Sunday, January 4, 2009

Getting ready to leave...kinda

It hasn't quite hit me yet. 
I only have 25 more days before I get on a plane and leave for 5 months. I haven't brushed up on my Spanish yet (which will probably come in handy), haven't even thought about packing or what I'm going to bring, and I'm still waiting on information about my host families and finalizations concerning my program. The only thing I've done so far is quit one of my two jobs, which, knowing me, is a pretty big step in and of itself. 
All of that aside, every time I think about leaving I just get overwhelmingly excited - I would get on a plane tomorrow if I could! Not many people get the option to visit 4 different countries in 5 months and I plan to take full advantage of this opportunity. My itinerary is as follows:
1/29 - get on a plane to Houston and from Housont to Buenos Aires, Argentina
1/30-3/28 - studying at the University of Belgrano in Buenos Aires
3/28 - go to Lima, Peru!
3/29-5-23 - studying at the University of the Pacific
5/24-5/31 - staying in Peru for an extra week b/c my mom is coming out
5/31 - flying to Madrid, Spain to meet my friend Kira - Viva Espana!
6/1-6/12 - spontaneously traveling around Spain
6/12 - going to Rome, Italy!
6/12 - 6/24 - spontaneously traveling around Italy (good thing we speak English and Spanish)
6/24 - flying back to Colorado

It's definitely going to be the trip of a lifetime and I couldn't be more ready for it. However, in these next 3 weeks I plan to work a little, but set aside more time for me. I don't know how many of you have told me I haven't done enough of that so I'm going to give it a try before I leave. We'll see how it goes :) I'm also going to spend more time with family and friends since I won't be able to for a while. 
I am planning on downloading Skype and getting a webcam so those of you who have that should let me know! My roommate needs to teach me how it works though... but it will be one way for me to keep in contact while I'm away. I should also be updating my blog quite a bit to keep people informed of what I'm doing, where I'm going, who I'm meeting, what I'm eating and other random adventures! 
For now, though, I'm going to work on getting everything together and squared away (which could be difficult considering how much of a procrastinator I am), and enjoying my time not spent at work. 
It should all start to sink in pretty soon.