Chapter 1!!

So, first blog entry. pressures really on now!! I apologize for the delay in starting it,  but these past few days have been craaazy. I want to thank everyone for all of the wonderful letters and supportive words. It has made leaving for what is to be a very challenging, yet wonderful, adventure, much easier. I know that when I come into tough situations, I can always look back at those letters and know that I can push through.

Packing. An unbelievable pain in the butt. I have always loved packing. When camp came around packing was the first thing I would do. Checking off clothes on the list was my favorite thing to do. Super exciting. But this time it just would not end. So much to do. So much to pack. And no checklist. Oh well. The hard part is over. . .  You know, ish.

Today I woke up at 4:30am in order to shower, finish packing, and make an 8:15 flight. My mom was stressed as could be as my dad and I joked about how quickly we could get to the airport. '45 minutes' I said. My dad replied 'I bet I can do it in 40'. We start chuckling as my mom inhales deeply and leaves the room. Everything was moving in slow motion. On the drive to ABQ I had an extremely hard falling asleep, even though I had only managed to wiggle in two hours of sleep the night before. The stress was finally starting to hit me and, ironically, my mom was finally quite content. At the airport we learned that parents were not allowed past security, and having assumed my parents would be able to walk me to the gate, this was a little shocking.

The moment I gave them the last hugs and started walking through the maze of security ropes, it finally hit me. I was on my own (kinda). I was leaving for ten whole months. I was going to be living in a foreign country. Awesome. And a little scary, I have to admit.  My legs started to weaken and felt like I might fall over, so I held my self up straight and tried to pull off a very confident and self assured walk. I'm still not sure if that is how I came off, but I definitely fooled myself (ish). I made it through security alive and boarded the plane a mere five minutes later. No time for breakfast, but I was too nervous to eat anyway. On the plane I re-met another AFSer, Connor. She was going to Spain. So, for the rest of the day we were airport buddies, which was really nice.

We got on the plane to New York, but soon found out that the brakes were not working, so we would be waiting for the mechanic to come and fix them. Lovely. I must have dozed off because when I woke, a few hours later, we were back on the ground! Yay! I slept through the whole flight. Not really. We still hadn't left our original departure gate. Damn. Sooner or later, we took off and back to sleep I went. An AFS staff member met us at our baggage claim and took us to a cab and we arrived at the double tree hotel at about 7:00pm. Right in time for the end of dinner.

I was quite frazzled at the point. My nerves, exhaustion, and hunger really getting to me. We registered, got our room keys along with many other papers and handouts. My hands were full with two suitcases and a heavy purse. Trying to figure out how to get all my stuff together, I forgot which room I was in. When I arrived to the 6th floor, hauling seventy or so pounds of luggage, I had no idea which way to go. So, I lugged all my crap back down stairs and asked, a little embarrassed, if she could please repeat my room number. She then pointed out that my room number was indeed written on my name card. Oh. I dropped my stuff off in my room and raced down to dinner. Every table was full, and I soon learned people were sitting with their group leaders, assigned earlier and by country. I asked a few tables whether they were France or what not. But the ones that were, were full. There was a table in the back with about five people, so I walked towards it and asked if I could sit with them. They eagerly nodded and said it would be fine. So for the next fifteen minutes I learned all about Switzerland!! It was actually quite fascinating and everyone was really nice.

After dinner, I found out my group leader and headed her way and found myself in a group with more very sweet people. I love that. Everyone is so excited to meet one another and learn about where each person is going, where they're from and their new host families. I spent the next few hours playing cards, meeting new people, and getting more and more excited. Tomorrow afternoon I am off to Paris!! Here I go!!!!!