And So Begins My Obsessive Blogging...

Yes, I am already posting pictures from the flight. Today, at approximately 9 45 am, I said my very emotional goodbyes to my mother, father, sister, grandmother, best friend, and boyfriend, and continued through security to sit in the Cleveland Hopkins airport for a couple hours to wait for my flight to Philadelphia. At approximately 11 40, we boarded the plane and at 12 noon we were in the air. I stayed awake only to take a few pictures and then passed out almost immediately until we landed about an hour and a half later in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And now I am sitting here, at 2 38 waiting for our 6 15 flight to Brussels. Ugh.

So the good, the bad, and the ugly of this morning. Let's start with the bad/ugly. We got to the FedEx ten minutes early to get my passport and visa, which I was told was going to be there, no doubt, at 8 30 am. Of course, we get there and they tell us that yes, they probably have it but they can't give it to us until 9am. Ugh. Talk about stressful! The Rotary club had told us stories about other people who didn't get their passports and visas until the day they left, but we all just shrugged if off with a "that sucks" and went on with our lives. Little did we know it would happen to four of us! (one kid still doesn't have his :/) Also, I cried a lot. And then they took my peanut butter :( That was terrible.

Now the good :D There is much more of this. I have the best friends ever. Four of my friends woke themselves up early this morning to see me off from my house. I didn't sleep much last night and was up at 4am, but seeing my friends and how excited they were and how much they would miss me... Well that just meant the world to me. It's a great feeling to be loved, ya know? Also, my incredible best friend, Miss Kaitlyn and my fantastically wonderful boyfriend Ryan came to see me off from the airport. And although the waterworks were definitely flowing, I wouldn't have had it any other way. My entourage made it so much more emotional, but also having that support was something I would never change. Saying goodbye was definitely hard, and there were lots and lots of tears, even after they left me. But luckily I was traveling with my good friend Brittany, and she got me through those couple hours. Now I am starting to really feel the excitement, even though I am missing the people I love already. I'm sure it will sink in even worse in a couple days and I'll be sobbing in my bedroom, wanting my mommy and a big hug from Ryan... But for right now, I'm content, maybe even a little excited :) Definitely nervous, and for sure terrified. But it will be a good year... I will be posting again soon!!!

Here We Go...

So it is now 5:51 on Tuesday morning. And I am leaving in a couple hours. I got a call from my travel agent yesterday and she told me that it turns out I CAN leave as planned, I just have to go pick up my passport and visa from the local FedEx. And I would have posted something about this yesterday when it happened, except I've been running around like a mad person since I heard, trying to get everything together. So now I'm just jumping on here quickly to post my final entry from Ohio. (I will probably post one during the layover)

I am nervous and scared and terrified. But to be honest, it's not entirely sinking in. I don't think it will until I am either on the plane, or when I get there. I'm so scared. Scared actually doesn't even begin to describe how I'm feeling right now... Part of me really does not want to leave. I don't want to leave my friends and family and boyfriend behind... But I know I cannot pass this up. I have to suck it up and go on this journey and begin this endeavor. And I know it's going to be great :) All the people around me have been absolutely fantastic and supportive and I love them all. So, it is now 5:56, and this is my goodbye for now :)

On the Bright Side...

I am pretty much finished packing... My mom and I managed to get it all in suitcases and be substantially under the weight limit. But I forgot to record what I packed... The only things that I still need to pack are accessories and underwear and things that I can't pack until day of, such as this laptop. Basically the rest of it is all packed up!!

That's the good news. The other good news is that Ryan came back today!!!! He came over in his uniform and everything and I just ran and jumped into his arms first thing. Then he came inside of course and got the third degree from my parents (hehe not really they were just really interested in what it was like and asked a lot of questions) before we retreated to the heat of the basement (no air conditioning) and he passed out on my couch because he's so exhausted. We even took a couple pictures, but I had forgotten to put the memory card back in my camera so we lost those pictures :( They would have been so cute too... Oh well I fail. Now we'll just have to take more!

Now these are the good things... It's time for the bad news. I don't think I am leaving on Tuesday anymore! I sent my passport and paperwork and such to the travel agent a couple months ago, and she sent it off to the consulate in New York City. And now, it's Sunday, and she has not received my things back to send them to me. They just haven't been processed! So now, I cannot leave on Tuesday because I do not have these essential forms!! So what it's looking like is that my departure date is going to be set back a couple days... Which sucks in a way because I have been preparing for Tuesday. But in another sense, it's good because I get some more time with the people here that I love. So I suppose we'll just have to wait and see how it goes...

