A Suitcase Full of Books

The packing dilemmas begin.

I have packed almost all of my sweaters and warm clothes away into one of the suitcases I'm hoisting onto the plane with me. Well, strictly speaking, airport staff will hoist it. I'll simply roll it around the airport and give it away to them (trusting I will get it back!). Weighed, this particular suitcase is at 40 lbs. I'm allowed two 50 lb. pieces of luggage! With one already at 40, will that be enough?

It's mind-boggling to me to think about how I'm going to fit my life into two suitcases. Clothes, books, shoes, make-up, things to remind me of home... I don't know how to make it happen! I feel like my life weighs more than 100 lbs. It weighs in people and places and the things you can't exactly pack into a lightweight, yet durable, suitcase (even if the zippers are shaped like little seahorses). How do I pack enough of my best friend to remember to talk with her every day? How do I pack enough of my parents to not forget their quirks? You can't fold your cat into a garment bag and just forget taking the hot Tucson sun or Southwestern flavor.


To help out and get myself a little more prepared travel-wise (as opposed to legal-wise with the visa and school-wise with accommodation application), I've been obsessed with travel books! I bought the Eyewitness Guide Europe and my parents gave me the greatest gift of Once Upon a Time in GREAT BRITAIN by Melanie Wentz. It's a travel guide which takes you around England according to famous children's stories! It also offers so much amazing history on the places from these stories AND the authors who wrote them.

But it took me until today to realize that the local library has travel books! And I don't have to buy them, I just have to read them! So I went today and came out with eight travel books and one photography book. I love eliciting the excited "Are you traveling? Where?!" reaction from people and the librarian certainly had one when my stacks of books tumbled onto his counter.


The library swag:
Fundamentals of Photography by Tom Ang - I've read some photo books, but I think I understand more about my camera now and would be better able to put some of the instructions to good use.
A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor - this is the travel book of Leigh Fermor, who tramped around Europe. I don't expect to do much tramping but it looked like a great read.
Safety and Security for Women Who Travel by Sheila Swan and Peter Laufer - I picked this one up just as reiteration for everything I've been told. I don't expect to do much lonesome traveling, but that's not to say I'm not going to do any at all. Best, I think, to know some tips.
Rick Steves' England 2009 and London 2009 - Who doesn't love Rick Steves?! That's all I have to say about that!
How to Travel Practically Anywhere by Susan Stellin - This book claims to be the "Ultimate Planning Guide". I plan to use it to help me pack!
The Best American Travel Writing - No writer is worth anything if they aren't reading what others have written.
Unpacked by Lonely Planet - Lonely Planet writes some of the best travel books out there. They are witty and fun and helpful. This particular book is about travel disasters that have befallen LP writers. It was the first thing I read when I got home - luckily, I won't be in some of those situations!
The Lonely Planet Guide to Experimental Travel - This book is AMAZING. It offers ways to travel when you're tired of seeing a city as a tourist by a guidebook. My favorite one is Ero Tourism - you go to a city with a lover (or a best friend), split up, and see if fates will bring you together. I think it's a gorgeous idea! And everything in the book is whimsical and fun like that. I actually want to buy this one, but I think I'll wait until I get to the UK.

So there you are! We'll see if packing goes any easier with some literary help.

Rose Canyon Lake

As I get ready for England, I find myself seeing beauty in Arizona I've never truly looked at before.

Of course, that might be because I've never really looked at it through a camera lens, but hey, y'know. Whatever the case.

So in the midst of freaking out about how to access my UEA email (which is probably not even possible at this point because I don't have a username. I assume I will get one at orientation), I managed to pack for our camping trip to Rose Canyon Lake. I love Rose Canyon for so many reasons; it's gorgeous, cool in temperature, and free from technology, but mostly because it shares my name.

Everyone came. When I say everyone, I *mean* everyone. Well, except Bee, my best friend, but she just moved here and needed to get more settled before leaving for any weekend trips. We had my Mom (Sharon), my Dad (Chuck), my little brother and his dog (Simon and Sasha), my Aunt (Claire), Uncle (Steve), cousin (Katherine), Mom's bandmate/friend (Dave), Dave's daughter/my friend (Erin), and finally, Katherine's foreign exchange sister from France (Maelle). Whew! That meant five full tents and one Volkswagon bus used as a sleeping chamber.


