Hello! Well I have about 20 days left in my "Leaving for Ireland Countdown" and I am starting to get pretty anxious. I'm not sure that it has hit me that I am leaving for five months. Most of the time I am excited and can't wait to experience everything studying abroad has to offer, and then there are those small moments where I am so terrified of saying goodbye to everything and everyone and entering what I only imagine at this point to be a parallel universe.

I know it's only for five months and I am being a little overdramatic but at home I have a family, and at school my team is my family, and now by choice I am leaving all of them for a culture where the word pants means underwear, and chips are french fries.

Even with all my worries of independence I still can't help having butterflies and the 10-minute periods of not being able to stop smiling. There is still so much to be done. I have heard that Ireland is cold and rainy from August to December. So, luckily, I have attire for those conditions thanks to Bucknell weather. Still, all of my clothes, shoes, favorite pillow, and, of course, my superman Build-a-Bear Bernice has to fit in two bags uner 50 pounds. My mom seems to think that I am only going to take one check in bag. But, pardon my southern accent, "That just ain't gonna happen!"

I also have to leave alot behind. All of my bedding which is too big and fluffy to carry has to stay, along with any appliances - hair straightener, blowdryer, etc. I have to get all of those "necessities" over there to avoid purchasing an adaptor. I still have not figured out how to handle financing while abroad. Should I take a credit card, cash, put my money in a bank or duct tape it to the back of the toilet? So many options, but so far the safest seems to be traveler's checks. They can only be cashed by you, they are tracked by serial number, and are replaced if lost or stolen .. .jackpot!

And then there is my cell phone issue. My carrier has assured me that my cell phone will work in Ireland, but I have spoken to others that said otherwise. So, as an insurance, I have to look into purchasing a WorldPhone, which work everywhere, which only assures me one thing ... they are expensive. Luckily on the Arcadia University Web site, and on the Department of State Web site, which has a list of embassies that you can call in case of emergency in your specific country, there is all the information you will ever need on safety, what to pack, etc. So one that is all squared away and the waiting is over, on Aug. 17 I am "leavin' on a jet plane" set for Dublin, Ireland.

From there my program will pick me up and take me to a youth hostel where orientation is located. This lasts until the 21st. I am not sure what I am going to be doing for three days at orientation, but I am hoping they have acquired the western civilization's art of Color Wars .... one can only dream. After orientation, they bus me over to Cork and set me up in my apartment. At this point I do not know who I am staying with, whether they are American or Irish, but I should know within a few weeks. I hope they are Irish, then at least some native Irish people are obligated to be friends with me. :)

At this point in my trip I am free. I have a week until my Early Start class in Irish Folklore starts, and in that week I get to explore! There is so much to see: the Blarney stone, the castles, the local watering hole, what I like to call historical landmarks. I honestly can't wait to begin, but until then I am stuck at work with butterflies trying to study for my summer class test tomorrow....[sigh] reality......