Fellow Travelers

Here's the group (with Dancing St. Francis), overjoyed that they will be departing soon.  Three days to go until departure.

Thomas Howell

Hello everyone! My name is Thomas Howell. I am a Freshman at Wartburg College joining the trip to England this May. I amHello everyone! My name is Thomas Howell. I am a Freshman at Wartburg College joining the trip to England this May. I am very excited to go out of the country because I have never been. Especially to England because I watch the B.B.C. a lot. I am excited to check out all of the awesome castles and cathedrals as well because I am huge into history and to learn about English history would be amazing. I am nervous about leaving the country but also super excited! very excited to go out of the country because I have never been. Especially to England because I watch the B.B.C. a lot. I am excited to check out all of the awesome castles and cathedrals as well because I am huge into history and to learn about English history would be amazing. I am nervous about leaving the country but also super excited!

Matthew's "Official Post"

Hello Everyone,
My name is Matt and this is not my first time out time out of the country but it is my first time going to England and Wales. Before I have been to Canada, Germany, France, and Italy. I have also done a lot of traveling within the United States. Although I have done all of this traveling I have yet to see a castle or monastery so that is one thing I am most looking forward to. I'm also looking forward to going to London for the first time. I live close to Chicago and enjoy going down there on day trips so I'm really excited for my day trip(s) to London. While I'm there I hope to see a lot of Harry potter sites as well. My girlfriend and I are big fans and can not wait to see the "tourist" sites and not just harry Potter ones. At the end of the trip I hope to have seen and learned a lot about many different subjects from the theme of the course and outside of the theme.
Until next time,
Matt

Amanda's "Official Post"

Hey everyone,
I'm Amanda. Going to Britain will be my first time out of the country, and for the most part, out of the Midwest. I live fairly close to Chicago and ave been traveling there since I was about 7. My aunt always took me because my parents dislike big cities. Unlike them, I've always felt most comfortable in the city. That is why I'm going on this trip. I wanted to travel and to see the world starting with England. As a part of my bucket list I want to travel to every country that I'm from (England, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Sweden, France, and so many more). This is the beginning of my many trips. This being my first trip out of the country I hope to see everything that I can and take everything in. I think older structures are so cool to look at so seeing all the castles and such will be amazing. I also think with the group that is going we will have a lot of fun together. I don't know if I could go to another country on my own so I'm so grateful to have the group that I do to travel with. It will be a wonderful time but the next 5 days I have much packing and shopping to do, and so many people to see.

TJU's official post

Hello All, I'm Taylor and also late...

England has been a country of great mystery ever since I was a young child and my Dad read me stories of King Arthur and Robin Hood of Nottingham Forrest. The feelings of allure to this awesome mysterious country were furthered when I was first drawn to the brutality and smoothness of English soccer. It is a sport that is full of such emotion from fans and players alike that it is like nothing we find in American Sport.

The reason I am going on this trip is to not only experience a country that has been functioning since before America was even thought to exist, but to see spots of English Folklore, English "football", and last and certainly not least, to experience the english culture and its people.

TJU

Mandy's Official Post 1

Hi, this is Mandy. I'm a junior, but this is the last class of my first year at Wartburg. I'm the only one in the class that has never flown before so I'm a bit worried about that, but I have wanted to go to the UK for as long as I can remember. As a history major I can't wait to see all the castles and other buildings in person, plus I have recently tracked some of my family tree back to England and Wales in the 1700s and farther. So it will be fun to think of my ancestors walking the same places I will be. I also can't wait to see some of my favorite British TV shows actually ON BBC. Talk to you all from the UK :D

Andrew's First Official Post

Hello everyone! I'm Andrew. I'm really looking forward to getting away from my hectic life here in the States. Secondly, I'm looking forward to submerging myself within a new culture and learning about the vast history of the places we are going. When I return I hope to come back with new knowledge and experiences that will stay with me for a long time.

Bridge

kevin Official Post 1

hello everyone. I am Kevin an am a second year student at Wartburg College. I am really excited about going on this trip especially being able to finally see what a castle looks like in really life after having done so many projects on them. Also I am looking forward to seeing a different culture. Also as a history major I want to see something that is older than just 200 years old as that is the age of most of the old building in the United States. I hope to gain a better understanding of what made these structures great military bases and just the general history of the nation that would eventually create the USA. I am not quite ready to good but I still cannot wait to leave so see you all in England.

