Yesterday a very exciting event took place... I finally received my passport back from the Greek embassy in NYC. With it came the oh-so-awaited student visa, nicely tucked in the middle of my unused traveling pages. In case you haven't realized it yet, I am still state-side. Yes, for another week and a half I will be home while my friends head back to classes. I'm not complaining, of course. I enjoy my family, especially my kitties, and I have time to hang out with friends from home who I rarely see anyway. But the arrival of my passport and visa shocked me into reality. I am headed to Greece on the 26th and I won't see any of my friends in the states for the next four months.
After getting over the general shock of remembering I will be in a foreign country for the next semester I had to then get through a couple of aftershocks. Concepts like the atrocity that is my visa picture, the fact that I don't speak any Greek, and the immense amount of things I want to accomplish while there that I haven't planned for hit me in stages. I'd get over one and then another would strike me. It was not very fun. I started to freak out a little.
This is not the first time I've traveled abroad. It's not even the first time I've studied abroad. It is is the first time I have gone to a foreign country where I don't speak the language and don't know anyone. Plus, meeting new people is seriously the most terrifying concept for me. I'm pretty sure I can handle the language and coursework, but making new friends might be an issue. I'll let you know how it goes.
As of right now, I have nothing interesting to report. Greece, I am sure, will give me far more to write about than my home town of State College, Pa. My hope with this blog is to be short and sweet. One or two stories at a time. Lots of pictures (because I personally prefer visual stimuli). I don't actually know what my Internet will be like in Athens, but I'm going to attempt an entry a week. We'll see if that happens.
I am also going to put up pictures and thoughts that I can't fit here onto my facebook group called "Follow me through Greece." Join, discuss, enjoy. Let me know if there is anything you want to hear more about (or just about) and I will accommodate to the best of my ability. Until next time...
Comments (1)
Hey Kelly,
Take a deep breath, relax, and have so much fun on this adventure of yours. We are with you in love and in Spirit.
Posted by Robin Jarrell | January 22, 2008 7:45 PM
Posted on January 22, 2008 19:45