We tried to fit in all the "normal" camping activities despite being an abnormal group of people. After all, I'm sure most families who bring a guitar with them sing folky songs around the fire, but my family and its friends play traditional Irish music (I abstain, though). Still, we did manage to make s'mores, play in the stream, curl up in sleeping bags, hike up a mountain, almost get hit by lightning...

It's funny how I never did any of this after I graduated high school and started going to University of Arizona, despite Mt. Lemmon being less than an hour away. But now that I'm leaving, I want to soak it all in (while grabbing some photographic evidence). There are so many things about AZ that I'll miss - the sunsets, the cactus, prickly pear jelly (I don't actually like it, but it is a very Arizonan thing), spicy Mexican food (greasy kinds like Nico's bean and cheese burritos AND good kinds like chicken poblano)... I'll really miss monsoon season and the way the city smells like wet dirt and creosote.

It occurred to me today that rain is going to smell different in other places. Bee bought a candle which was supposed to smell like "Fresh Rain" but we both sniffed it and proclaimed how much like rain it didn't smell. So, maybe if I smell that candle long enough, I'll be ready for the smell of rain in England, but I doubt it. In all the lectures on culture shock, no one ever preps you for 'rain shock.'

As always, click the Facebook link on the sidebar to see more photos from this trip, including mine and my cousin's first forays into light painting!

Picture Access

I'm not sure if there's anyone who wasn't already my Facebook friend on this blog, but if you are, could you possibly tell me if my pictures are even visible (through FB) to those who aren't my friends? I will be embedding pictures in posts but not all of them, and I'd love for people to be able to access everything.

If it's not possible, then feel free to add me as a friend...!

Accompanied Facebook

In case you're interested in some photography from this upcoming trip that I will take or some past photos I've taken during other trips/of Arizona, you should check out my Facebook!

Rose Elise-In England

Create Your Badge

I just put up some fun photos from a camping trip I took to Patagonia Lake here in AZ with my friend Brittannie. We saw a snake, a turtle, a frog, and some attack ducks! They ran at us when we sat down to eat our lunch. We affectionately named one "Goober". Goober tried to eat my jacket and then lunged at Brittannie whose only defense was to scream! But we made it out safely in the end. I know you were worried.

Should be lots more camping photos soon - I'll be off to Rose Canyon Lake (appropo, isn't it?) with a huge number of family (and practically family) members! I only have two months left to spend time with them, so I'm excited that we're all getting together.

Approved!

Hm. I do need to remember to keep up this blog. It's mid-July and I am nearly there - at least as far as being allowed into the country! I am very, very excited because my UK visa was approved! This means I have a little over a year to legally stay in England. The process was a little frightening, actually. The study abroad office at the U of A made a really big deal out of getting it right, so I assumed that I would forget something important (I *am* a little scatterbrained). But in the end, using the checklists provided by the university and the UK government, it was easier than I thought. Lots of paperwork and then a Biometrics appointment (facial recognition photo and fingerprints). But the scariest part was mailing my passport. Paper packages are not insurable and it was a huge relief to get the confirmation email that it had arrived at the British Consulate in LA. It was an even bigger relief to receive it back with a gorgeous new VISA STAMP!

I've bought lots of new sweaters ('jumpers' as they call them across the pond). It's depressing that I can't wear them NOW! Some of them are quite cute. But Arizona is WAY too hot to even think about long sleeves. I have packed them away, along with a new pair of jeans I bought that fit perfectly. I'm afraid to wear them until I get there. I want to keep them shiny and new! I've heard a rumor that jeans are really expensive in England? Is that true? Well, no doubt I will stock up on some awesome jeans before I leave.

By the way, did I even mention last post where I'm going??? Norwich! The University of East Anglia! Heard it is gorgeous and everyone I meet who has been there says I will adore it. I can only hope!