Ireland (spring)

Writing and Vision in the Romantic Period (fall)

Thomas Hardy and the Victorian Modern (fall)

Representing London: The 18th Century (full year)

And one more class for the spring - hopefully either James Joyce's Ulysses OR Milton: Revolutions in Writing OR Reading William Blake

All good stuff, of course, and I'm excited for the academic side of my year abroad. Studying English literature in England will be fantastic and I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

Coming soon: Packing - The Trials and Triumphs of a Girl Trying to Live Out of Two Suitcases.

An American in London... Almost

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.  - Samuel Johnson

This is London.

And I'm an American who will live there in about three weeks.

My name is Lindsey Grudnicki, and I'm a English and History student at Ashland University in Ashland, OH. Last fall, I told my professors, my family, and my friends that I wanted to go to London to study English literature. Queen Mary, University of London was soon brought to my attention as one of my professors has a goddaughter who teaches Medieval Literature there. After months of filling out forms, negotiating with the registrar, applying for scholarships (and groveling) to fund everything, and persuading everyone within a 5-foot radius of me for more than 10 seconds that this is a great idea, I'm finally getting ready to go. 

Living in London will be an adventure in and of itself, but I've already made grand plans for what I shall call "Lindsey's Literary Pilgrimage" - a grand tour of England, Ireland, and Scotland to visit the homes, counties, roads, churches, birthplaces, offices, and graves of the UK's greatest writers. I plan to visit, for example - 

The Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street in London....

Keat's house...

...and the grave of C.S. Lewis in Oxford.

Outside of classes and my year-long, over-ambitious pilgrimage, I will be experiencing British culture in all of its glory. Yes, you'll hear about my good times at soccer (I apologize, "football") games, good ol' English pubs, Mumford and Sons concerts, and watching the BBC. You'll also witness my attempt to eat fish and chips, drink tea, and battle the notorious London rain.

This is just the beginning, my friends. My next year on this earth has the potential to be the greatest journey. You may ask why I'm going across an ocean to read books I could read here, to see old houses and a few tombstones... Well, there's more to it than that. I will prove to myself that there is so much more in this world than what exists in the comfortable bubble I'm used to. I will be the adventurer, the dreamer, and the storyteller I've always wanted to be. I'm going to read, see, taste, and smell the books and the country that inspired some of the greatest writers in human history. 

You may ask: Why am I going to London? Why am I going to the literary capital of the western world? Why am I going to submerge myself in literature and bring myself into the closest contact possible with Doyle, and Keats, and Lewis, and Hardy, and Milton, and Shakespeare?

I'll tell you why: I'm a writer, and all my life that's all I've ever wanted to do.

This blog will be a chronicle of my adventures - a written record of what I learn, who I meet, what I see, and who I become along the way.