Okay, here we go! Well, not really, since I've not yet left the house, but I thought it would be appropriate to make a pre-departure post. Tonight - or in the morning, really - at 3am I'll be leaving for London Gatwick airport. From there I will fly to Atlanta, GA, and then to Raleigh-Durham airport, North Carolina. And there I will spend the next 9 months, studying and meeting awesome new people. (*hinthint*)
How am I feeling now: Nervous? Scared? Excited? Well, all of those. It's been a really hectic last couple of days, with packing and saying goodbye to the people I won't be seeing for at least the next 10 months, I've not had the time to really think about what's going on. There have been moments over the last two weeks or so when I've been sitting watching TV, or listening to music in the car, when I've had little flashes of panic - but nothing recently. I actually feel quite calm, if a little upset.
But tonight, I'll have a lot of time to think. At the moment, it feels surreal. I'm beginning to wonder when it will truly feel like I'm leaving. Will it be when I wake up at 2:30am and make my final preparations? Will it be at 7am when I (fingers crossed) check in at the airport? Perhaps it will be at Atlanta, when I finally hit American soil. Or maybe it won't be until tomorrow night, when I'm tucked away in my new dorm room awaiting my roommate's arrival at the weekend. It doesn't really matter, but I am hoping that this surreal feeling will at least make it easier to leave my family and Tom at the airport in the morning.
Family! At the airport! That'll be a definite first. Both parents in the car for the whole journey, along with my sister too! I'm sure the journey down will be uneventful, but the journey back? I don't envy any of them, cooped up in that car, running on very little sleep. At least once I'm through check-in and security I won't have much to worry about for the next 9 and a half hours. Having said that, I'm terrified about what will happen at Atlanta. I've flown between countries a hundred times before, but I've never had to change planes before. And somehow, I'm more scared about flying than I thought I would be; even more scared than I am about the America thing. You know, that little thing...
For now, though, it's bed time. I'm hoping to get as much sleep as possible tonight so that I can stay awake on the plane to get some class reading done. Shakespeare, hurr!
To everybody reading this: Thanks for all the support guys. I'll be back on Facebook as soon as I have internet, and blogging here a few times a week (if there's anything to say!)
12 hours and 17 minutes until take-off!
(P.S. Sarah, Becky: see what I did with the title there? ^0^ )
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