Bienvenidos

Greetings, one and all! Welcome to my blog, which will hopefully become a frequent stopping site as time passes...this blog exists largely to keep in touch with friends and family back home, in anticipation of my upcoming relocation to the United Kingdom. That move looks more likely now that I've received word on funding - I have managed to receive an offer for a Gates Cambridge scholarship, which should enable me to complete grad school without going into debt. This is an exciting but bittersweet moment, as it means my fiance and I will be attending different schools in England; Bryan will be studying statistical genetics at Oxford, and I'll be working on geography (not maps!!) at Cambridge.

The cities are not far apart, but there are no direct routes between them thanks to the miracles of modern transportation. The nearest rail station requires one to go from Oxford to London, then from London to Cambridge - two legs of a triangle. The third leg, between Oxford and Cambridge, does not have any rail or road connections that we've discovered. Our bus requires similar ambling through the British countryside, which creates great scenic views while dashing the hopes of anyone who'd like to live at one uni and attend the other. A set of rather archaic rules also prevents that - during term time, I'm apparently required to live within 10 miles of the bell at Great St. Mary's (I hope that's its name - please correct me if I'm wrong!). However, it does sound as if those rules are flexible enough to accomodate the occasional excursion away to see one's husband.

I'll sign off for now, but I'll try to be good about updating regularly, especially after I finish my current job and start preparing for our wedding and our big overseas move. Until later!