Location: Norwich. Time since arrival: One week. Status: Alive and thriving. I am in England.

On Monday, the University of Iowa hosted its second-ever International Welcome Night in an effort to integrate new international students, which has proved difficult after a rise in the international population over the past few years. Though hundreds of students attended the fall welcome night, the event’s organizer, Joelle Brown, anticipated various challenges for the spring welcome night. These included smaller enrollment of first-time international students and January’s uninviting temperatures preventing some students from traveling to the event.

The University of Iowa’s Food for Thought Theme Semester is a program that will launch Tuesday and run throughout the spring semester. It will connect academics, local communities and individual Iowans through something we can all relate to: food.

Wow, I can’t believe it’s really been two weeks already. When I was sitting in the airport writing the first blog I honestly had no idea how this trip would go. I didn’t know any of the 50 people going (except for one boy from a previous class), and my nervousness was at an extreme high. Once the jetlag disappeared after a few days, I felt very comfortable in this foreign town.

Brad Merryman will tell you he has the best job in the world. After 25 years in the IT industry, he hung up his hat and volunteered in Costa Rica through the Peace Corps. Just a few short months after returning to the U.S., Merryman was honored to accept the Midwest Regional Manager position with the Peace Corps, where he now oversees the recruitment of volunteers throughout a region spanning 11 states.

It’s Wednesday night and I’ve just had a long but great day. I and a few other people got tickets to the Warner Bros Harry Potter Tour! To say that I used to be obsessed with Harry Potter is probably an understatement. My room was plastered with posters, I knew every tiny little fact and would take online trivia quizzes to prove I knew every little fact, and I’ve definitely read the books more than once. I was always convinced (okay, still am) that my Hogwarts letter had just gotten lost in the mail.

I finally experienced a typical rainy day in London yesterday. Our class had a day trip to Stonehenge and then to Windsor Castle. It was a bright and early wake up to be outside on the bus at 7:45 am; or I guess I should say dark and dreary. It was lightly raining as all of us zombie walked onto the bus.

When retired faculty member Nancy Hauserman was a student, study abroad programs were not yet common. The concept has gained prominence as a way to learn about the global economy as well as different cultures. Now, a growing fund is making it possible for more students than ever to benefit from these pivotal journeys. From 1976 to 2013, Hauserman served the Tippie College in various roles, including teaching in the International MBA Program and CIMBA. While serving as associate dean of the Undergraduate Program, she helped start the undergraduate Winter Session course in London in 2000. “When students go overseas — whether for a week, semester, or year — you can see the positive impact it has on their lives when they return,” Nancy says.

It’s New Years Day! Last night I went to Piccadilly Circus to watch the fireworks and they were pretty spectacular. This year was the first year London ticketed their NYE fireworks, but I figure that was more for crowd control rather than for profit. Only those who wished to see the fireworks across from the London eye down by the River Thames were ticketed. Someone told me that last year all of the tubes had to be shut down because of too many crowds.

Today is the day, the day I leave for London for two weeks. As someone with some anxiety and multiple stomach issues, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous for this plane ride. Packing my carry-on with a gallon bag filled with all kinds of medicines helped a little to remedy my hypochondriac-worries. This is also my first time travelling alone, yet that’s not really on my top list of worries. The “normal” worries never seem to be my priorities.