Weather update: Always a good conversation starter

We might all want to be rethinking what we are packing.  While Iowa continues to be overcast and cold (it did SNOW yesterday after all) York has been enjoying sunny weather with highs in the 60s and lower 70s and nights in the 40s.  London is at least 5 degrees warmer.  Maybe we should all just pack tank tops and shorts.  It would make our luggage lighter.

Malynda's Pre-Departure "Offical Post"

Hello everyone! I am Malynda. I am very excited to end my third year at Wartburg with a trip to England and Wales! I am most excited to get to know the local culture, and I intend to do massive amounts of people watching. I look forward to meeting new people in the hostels and getting close with my trip-mates! As a picky eater, I think that trying new cuisine will be one of my biggest challenges, but I will give EVERYTHING a chance. Unless it's still moving.
Ta-ta for now, see you in the U.K.!

Kaitlyn's Official Post

Good-day Mate!! Oh wait, wrong country. Kaitlyn (or KC) here and I'm currently a junior here at WCollege. I've been looking forward to this trip to England and Wales since signing up for it. For all the years I have been at college, I've wanted to travel with the study abroad program but just never had a chance due to being a park of the track program. I guess the best way to express my excitement was how early I packed for this trip. I believe I packed over Winter Break and that was at the beginning of March. Yah... Anyways, the part that I'm looking forward the most is experiencing the whole culture of England and Wale though this isn't my first time abroad. I've been to Switzerland, Germany (twice), Lichtentein-just to say we've been there, Austria, Italy and Barbados. But I think I'm more excited for this trip because of learning and studying this country all semester and I'm not travelling with my parents. Well that's all I have for now. My next report will be from the "HILLS" of England/Wales. Tah-tah for now or as the Welsh say "Nos da."

~KC

Sondra's "Official Post"

Hey everyone!

I'm getting so excited for this trip to start! A trip to England/Wales sounds like an excellent end to my Junior year! I've wanted to travel to England for quite some time now, and am thrilled to get to cross it off my 'bucket list'. I am very excited to see Stonehenge, as well as a lot of the sights we have planned. It will be very interesting to submerse myself in a different culture for the time we are over there. I can't wait to hop on the plane and get the trip started. It should be a wonderful experience filled with beautiful sights and awesome people.
I hope you're all as excited as I am!

Nicole "Official Post"

Hey this is Nicole. I am a junior and so excited to have the opportunity to travel to England before I begin my senior year. I have dreamed about traveling to England for a long time. I am looking forward to experiencing a new culture and immersing myself in English history. Throughout the course, I am hope to get the chance to meet local people and eat some great food. I also hope to gain more knowledge about the histories of the castles and cathedrals as we travel because medieval architecture is so complex yet fascinating. Only 12 days until we leave!!!

Courtney's "Oficial Post"

Hi everyone!!! I am so excited to get going. This will be the final class of my first year here, and I think it will prove a very satisfying end to the year. This has been a trip I have been dreaming of taking since sixth grade. I am not completely ready to leave yet since I don't have all my supplies but I will be! And I am excited to be able to see Wells cathedral, since that is what I am writing my paper on and giving a tour of. Talk to you in England!!

Weather and Money

Today's weather in York, our first stop, is 57 degrees F, overcast with periods of rain.  That makes it about 10 degrees warmer in the UK today than in Iowa, with roughly the same weather outlook.  The UK probably has less wind though. 

And today's exchange rate is $1.63 to the British pound.

Karen's "Official Post"

Hello, I'm Karen, and this will be the final class of my undergraduate education. I'm getting very excited for the trip! I'm not ashamed to say that I went a LITTLE (i.e. very) overboard when purchasing accessories for the trip. Amazon, Magellans, and Brookstone were a big help, and I now have all the savvy accessories for a world traveller. I've been abroad many times, but not in the same manner in which we'll be travelling, so I'm excited for a new form of sightseeing. I'm currently finishing my presentation, which I'll give at Rievaulx Abbey when we visit. More than anything, I'm excited to experience a culture that I've only briefly seen before (I visited London for 3 days in my freshman year). I love the ability of a traveller to be awed and fascinated by overseas experiences, not only learning about the culture, but learning a lot about themselves, as well. I'm also looking forward to spending more time with my classmates, making new friends, and challenging myself to be a more conscientious student and consumer of culture. See you in the UK!

Getting started: Dr. L's "Official Post"

It is 17 days until departure. Now is the time for frantic scurrying and last minute preparations.  I have been to England and Wales a number of times, but this will be a new experience for most of my students.  I will let each of them introduce themselves below, and then over the course of May you will hear officially for them several times as they post on their experiences, and unofficially as they post on whatever they want.