Beyond Infinity?

"This is a test of the Oxford Blogcast System. This is only a test."

Ok, this is not a drill. I'm only 3 days away from heading to England on what promises to be the academic experience of a lifetime. For anyone who has not heard, I am about to embark on a 3-year doctorate program at Oxford University. Yes, the Oxford University. While I have had six months to digest the fact that I am soon to be an Oxford student, it is still quite unreal to me. What will it be like studying in Oxford... for 3 years? There are so many things unknown about this coming experience, maybe it would be better to focus on how I got here.

Five years ago, I never would have dreamed about traveling internationally. One thing lead to another (thanks to the Caldwells, Franklins, RCSO, et al.) and I traveled to Ecuador for service and Austria for study abroad in 2008. Not having had enough, I went to China in 2009. In my mind, that cemented me as an international traveler. Between those trips, I conquered fears of language barriers, being alone in a foreign country, making connections, rolling with the punches, and coping with inadequate circumstances. This spring, I took the next step, learning how to be a leader on an international trip - a service-learning trip to Belize. With the proper training and help from my amazing co-leader, I found that I was quite able to handle such a leadership challenge. We built a team of students that could trust and interact with each other so readily. Undoubtedly, I will need the collective experience from all of these travels to reach my potential at Oxford. That said, I am very blessed to have the family, friends, education, and opportunities to prepare me for this experience.

So without further ado, here's some of the logistics with my Oxford blog. As you can imagine, spending 3 years in a foreign country is akin to running a marathon, especially in relation to a mere 6-week study abroad. Thus, I can't promise I'll blog every week, but what I will do is blog whenever I am able: I'll try to blog when I notice cultural similarities or differences; I'll blog when I travel to the European mainland; and I'll try to blog every couple of weeks or upon request. As with my past blogs, this will be the best place for you to learn about my adventures. If you have questions, feel free to ask! I would love to know someone is reading my blog, and I will be happy to answer!

Let the adventures begin!

Cheers