Barring a catastrophe (or government bureaucracy), I’ll be heading back to England in about two and a half months. It seems unreal how fast this year went by.

After a somewhat slow spring in terms of updates and news, I finally received solid information on my loans a few days ago. I’m thankful that the bank-managed Stafford loans were replaced with government-managed loans. The interest rates are lower and my school can take a more proactive approach instead of waiting for a bank to get back to them.

I ticked down the checklist — completing the FAFSA, filling out a promissory note, completing online loan counseling and sending Kent the updates — and now I wait, with a lot of pressure off my shoulders. I’m hoping I have solid acceptance information in a few weeks, so I can arrange for my airfare, my housing (yay Woolf College!) and my visa.

Until I get my news, I’m trying to be productive. I started a list of stuff to take with me, I’ve been researching Canterbury and what to do there, I’ve picked out a new bed set and I’m starting a sports editing internship with The Kansas City Star. My job starts Monday, June 28, and barely a week and a half after it ends, I leave. Very heady. I don’t think it will really set in until I get my visa stamp, and maybe not even until I get on the plane.