Thursday, May 26, 2011

Preparations

I have just under a month left in the U.S. and the coming semester in Argentina is finally starting to feel real.  I'm finally flipping through the travel books and doing the research; I'm finding places I want to visit and things I want to do.  On Sunday I did hours of research: I looked at bus trips down to Iguazu Falls and Tierra del Fuego, day trips to Uruguay or the ranches to the west of the city, and checked out how much it would cost to spend some time in Brasil. I can hardly wait to get down there and start seeing all there is to see, to start meeting people and speaking Spanish and getting to know the city.  But at the same time, I'm completely nervous.  I'm worried about being so far away from family and friends (many of whom will also be abroad in various parts of the world), about being in an unfamiliar place.  I'm just as nervous as I am excited about finally having to put my years of Spanish to the test.  I'm wondering, too, about the smaller things: what will the weather be like?  What should I pack?  How far will I have to walk to classes?  Will I have as much schoolwork as I have at Loyola?

This date looms ahead of me:

Departure Date: 20 June 2011

It makes my stomach flip and turn; it makes my heart race.  It makes me want to jump up and down, shouting with joy, then it makes me suddenly and terribly sad.  But it's coming.  It's coming very quickly; it will be here very soon and I will--I've begun to convince myself--I will be ready.