The list of things I absolutely definitely have to do before I leave for Haverford College is ever-growing.

One thing is joyfully crossed off, only to be replaced by three more: Will I need a bikini? Should I take travellers cheques? Where the heck is my health insurance form?

But before I launch into a spiel about my hopes and fears, I’ll introduce myself. I’m Hannah Jaenicke, an English Literature and History student from Manchester (you’ll discover later just how much I love my hometown) who is currently both terrified and excited about what will happen in (less than!) a month’s time.

Luckily for me, I’ve got three weeks in America before Haverford starts, as I’m visiting the American half of my family. My American passport exempts me from visas and immigration queues, and I’m lucky in that I’ve got relatives scattered across America from West Coast celeb-ville, to the rural Deep South.

However, I’m not going to be dependent on them – instead, I want to strike out on my own, forge my own path and all that jazz. And at Haverford, I’ll truly be able to do this – I’m the only student from Edinburgh there and, judging from the international students’ mailing list, one of only six exchange students. Argh!

I chose Haverford partly because, as the only Edinburgher there I can’t become trapped in the exchange-student social scene as many do. But I also wanted to go because it’s both totally different to Edinburgh – tiny (only 1169 students!), suburban (although Philadelphia is nearby), and with very small class sizes; but also familiar in that it has many active societies, a similar social make-up and is academically rigorous. Hopefully, this mix of the familiar and the alien will provide for an interesting and exciting year ahead.

Despite my excitement at making new friends, exploring new places, and living the American college dream, I’m going to really miss a lot of what I’ve taken for granted at Edinburgh. How will I cope without the fantastically handsome architecture and views about which I’ve become blasé? Will I lose my enthusiasm (almost as good as talent, right) for ceilidhs? And, most importantly, will I become Americanised – gaining an accent and an attitude which I’ve always tried to avoid? When I return, will I think everything historical is “quaint”, and refer to Britain as England? Please, no.

Of course, I have slightly more practical concerns, too, regarding how to call home, the cost of airfare, and whether I should get a job or not whilst over there, but I’ve pushed those petty wonderings to the back of my mind, whilst I contemplate an existence without the BBC, decent national newspapers, and nights that end in chips and kebabs.
Until I get to Haverford, all of my questions will remain unanswered, and all I can do is hope, speculate and wonder about what awaits me in Pennsylvania.