T-minus one week!

Hello friends, family, Rotarians and random strangers who happen to stumble upon this blog! This post marks the beginning of my foray into blogging, but also the commencement of my final week in America before I head to London. At this time in seven days, I will be somewhere near the North Pole, headed for a layover in Iceland, where there will not, I repeat WILL NOT, be an active volcano. I am convinced that sucker will stay calm through the sheer force of my will.

And now, for a a disclaimer, and a little back story. The disclaimer is that, unlike most people who choose writing as a profession, I have always had serious commitment issues when it comes to diaries or their 21st century counterpart, the blog. I also often begin sentences with "and" or "but," even though many of my teachers (including you, Miss T.) have told me doing so is like a grammatical "plan B" that should be used sparingly, if at all. Finally, I have a tendency to ramble (you were thinking it, I'll just say it). Phew, glad we got that out of the way!

Here's the back story: I have been blessed by the wonderful people at Rotary International with an Ambassadorial Scholarship for the 2010-2011 school year. This means that I can complete an MA in International Journalism at City University London while working with local Rotary clubs in the United Kingdom. I'm sponsored by the Garner Rotary Club in Garner, Iowa, and my host club is the Hammersmith Rotary Club in London. If you're not familiar with Rotary, I STRONGLY urge you to check out www.rotary.org. I'll admit that before I became interested in their scholarship program, my knowledge of Rotary was superficial at best, but over the past year I have been continually amazed at the drive and heart this organization devotes to a host of global issues, from general cultural understanding to their commitment to the eradication of Polio. Seriously, these men and women begin at a local level and combine their talents to affect immense change in the world around us. Plus, Rotarians are hands-down some of the nicest, most genuine people I have ever met.

My goal for the year, in addition to studying, learning, and serving along with Rotary, is to update this blog every day. So, if you find yourself stuck in an elevator or wondering what the weather is like on the other side of the world, pop in and see what I'm up to across the pond! Better yet, shoot me an e-mail at jessica.abels@gmail.com or Skype me at username jessica.abels. If you're reading this, it's likely you're someone very important to me who I am missing dearly, so I would be positively giddy for any communication you send. I will even accept messages via carrier pigeon or smoke signal.

With that, I'm off to go start packing. Just kidding, I have a whole week! (Famous last words.)