NOT.A.CHANCE!
As the weeks have finally dwindled down, leaving only 3 days left at home, I've started to wonder if I'm really ready to leave home yet. The reality of leaving so many loose ends at home-mainly wondering where all of my belongings, which have begun to be neatly packed away in boxes (I use the term neatly very loosely here), will even be-has really begun to set in. The fact that I will soon be off in a foreign country with only 2 bags to my name, leaving behind my family and friends, all of the comforts from home, and my kitchen (which I love dearly) has also begun to create knots in my stomach.
But enough with the worrying! I have so much to be excited about! I have finally managed to finish reading my guide to India (Wanderlust and Lipstick: A Guide for Women Travelling to India which has provided many useful tips and tricks for the female traveller) and gather everything I need including: receiving my camcorder (which will be put to the ultimate test in Documentary Film), outlet transformers, more Bath and Body works products than I would ever want to admit I cannot travel without, mementos from home (Nutella included!), and a new travel bag!
I also received some great news just the other day.....drum-roll pleaaase (badaaadadadadadadaaaaaaaa) I HAVE OFFICIALLY BEEN ACCEPTED TO STUDY IN ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA for the Spring 2012 semester! Yippie! This great news also brings with it a lot of challenges as I will have to work with AIFS to coordinate every aspect of my second semester abroad all the way from India, battling their frequent power-outages and not knowing what my internet situation will be like.
There is still so much to do as the sand in my "Days in the US" timer quickly comes down to the last grains. My mother, who is extremely supportive (as is everyone I know) of my adventures abroad, has decided that we will have one last hurrah at our house and will be throwing me a going away party-DJ included-tomorrow, leaving the To-Do list looking a little something like this for today:
To Do:
Bake Brownies
Wrap Scallops in Bacon
Go to Dad's to help make macaroni salad
Set up a Skype account for my Nana
FINISH DOING LAUNDRY ALREADY!
Pick up final check from Job 1
Stop by Kenny's Salt Water Taffy (my favorite job of Summer 2011) to:
1. Wish Katherine a happy birthday
2. Say final good-byes to the gang
3. Pick up taffy to bring on my abroad travels as gifts!
4. Eat some Coconut Creme fudge (Y-U-M!)
Make "travel sleeping bag" (details below)
[[***Travel Tip: The Travelling Sleeping Bag: A fellow SMC-er that I became friends with last summer through SMC Wilderness Program Leader Training (yes, I trained to be a WP leader last summer, which lead me to a 4-day backpacking trip through the Long Trail none of my friends were expecting me to complete successfully...SURPRISE!) is also studying abroad in India for the Fall Semester in Hyderabad, which is across the country from where I will be and gave me a ton of useful tips regarding what to pack. One of the most brilliant that stood out on the list was to take a queen-sized sheet, fold it in half, and sew up the open end, making a super portable, lightweight, sleeping bag that will be very handy throughout my travels. As India is so large, there will be a lot of travelling done via overnight trains and nights in hotel rooms (which my guide-book informed me does not always have clean sheets..yikes!), making this a great (and cheap!) alternative to trying to stuff a heavy sleeping bag in my check-in. Thanks Melissa!]]
Pictures of Tomorrow's Festivities to Follow!
Dream.Love.Discover.
-Dachelle <3
