Preparing to depart

It is currently Thursday morning. The cool, overcast weather and my evening of serious quality time with my little brother both find me a little sluggish. But I still have packing to do, people to see, and other loose ends to tie up before tomorrow evening when I head down to the airport in San Francisco. Time to rally.

People have been asking me a lot lately "are you excited for your trip?" I think my response usually comes across as less enthusiastic than expected. Don't get me wrong, I am very excited to be going on this trip. Not just because of the beautiful destination, or the promise of coming back with a working knowledge of Spanish, but ultimately because it represents how much my life has changed in the last year. However, I will admit that a small part of me is also a little terrified.

As some of you know, this will be my first time out of the country (not counting the hour or so my brother and I spent driving through Ontario four years ago on our way cross-country.) I am going alone, to attend an immersion program for a month through PLFM. As far as first time abroad situations go I predict this will be fairly tame. Antigua is a hotbed for foreign students studying spanish and thus is inundated with out of towners and geared to accommodate non-natives. My school is providing me with a ride from the airport, a private room with a host family who feeds me 6 days a week, and a community an home base that will make for a graduated introduction to a new country and culture. While this may make for a slightly less authentic South American experience it is also comforting for me and those friends and family members who are concerned about me getting molested in an alleyway.

Ultimately I look forward to this trip and all the ways it will expand my view of the world and force me to grow as a person (or for the food, alcohol and shopping... could be either.) I make no promises as to how frequently I will update this blog, but since some of you are hoping to use it as a daily validation that I am still alive and haven't been kidnapped and sold into white slavery, I will make an effort to post something as frequently as is convenient to my existence down there.

Nos vemos.