One week to go...

At this time next week I will have just gotten off my first flight (Glasgow to Heathrow) and be waiting to board the transatlantic leg of my journey. At the moment, I'm starting to get the fear that I've not done everything that I need to for the trip.

I've got a plane ticket, accommodation is finally sorted (seriously, this was the hardest part), and I've convinced myself that I only need an ESTA rather than a full visa (backed up by a letter from the Insistution who is hosting me). I'm trying to organise last minute drinks and dinner with people who I want to see before I go (mainly my support network - buzz word used by my therapist), and above all trying to put off laundry and packing.

Due to a cock-up with booking the accommodation by the University, I have had to book myself in to a hotel for the first night. I found myself a cool hotel called The Jane, which describes itself as "a boutique hotel located at 505-507 West Street, with its main entrance at 113 Jane Street in the West Village section of the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan,New York City.". It's only a couple of blocks away from where I'll be working, so should fit nicely.

After my first day of work, I then head to the room that I'm renting for the duration of my stay in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. I've been reading up on the area, and while not the most up-market of places, I think that my experiences of living in Gallowhill in Paisley, Govan in Glasgow and St Obswell on the Tay in Dundee have more than prepared me

The main task for this week is working out medicines and other health related worries for when I'm over. Have a meeting with my GP tomorrow to arrange Asthma inhalers and eczema steroid creams, a meeting with my "Doing Well" councillor on Thursday, and throughout the week trying to track down the latest line of university bureaucracy to sort out travel insurance.&nbsp