Kaitlyn's List of Things to be Excited About

1. It’s the last week of my internship. I am five days and a few PowerPoints away from sleeping in, obtaining a skin color that’s more Jasmine than Snow White (via daily beach trips, of course), and lazing my afternoons away with new chick lit in hand.

2. I finally bought luggage. It’s a bold yet muted red, which might cause some issues, considering my obsession with all things bubblegum pink. However, it will be easy to spot in Heathrow when I’m freaking out that my luggage – and therefore, my life – and been pilfered mere minutes after landing in London.

3. StudentUniverse.com has ridiculously cheap tickets for my trip home. Flying from London to New York just days before Christmas for under $500 bucks is unheard of, but definitely not where this bargain-hunter is concerned, thankyouverymuch.

4. I am collecting a great bunch of English slang via “Operation English Immersion,” a plan of mine which entails the following:

a. Read only books by British authors. Book One: Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. Book Two: Shopaholic Takes Manhattan. (No one said they had to be intelligent books! I’ll be reading seven Dickens novels over the next three months. I’m entitled to as much trashy chick lit as I want for the next four weeks.)

b. Read only English editions of my favorite magazines. British Vogue. British Glamour. British Cosmo. (Thanks for warning me about that one, by the way. Apparently, there are no rules -- and therefore no censors -- in British girly mags...)

c. Listen to only European music. (I extended this from “English” to “Euro,” as I need to start practicing my dance moves for the discotecas in Sevilla, Florence, etc.) Favorites include Kate Nash and Lily Allen, the potty-mouthed lassies who sing with amazing cockney accents and Alphabeat, the Danish group that sings such upbeat tempos it’s impossible not to sing and dance along. It’s also impossible not to laugh. English is their second language, and it definitely shows. (“Love like an elevator.” That makes sense? Nah, but it sounds great!)

5. And the most important item on this list… If you just skimmed to this, you’re in the clear, as nothing matters as much as the lovely number five on Kaitlyn’s List of Things to be Excited About. I ONLY HAVE CLASSES ON MONDAY, TUESDAY, and WEDNESDAY. This means that from Wednesday night to Monday morning, I can be in Brussels, but back on Monday night for class after having a ridiculous weekend in a city beyond Canterbury. This. Is. Fabulous.