the land of no outlets.

I guess I'm in the right place.
I heard an old man speaking on the phone, and he had an accent that could only call Manchester home. I bet he's returning to a nice minced pie and his lovely wife. Or maybe not, but wherever he's going, I'm going, too.

American Airlines just delivered me, (heaving under the weight of too many carry-on necessities and scurrying as to not hold up lines of impatient business men) in Chicago. I'm slightly confused and my contacts are fuzzy due to the non-stop cryfest2013 that has been going on in my household. Regardless, I feel quite secure that if I just hunker down in my lady books (because I can't find a damn outlet so all hopes of charging up my cell phone/laptop have been thrown out the window after I press "publish"), eventually doors will open and sunlight will burst from behind them. An airplane will come into focus and that very airplane will fly me all the way to England.

As I type this, a few more elderly gentlemen have sat down around me and although they are not speaking, their beards and sweater vests are more than enough for me to feel confident that I will indeed be on a plane with a bunch of cheerful British Santa-esque characters. I fully expect for the cabin to smell of tobacco pipe and peppermints (the parent trap, anybody?)

Sitting here, I finally feel (somewhat) at peace with the entire adventure. I would be lying if I said this has been easy. I wish I could be that girl that has a passport filled with stamps and stories to tell, that would laugh in the face of someone who was crying over being separated from her boyfriend for three months. The girl that feels at home on the back of camels everywhere and who has the ability to float from one life to another. You know, Jessa. That isn't me, though. I'm fairly certain I'm going to cry my entire first week there and my bed will feel all too empty without Jonathan. I'll probably blunder over counting money and get lost while attempting to walk two blocks. Regardless, I am smart enough to know that any adventure is a good adventure and this experience in particular will be one that will test me and help me grow, yet at the same time I feel very safe and secure in both my destination and my reason for being there. Plus, it's only three months.

I guess this is where the story really starts.