Author's Note: Hi readers! Glad to see you stopping by! This is my first fanfiction so I'm still learning what the protocol's are. Please feel free to leave any review you like and I hope to see you again =]

Chapter 1 - Week One: Monday

Mary Poppins has always been calm and collected. Everything has always been in her control and exactly how she wanted it; today was no different. She took it upon herself six months earlier to reserve the University Welcome Center for this particular event: orientation date for her brand new discussion group of girls – international students to be specific.

Mary planned everything: from the various flag decorations around the walls to the buffet of multicultural food specifically prepared by herself , specifically for this day. She was pleased, but certainly she was always pleased with herself. After all, she was not short of an inflated ego, deserved or not.

She scanned the room and breathed a happy sigh before looking to the young women standing next to her, not quite as secure as herself and not bothering to hide it.

"Thank you Jane for your help today. It will be wonderful to have an assistant for this project. Not to mention, the girls will appreciate a younger voice to relate to."

Jane shuffled and looked down at her shoes. "How are you sure they will relate to me Ms. Poppins?"

Mary let out a small laugh. "For the last time Jane, you are my colleague now, not my student. There is no need for formalities so call me Mary. To answer your question though, all young people can find relation in other young people. Everything is so new and curious, no doubt a bit nerve-racking as well." Mary smiled at Jane "I have no doubt in my mind that you will be a good support to these girls, and you will learn something from them too. That is the purpose of this group after all: to learn something from one another. Have you organized the room situations yet?"

If there was one thing Jane was sure of, it was her organizing abilities. " Yes Mi—Mary. I organized the rooms by country of origin so the girls will room together with other girls from similar parts of the world."

"Brilliant, Jane! I knew I was right in trusting your help – then again, I'm always right."

Jane relaxed with these words of confidence, even if they weren't necessarily directed toward her. Now all they had to do was wait for the trickle of students to come into the Welcome Center and the year could begin.

Tiana was the first student to enter the Welcome Center at 15 minutes past the specified meeting time. Even though she tried to be on time she was almost always inevitably late given her busy work schedule. Only two days in London and she already found two jobs. Even she wondered why she was so diligent on working so hard: she received a full-ride scholarship to come to the University with some extra cash for spending money; there really was no need for two jobs, not even one.

"Habit." Tiana muttered under her breath. "Now if I'm late...where is everybody?"

"They are late too, but do not worry – you are in the right place." Came a voice behind Tiana causing her to jump and abruptly turn around to face a tall, pale and undoubtedly beautiful woman with excellent posture. Tiana instantly felt a strange combination of comfort and intimidation as she tried to mimic the woman's' ruler-straight back. The woman smiled at the effort.

"You must be Tiana! I am Mary Poppins" she said as she gestured to the other corner of the room where another young woman was seated in the circle of 14 chairs provided for the day. "And that is my assistant Jane – she is a student as well."

Tiana was a bit overwhelmed at this conversation. She never expected to be early enough to be given a personal introduction, and seeing the nervous student in the circle – Jane – made her wonder if she made the right decision to join a student group at all.

"This is...well, nice. It's nice to meet both of you. Hey, and how did you know who I was?"

Mary smiled. "I know a New Orleans accent when I hear one. Plus you hold yourself like an American and we only have one other American in our group so perhaps it was also a lucky guess." She pulled out a card with a long string of yarn through two punched holes at the top and handed it to Tiana.

Tiana stared at the card for a minute with its comic sans written "Hi! I'm Tiana!" and large American flag painted at the bottom. She couldn't help but laugh at the campiness, and finally decided to scan the room to peer at the flags scattered around the room. Indeed it was very campy.

She thanked Mary as she sat down in a chair across from Jane. Tiana thought about making conversation but decided to wait until the other students arrived to take the pressure off of saying the right things and instead wandered into her thoughts. Do I really look like an American? She wondered as she glanced at at her clothes: Jeans, a T-shirt and boots can't be THAT uncommon in England...She glanced back up at Jane who was wearing a sweater, a skirt and flats. OK, maybe it's a bit different.

