I haven't yet started counting down in weeks (and certainly not days) the time until I leave for foreign shores. However, since I have a flight booked on August 23rd, it is now less than 2 months.

The last four and a bit weeks have disappeared alarmingly quickly. Marc Lloyd is married; I've had my final results from Oak Hill (amazingly the Doctrine of God essay wasn't the disaster I was expecting); I've visited Oxford, Swansea, Hertfordshire, London, Manchester, Wolverhampton and Stafford; I've been sunburnt and now am covered in freckles; I've bought suitcases and a digital camera (under duress from my mother); and I haven't watched quite as much tennis as I'd like.

Necessary preparations for the move seem to be going by in a bit of a blur. The afternoon in the US Embassy applying for my visa is one I never want to repeat but nonetheless the visa was obtained and much more quickly than I'd expected. Accommodation when I arrive is organised and a possible long-term place is under consideration. Someone in America is sorting out arrangements for being met at the airport. I have details of the first Orientation day including lunch and the Greek and Hebrew exams the following day.

Haven't done quite as much revision or reading as I'd planned. Hopefully after camp my days will be less full with other things. My vocab in particular is pretty patchy and anything that involved rote learning never stayed in my head after the exam.

And, praise God, I am starting to look forward to going. The moments of blind panic are fewer and the fear of the unknown is diminishing as more things are becoming known. And I'm excited about the courses on offer next semester. And everyone I have contact with is being incredibly friendly and helpful (even if their organisation and communication isn't quite at the Clare Osborne level). And maybe Philadelphia won't be such a bad place...