Being a planner, I had some ideas of what I was going to do here, but I had no idea a climbing club would be an option. That's the great thing about this experience, you prepare as much as you can to leave, but you aren't ready for it until two months later. I still find it hard to grasp the idea of driving two hours and ending up next to beautiful mountains, sheep, hills, and farms or taking a 30 minute train ride and ending up in Liverpool. It would take me a 5 hour flight, plus a layover and cost $1,000 to get to Liverpool from Michigan. It was such a big deal, but now, it's as if it were never new to me. Everything is becoming normal to me and nothing seems so far-fetched anymore. Why not go to Scotland again, or Ireland? As cliche as this is, the possibilities are endless. This is just the beginning of a well anticipated chapter of my life and I've only just started writing it.
One of the great things about Edge Hill is the amount of different societies they offer. Joining the climbing and mountaineering club here has been by far the biggest surprise for me. I told myself I was going to push myself outside of my comfort zone when I got here and I was going to try something new. Well, climbing happened to be it.
This past weekend we all went to the Lake District to hike. It was by far one of my favorite weekends here. Everyone is so welcoming and it overwhelms me at times because I am so happy to be accepted here when I am clearly new to this. I got to experience England's natural beauty with people that are amazing, views that are spectacular, and rain. I wouldn't have changed it for the world.