Tiana's thoughts were interrupted by footsteps and Mary's booming voice exclaiming "WELcome to Disney University's International Students Orientation for Girls!" Jane and Tiana both looked up to see a very diverse crowd of girls huddled around the doorway. Jane ran over right as Mary gestured in her direction "My name is Mary Poppins, and this is my assistant Jane. In a few short minutes we will begin orientation once we are sure everyone is here, but in the meantime, feel free to eat something. I am sure you will find some comforting delights as well as some less familiar cuisines to try."

Jane decided this was a good time to pipe in "After all, we want to learn from each other in order to connect and adapt to life here in England." Mary grinned at her assistant, knowing that Jane had been rehearsing that line for a week prior.

Tiana remained seated throughout the confusion of passing out name tags and the girls' looks of confusion at their names above the flag that supposedly represented them. The shy girls decided to grab food at the buffet table while the more outgoing girls struck up small talk with one another, meanwhile Mary introduced herself to everyone individually and Jane checked names off of a roster.

A tall young woman with long hair and piercing brown eyes walked up to Tiana. "I gather you're an American too. Where are you from?" Tiana thought the woman sounded a bit robotic but responded anyway. "I'm from New Orleans, how 'bout yourself...Pota...cotnas?" she stuttered reading the girl's name tag. This brought a smile to the other woman's' face, softening her features as she sat down next to Tiana. "Pocahontas actually. My name tag is spelled wrong, common mistake. I'm from Jamestown, Virginia. New Orleans, really? You've come a long way"

"Speak for yourself! We've both crossed oceans!"

The girls laughed, feeling an instant connection, even if that connection was only based on a common home – a place they were both feeling a little homesick for.

"So, why did such a big group come in all at once?" Tiana asked.

"Didn't you know? There was a campus tour for all the international students and we registered for classes. Registration went longer than planned so we all ended up walking over here together. I doubt you were the only one who missed it though as we were supposed to be twelve in our group and only nine showed up. Since you were here, that would mean two other girls missed out."

"I knew I was forgetting something...Just didn't know what. I spent all morning looking for jobs instead. I got two, but now I'm paying for it by not registering for classes!" Tiana slunk her head into her lap. Pocahontas wondered if it was just an American tendency to be so flexible...She glanced at the other girl's name tag. "Tiana right? That's a nice name. I'm sure it will work out. The last I checked there were still ample classes available. Worse case, you take some classes you don't want now and focus on your jobs...Wait, did I just hear you say that you got two jobs?"

Tiana nodded.

Pocahontas gaped. "Why would you do that to yourself? Two jobs and college classes. I assume you want to be a full time student?"

Tiana nodded again.

"Well in that case maybe it's a good thing in disguise. Maybe your heart was telling you that working was more important to you than having a full load of classes."

Tiana hadn't thought of it that way, but was pleased by the sound of it. "I am more used to working. I've always worked since I was a pre-teen. Been working two jobs since I was sixteen. I don't really know another life other than working."

Pocahontas put a reassuring hand on Tiana's shoulder, who took the gesture with kindness. "It's just your first year. It's best to stick with what you're comfortable with and branch out later. You need to have some time to yourself to process all these changes."

With that, both girls heard Mary's voice again, this time announcing the whole group to gather in the circle of chairs. As each young woman silently took a seat, they scanned the group to familiarize themselves with all the nervous faces of whom they would be sharing this bi-weekly experience with. Nervous faces met nervous faces, and the room was silent save for the pattering of shoes down the hall.

Mary looked toward the door, calm and collected as ever to greet the last two girls – both lean, one with long, wavy brown hair and the other with even longer, straight blond hair. The only thing they had in common was the fact that they were wearing purple. Everything else was very different. The brunette had a scowl on her face and was out of breath, the other was the definition of a sunshine girl, with a bright grin on her face to match her golden hair; strangely enough, she wasn't out of breath. Mary handed the girls the last two name tags as Jane checked off the last two names, then all four of them walked toward the chairs to join the circle.

