I think about this blog at least once a day and there are so many times when I want to write but I don't have a computer nearby.

Still, I try to carry a notebook with me all the time so I have time to write down my thoughts, or my observations, and then I'll try to write them in the blog. Hopefully, it'll work out okay, even if means that sometimes I'll be posting a bunch of posts at once.

Aug. 29, 2007

I'm sitting at the terminal getting ready to fly to Granada. It only just hit me during the car ride here that I'm leaving to live in Spain for a semester. What I've been talking about forever is about to happen. I feel a bit like when I was about to leave for my study abroad in Mexico, during my junior year of high school, but this time it is also very different because I'm at a very different place in my life. I'm so much older now - confident about traveling and living away from the family.

When I went to Mexico, having only just turned 16, I was so shell-shocked about everything I was experiencing that the first week was a blur, and I felt numb. (The homesickness hit later on). Still, as hard as it was at times, it was also one of the best experiences of my life. I hope that Spain will also leave such an indelible mark on my life.

The last few weeks went so fast, with Nick's death and then the crazy two days packing. Even though Nick's funeral was a week ago, today I realized what a fog I've been in. I thought that after the funeral I would be able to focus on coming here, but only now have I started to wake up and realize that I'm leaving, the semester is starting. I've been packing and preparing to leave, without really being conscious of it.

The last few days were a whirlwind of packing. Emily and Patrick started school on Monday. So that they didn't have to get up so early, and leave with Mom and Dad at quarter to seven, I took them into school on Monday and Tuesday. I took the time to see some of my old high school teachers, and also a dear old friend of the family - Mr. Lane. He is like a grandfather to me and my siblings, and I'm going to really miss him. Still, I'm going to try and write to him at least once a week, like I do while I'm at Bucknell.