August 30, 2010

I am leaving today. Today is the day I am leaving. I am leaving on this day.

We fly from Chicago to Rome, and then from Rome to Bucharest. We arrive in Bucharest at around 2:00 pm local time on Tuesday, which is either 6:00 am or 7:00 am for most of you.

I had some issues with packing. Despite all of my noble ambitions, I packed WAY too much. I think I will be okay, but we might desperately be shedding poundage at the airport terminal tomorrow. It's not my fault, really- about 50 pounds of stuff is for the classroom. Could I really have deprived the children? My biggest concern is that we will arrive in Bucharest (where, miraculously the heat wave has broken) and get to my apartment, which could be an 8 floor walk up for all I know. And I will literally be making trips running up and down the stairs to get everything into the postage stamp of a flat. There are bigger things to worry about, of course.

One of these is my hairstyle for the plane tomorrow. Why NOT worry about that? I'm pretty settled on just going the french braid route, which is easy to do, comfortable, and can look nice after hours of grimy travel. Maybe I'll feel differently in the morning; who knows.

I actually am a lot more calm than I ever anticipated I would be at this point. I mean, I literally will be boarding a plane (with a one-way ticket) in about 15 hours. And I am feeling perfectly content and happy and not freaking out at all. Things have a way of working out- this a lesson I learned after about 21 years of finding little things to stress over.

I want to just make a note concerning the incredible blessing of people I have in my life. I am constantly amazed by my family and friends. I have received phone calls and texts and visits of encouragement and prayer and thoughtfulness from so many people in the last few weeks. My cup overflows.

I will try to keep everyone updated in these next few days, but it will probably consist of very brief postings when I have Internet access. I would love to keep in contact with as many people as possible- so feel free to add me on Facebook, email me, or add me as a contact on Skype!