Saturday, June 28th

Well my little break in Orlando has been a good one. I got to spend a few days at a hotel to rest and relax as well get my batteries rejuvenated after one of the more stressful weeks I have had. The car issues have been taken care of with Eric agreeing to drop the car off on the 22nd of next month to be repaired and ready by the time I return. I need some new body work, painting and a new front bumper cover as it is called (covers the entire front of the car) which all together will run about $1500 bucks. More than half, of course, is the cost of labor. So these last two days have been interesting way to relax before heading off to the airport later this afternoon.

I will be at the airport around 3 pm (the flight leaves around 6) because we are a large group and hopefully everyone will be there between 3 and 3:30. I am pretty sure I can arrange for a group check in, and then we fly from Orlando for London Gatwick arriving around 7 am tomorrow morning (or 2 am EST). Then a two hour drive from Gatwick to Oxford, settling into the rooms at Jesus College, before heading out for a tour of the city and trying to keep everyone awake for an 8 pm group meeting, and then turning everyone free for the day (and sleep for a bunch of us). I have class at 11 on Monday morning, so I need to make the adjustment fairly quickly. Knowing the my past adjustments to jet lag, it will be about Wednesday or Thursday before it hits me that I have to adjust.

The weather, at least according to the BBC, is going to be a bit up and down. Tomorrow should be write around 70 or so, with lows in the 50s. However it is supposed to warm up to the upper 70s by Wednesday and low around 60, before cooling off 10 degrees back to the 60s the next day. The usual up and down on an English summer and hopefully it will stay on the cooler side then the warmer side since A/C is pretty darn scarce in the UK.

I am both looking forward to going because I know what to expect but also a bit of trepidation because I have a bigger role that last year and I am lacking the two to three days of pre trip adjustment I had last year. I am in charge of about 25 students though I will have a bit of help from the husband and son of the program director.

Anyway, that's it for now. Time to pack up the computer and get things together for the trip. I will update tomorrow at some point once I am settled in Oxford. Probably in the evening when things have calmed down.