Getting Ready

As many of you already know, I'm going to Barcelona again. This time, for the entire school year. I'll leave August 21st and return sometime after the beginning of June and before August 21st, 2010. I'll stay in Europe the entire time, hopefully traveling some, learning to speak Spanish fluently, meeting interesting people, gaining culture, and eating all things strange and interesting. Don't get me a wrong, I'm super excited, but it's becoming real now. I'm packing my things, sorting out what I want to take, and worst of all, saying goodbye to people. I hate goodbyes, even if it means I'm moving on to a new and exciting part of my life, I'll miss the people that have been a major part of my world for the last three years. But everyone is really supportive of my decision to do this, and if you're not, we're not friends anymore. Even though I'll be abroad for my senior year of college and I won't get to walk at graduation, the decision to go was pretty simple. I mean, spend a year in Champaign or spend a year in Barcelona? And when in my life will I get to live in a foreign city as a student again? Probably never. But the preparation is killing me. I just want to skip the goodbyes and be there already!

Also, I loathe packing. I don't really know anyone who hates it as much as I do. Usually, I just get really drunk and throw what I think I'll need in a suitcase. I'm sure when TSA looks through my stuff they think all kinds of things. One time, I went home for three weeks and only brought three socks with me, not three pairs, three individual socks after a night of drunken packing. But this time, I'm going to pack with forethought and purpose, so I don't forget anything major and end up with the things I need. We'll see how this works out.

And I think Bart knows something is weird. He's extra snuggly and well-bahaved. I don't know if he knows we're going somewhere different or if he can just tell that saying goodbyes make me sad. Either way, I'm going to miss him a lot so I don't mind the extra cuddles and belly scratches when I can get them.

So the plan. My esteemed father will arrive Friday evening and we will spend Saturday cramming all my stuff into a trailer and then romp around Champaign. We will leave at what I can only guess is the crack of dawn on Sunday, drive to somewhere and spend the night, wake up and drive all day Monday and arrive in Houston that evening. I will then spend approximately 1.8 weeks in Houston, visiting with family and friends before I depart for Chicago at 10:25AM on Friday the 21st. Once in Chicago I will make my way over to the international terminal for the group flight where I will depart for Barcelona at 4:40PM with a stopover in Madrid for fun. Now, I'm off to pack and get ready and make lists of things I shouldn't forget to procrastinate getting my stuff packed and ready to go.