New Year, New Country

Tomorrow. 

The beginning of my study abroad adventure begins tomorrow. I can't think of a more perfect beginning to the new year. 

I'll be bound for Ireland tomorrow evening! I can't quite believe that still. I've only just finished packing about half an hour ago.... To be quite honest, it feels like I'm going back to Burlington in the morning.

I can't wait to finally be on my way though. It's been four years in the making and I'm anxious to begin!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year's Eve!

Single Digits

Hello there!

Finally broke into the single digits part of the count down! Just 9 more days to go! I even went to weather.com in my excitement because now I can finally see the weather forecast in the 10 day overview. Yeah I know I'm crazy.... but it's the little things in life right?

Anyway, today I've decided I should do a ton of packing. And by a ton, I mean almost all of it. That suitcase isn't going to pack itself.

I've been thinking about what I'm most excited about when I go to Ireland and I thought I'd share a few.
      1. Making new friends from different states/ countries
      2. Going back to the beginning; having that feeling of being closer to ancestors
      3. Experiencing a whole new style of teaching/ learning
      4. Feeling comfortable in a city I've never known; feeling home away from home
      5. Traveling everywhere....

I think one of the weirdest things about packing is going to be leaving my phone at home. In our life these days our phone is almost like an extension to ourselves. It'll be nerve racking not to have it on me constantly, especially those first few days before I can find a tracking phone (lame, but necessary). It'll be hard not to be texting friends and looking at it for the time (which just reminded me I should wear a watch so I don't miss my bus in Dublin). Although, I do look forward to not having such an attachment to it, it'll be a breath of fresh air. I don't expect to be using my tracking phone all too often.

That's all for now, I'll try to update one more time before I leave. This week is going to be fun but busy what with Christmas, Alec visiting, and packing. It'll be the best way to spend the last week and a half at home though.

Until next time!
 I'll leave you with a picture of my sister's new puppy, Sadie.

12 Days

Hello again,

As you can tell from the title of this blog, I've got twelve days before I get on a plane to Dublin!

I just tried to buy my bus ticket from Dublin to Cork and it won't let me buy it with an international address... so it looks like I'm gonna have to figure something else out to get around that little road block.

I think it's gotten to that point that I'm subconsciously putting off packing until the last possible second. I should be packing right now as I write this but instead, I haven't even got the suitcase down from the attic...

All of a sudden today, I think it's starting to set in that I'll be leaving. All day my stomach has been feeling like a 1000 caterpillars just found their wings.

But above all, I'm looking forward for the journey. I've been looking at old pictures and talking to friends abroad which has been making me more excited than ever.

This really hasn't been much of an update on anything except on my serious procrastination. At least I've made a few lists. Like what I need to get in Ireland once I land... Blankets and a phone pretty much. And what documents I need to get my lovely self legally into that fine country.

In other news, Christmas has been feeling not so Christmasy aside from the mass amount of cookies I've made over the past three days. I am however, looking forward to the Doctor Who christmas special! Can't wait for the Doctor's new companion. And I'm of course counting down not just 'til I leave but for when Alec gets to Boston :)

That's all for now!

p.s. Sorry I don't have a picture for this blog post... I'll try harder next time

The First One

Leaving Burlington was extremely hard today. Having to say goodbye for more than 5 months to friends and to UVM was not easy. I pretty much avoided it at all costs (sorry, I'm not good with goodbyes). Dorm life, however, will NOT be missed.  

I finally made it back home and am ready to turn all my attention to getting myself prepared for the big trip. I'm not sure how I'm going to pack my life into one, maybe two, suitcases but I don't need to worry about that just yet. Right now I need a little R&R after that long semester. 

I still don't think it has quite hit me yet that in a little over two weeks time I'll be living in Ireland. LIVING there. How is that even possible? Aren't dreams supposed to always stay dreams? Anyway, I'm glad this dream is the one that's actually happening, and I'm the lucky one who gets to live in it.

Its all a bit surreal at the moment; although I'm sure once I step foot into Logan Airport everything will become all too real. I've already had the cliché break downs, minor ones mind you (thanks to the best people for helping me through those :] ) but I'm sure there's still one more waiting in the wings to come and get me when I least expect it. 

I'm slowly starting to realize what I'll be missing while I'm gone, but also realizing what an amazing opportunity I have ahead of me. I'm more than excited to return to Ireland and get to immerse myself in their wonderful culture and to travel Europe wide-eyed with wonder. My fortune cookie tonight has never been more dead on, saying it all in just one sentence: "you will step on the soil of many countries", and that is exactly what I intend to do. 

But for now, I'll be putting on my Santa hat, singing Christmas songs to my heart's content, and flipping through the mass amount of material API's given me. And I'll be keeping views like this in my mind until I get there. Also working on my blogging abilities...

Until next time! 

Cobh, Cork Ireland. June 2011

17 days and counting.