Mary began her introduction. "By now, most of you know who I am. For those who just arrived, my name is Mary Poppins and this is my assistant Jane who will be a sort of... peer adviser to you all."

Jane smiled nervously and waved as the group turned to her in unison.

Mary continued "Starting today and this Thursday, you will all meet here at 9:00 in the morning. Treat this like a class, though there will not be any letter grades involved. Though you might not see it straight away, all of you have a lot in common:"

The young ladies shifted their eyes around.

"You are all young women from exciting parts of the world who have chosen England as your country of study. All of you are fluent in your home language as well as English, and you all have a dream of bettering the world in some form of another. Lastly, and most obviously, you have all chosen to be part of this group as your first-year seminar. Here we will have a multitude of discussion topics as well as enriching field excursions to cultural points in London. You will learn from each other: from your similarities and from your differences. At the end of this year, you will all have grown tremendously from the person you are now."

She paused to make sure her audience was still following. "It will be challenging, especially if you have not encountered other cultures before, but I know you all are capable of learning and growing."

With that, she clapped once to end her speech. "Now, I would like each of you talk about yourselves a bit. Tell us your name, age, country of origin, intended field of study and an interesting fact about yourself. Let's go alphabetically by first name starting with...Anastasia!" Mary scanned the room to find a young woman with reddish-brown hair and big blue eyes, raising her hand. Mary moved her hands to tell Anastasia to stand up.

She cleared her throat to speak "My name is Anastasia, I'm 18 and from Russia. I don't yet know what I want to study, but during my childhood I experienced a trauma to my head leading to amnesia. The ability to just forget, well, everything has always fascinated me, so I think I want to study psychology or at least something to do with the brain." She looked around the room briefly "So, I guess that's me."

Mary nodded and called out the next name. "Would Ariel kindly go next?"

A chipper, young girl with bright red hair stood up at the sound of her name. "Yes, I am Ariel, I'm 17. My country of origin is complicated...You see, I was born at sea and I have never lived on land until now, not even seen the shore before. My passport is from Denmark though. Because I'm from the sea, I would like to study more about it, so I applied to the oceanography program. And an interesting thing about me? Well...I don't eat fish?" She was shy, but easily likeable, perhaps even a bit naive, but the other girls summed that up to her being so young and new to terrestrial land.

One by one, each of the girls continued.

"My name is Belle, I'm 19, from France. I'm from a small village a little ways outside of Paris and I learned English through reading English books – that's my favorite hobby, reading. I've always wanted to go on adventures, but I never left my village until now. Right now I am planning on studying English literature, and possibly even English history."

"I'm Esmeralda, 20, also from France, but from Paris. I took a year off between secondary school and university in order to earn money to pay the tuition. Granted, I didn't earn enough but financial aid has been very helpful. I grew up with very little money, so I feel very lucky to be here. I plan on studying social work and social justice."

"My name is Jasmine, I am 19 years old and I am from Jordan. Like Esmeralda, I also felt trapped by my childhood but in a different way. My family is well off as we are related to the royal family. In many ways this has been a curse, for they were always so over-protective. I am surprised they even let me come here! I want to study clinical psychology so that I can work with youth who also feel stuck."

"I am Kidagakash, but please call me Kida. My homeland is similar to Ariel's, and very complicated. I grew up on an island near Iceland, a very secluded island. We have a rich history and a rich culture, but I felt the need to learn more about the world, so I came here to study anthropology and world history." Right as Kida was about to sit down, Mary stopped her. "And your age Kida?"

"Oh yes, I am 20 years old."

Next was the brunette who came in late. She had abandoned her scowl but still had an edge to her voice. "My name is Megara, but I prefer to be called Meg. I don't have a sob story or a rough childhood. I was just a kid. I'm now 19 years old escaping a bad relationship that I had back in Greece. I figure, why not go to England?" As she spoke, her face softened. "I guess like any other girl my age, I'm miserable and I want to better my life. I'm not sure what I want to study yet, but maybe psychology, or literature, or history...never math though. I'm awful with numbers."

