Oxfords et polos sans Sperry's

Crickey. In less than a fortnight I will be London-bound. I've begun packing (early, I know, but we all know how I can be at times) and my suitcase is still 20lbs under the limit. How did I manage to get it under 50lbs? By not being fashionable. Or am I a fashionista? No, I'm not -trust me on this one. I have never met anyone who has wanted to copy my style because let's face it, I am unfashionable. I really only wear polos and occasionally Oxfords, but that's about it. I'm even ditching my Sperry's to conserve weight (and perhaps bring home some du jour clothing). I'll be wearing Hunters and Asics for the next 6 months and if weather permits, Birkenstocks. Birkenstocks are notoriously deemed as passé, but they're extraordinarily comfortable even if they make you look like an ecomentalist.

I suppose I'll be a démodé ecomentalist.

I'd rather have my wisdom teeth pulled again than go through this.

My flight for London was booked, my dorm assignment was given to me, and my visa was in its envelope sitting in my room waiting to be opened. I anxiously opened the envelope like a child on Christmas morning and out came my passport with my visa that would grant me entry into the United Kingdom to study at Roehampton University this January. I examined the visa and noticed the date of entry was the wrong day- days after I was supposed to arrive. I thought that was odd and so I Googled my situation to see if other students encountered the same problem: They hadn't. I went to the UK Boarder Agency's website to find who I could contact about this mistake. A nice man directed me to the British Consulate in New York City where they could answer my questions, since they were the ones who had issued my visa. I gave them a ring and all I got was a recording and no option to speak to a real person at the Consulate.  If I wanted to speak to an actual person I would need to spend $12 to ring some company that could assist me. I then rang the British Embassy in Washington, DC to see if they could help me. A man with an Australian accent greeted me, but I quickly sussed that this was a recording. Why would an Aussie be working for the British Embassy? Well, Australia is a Commonwealth so maybe that's why. Anyway, finally, somebody from the British Consulate in New York contacted me via email. I explained to them that my university requires that I be there on the 6 January (the visa was for the 9 January) and they had no sympathy for me. Roehampton had given them the wrong date and my word was no good to them. The person told me that I needed to change my flight or else I would be sent back to the United States and my visa would be revoked. I was mortified and from that moment on, my day became worse. I spent an hour on the phone with Expedia where I was put on hold for most of the time (and heard the 'Top Gear' theme song about ten times-how appropriate). My flight was cancelled and now the hunt for a new one was about to begin. My dad and I checked various websites for flights: Lufthansa, British Airways, Continental, Air France, SAS, AAA, Air Canada, Delta, American Airlines, and another site where it looked like a scam. To fly out of Cleveland it would be expensive, and even more so from Akron-Canton by nearly $2,000 (false advertisement, I'd say). We looked at flights from Columbus, Pittsburgh, Dayton ($4,000 for a flight to London), Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Detroit. This took about three hours to sort out, but at least it was. I ended up booking a direct flight from Detroit with Air France that was more affordable than any other flight we could find, but it was still not cheap. My mother was livid and so was my father. I thought my head was going to explode with all the drama that was caused because someone typed in the wrong date (Jersey Shore has nothing on me). I emailed Roehampton about the situation and they apologised and kindly offered to pick me up at the airport when I arrive in London. Instead of leaving on the 5 January, I will be leaving on the 8 January. The day before this nightmare occurred I had my wisdom teeth removed and let me tell you, I'd rather go through that again than this.