"Well, most people call me Mulan because it's easier but my name is actually pronounced Mok-lan as I'm from southern China where we speak Cantonese, not Mandarin. My parents didn't want to send me to England either. They want me to stay in our village and get married – that's just what all 19 year olds do. Like you Jasmine, my parents are very over-protective and image is a big deal in our culture. They actually didn't let me go, I confided in my grandmother who told my parents that I'm staying with relatives in the North. I'm thinking of studying women and gender studies to see if there is some way to get out of this mess."

The sunshine girl with the long hair stood up next. "Hi everyone! I'm Rapunzel. I know it's a hard name to pronounce and all, but it will get easier, I promise! I'm from Germany. I've never left home before, isn't that crazy? I was home-schooled, but as you can see I got a little stir crazy so I came out here to England to study well...everything! I don't yet know what I want to study to be honest. Everything is fascinating. I'm 17 by the way."

Pocahontas stood up to introduce herself after Rapunzel fell into her chair. "Hi, my name is Pocahontas. I'm from America and yes, I am native American. My family has lived in Virgina for many generations. I live on a reservation near Jamestown where my family lived before the Europeans arrived. I love the outdoors, and I love people. I spent a year traveling around the U.S. Before coming here which made me realize that I wish to work with the environment: with nature and with people. So I'm majoring in environmental science and social justice. Oh yes, and I'm 20 years old."

Tiana gleamed at her new friend before standing up to speak herself. "Well I guess I'm the last one to speak. My name is Tiana, I'm also an American but from New Orleans, Louisiana. I'm 19 years old and came to England to study business and the culinary arts. I dream of one day opening up my own restaurant. Until then, I need to save up money! So I'll be working while I'm taking classes."

After Tiana sat back down, Mary looked at all her students and asked Jane to introduce herself as well.

"Hello! As you all know by now, I'm Jane. I am assistant to Mi—Mary for this year to help run the international student club. My father is an explorer and I've been with him a few times on some of his expeditions and I've always felt a stronger connection to people in other countries than I have to people in England. So that's why I decided to work with Mary this year. I am 21 years old, just a year ahead of you all and I am studying anthropology and fine art."

With that, Mary stood up and handed out a sheet of paper to everyone. "You all did very well and I am excited to get to know you as the year progresses! What I am handing out to you know is your roommate assignments. Jane was kind enough to organize the room assignments by country of origin so that you would at least have some common ground to work with. Jane will also be rooming with one of you this year. Now, I am confident that you all have registered for classes? Yes?"

Tiana, Meg and Rapunzel all shrunk in their seats to avoid the gaze of Mary, who just continued on. "Yes, so I will see you all on Thursday then? 9:00 in the morning?"

The group nodded.

"Wonderful! It was lovely to meet you all!"

Everyone began to shuffle out of the Welcome Center, save for the three who did not register for classes.

"I presume that the reason you three stayed behind was to tell me that you have not actually registered for classes, am I correct?" They nodded.

"Very well then, come with me."

While Meg, Rapunzel and Tiana followed Mary, they glanced at the sheet of paper with the room assignments:

International House

Room 1 – Anastasia and Rapunzel

Room 2 – Ariel and Jane

Room 3 – Belle and Esmeralda

Room 4 – Jasmine and Mulan

Room 5 – Kidagakash and Megara

Room 6 – Potacontas and Tiana

Tiana grinned widely at the misspelling of her new friend's name and followed Mary down the hall to the registrar, feeling optimistic that this would be a good year after all.

Author's Note: Hi there, me again. I see you made it this far, sorry for the length! Like I said, still getting used to writing a fanfic. But I hope you enjoyed it! I know it was a bit choppy toward the end, and I will work to smooth things out for the next chapter. Thanks for reading!