I think that is all for today. Overall, I'm happy. Just a little frustrated. But life is good :)

Less Than A Week Left...

Today is Wednesday. I leave on Tuesday. GAHH I only have like 6 days left!! I really meant to post every day since the beginning of August but that just didn't happen. There's been way too much going on. We had my send-off party/graduation party on Sunday. It was really nice because there were a lot of people there that support me in this whole adventure :) I love the support from my friends and family. It is all that is getting me through this, because I'm really starting to freak out. This departure date is sneaking up on me so fast... And it still isn't really hitting me. Well no, I guess it is. But it's odd because it definitely comes and goes in spurts. All of the sudden I'll just realize how real this is and how scary it is, but then it goes away and all I can think about is how excited I am. But most of the time I'm just feeling nervous now. I really am psyched to go, but the level of uncertainty on how this is going to go is just so nerve-wracking.

It also doesn't help that I am without my rock this week :( My boyfriend left yesterday to go to his ROTC orientation, and he is without communication for the next four days. Since we started dating we haven't gone more than a few hours without at least a text message. And now there will be nothing until late Saturday night. But I am extremely grateful that he is coming back for those two days before I leave.

My family is taking me out to dinner tonight. My whole family. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents included. We are going to a Lebanese restaurant that is apparently very good. We are Lebanese and my mother and I have been eating Lebanese food for our entire lives. (My father and sister really don't like the food, so they leave it alone) But the point is that we have family recipes and we are very picky about the way other people make these foods. So I'm really looking forward to this because it got the stamp of approval from my uncle, so it should be pretty good. And I'm really excited to spend this last time with my family before I go.

For now, that is all. I need to finish packing. Grrrr the chores that go with this... (ha) I'm sure I'll be posting a new packing list later tonight, along with pictures of the wonderful food that I will be eating :P

I wish there was a lip-licking emoticon... Just a side note.

13 days...

It is quite a gloomy day outside. However! I am not feeling gloomy today like I was yesterday! Everything is looking way up. And the best part about it is that it's for no real reason. After a nap and some blueberry pancakes last night, I was feeling much better. Of course it helped that the boyfriend came and got me and we went to go watch a movie with friends. Then we went back to my house and just watched "The Office" and he stayed til 3am (shh don't tell my parents!) Of course his is now taking a toll on me as I had to get up at 8am for work... And I am now exhausted! But that's ok because it was totally worth it.

Today, I go over to his house for dinner. With his parents. Oh. My. Gosh. I'm a little nervous! I've met his parents before, multiple times, and talked to them but never to the extent of real conversation that isn't your typical chit chat and small talk. So that should be interesting to say the least!!

I really need to finish packing. I need to sort out my shoes and underwear and pajamas and all that. The really hard part is going to be shoes. See, I'm kind of a shoe addict. I have over 70 pairs of shoes. And there is no way I can take nearly as many pairs of them as I want to. So picking and choosing between all of my beloved shoes is going to be one my biggest challenges for packing! And shoes are probably the heaviest of all the stuff I'm going to be taking with me so I need to be extra picky. Figures.

Maybe I shall post an updated packing list later tonight. Hmm we shall see.

Flying... :/

I got an email yesterday that told me all about my flight. Which airline I'm taking, where I'll be leaving from, when I'm leaving etc etc. Now I had already known that I'm leaving on August 17th and I was told I'll be flying out of Philadelphia. I had also been told that I had to find my own way to get to Philly. Due to that fact, my parents and I had decided that it would be best to drive there and it was all going to work out perfectly because I was going to get to visit my Ryan (boyfriend :D) on the way there! (He is leaving on the 11th for the University of Pittsburgh) But also my sister had said she wasn't sure if she would want to come with us to see me off because of band camp... really... I'm not kidding...

HOWEVER!!!

Upon getting this email yesterday, I discovered that I am still flying out of Philly, but they have already scheduled me on a flight from Cleveland to Philadelphia! It was all included in cost, and I would leave around 11 30 in the morning... I think... If I recall correctly... So this works out for my sister being able to see me off and for the majority of my best friends to be there too. But what about Ryan?! Well then I later find out that he is coming back!!! He has to be there on the 11th for ROTC stuff, but he doesn't have to be there for class for a while after that, like the 23rd or something. Which I had already known, but he was just going to stay there in between that time. Well now he has decided that he will come back on the 15th!!! :D :D :D :D :D

I apologize for my super girly lovestruck ahhh moment, but it was necessary hehe Afterall, I am a teenage girl. It happens. I'm sure all you ladies out there would be just as ecstatic :)

So basically, I fly out of Cleveland on the 17th around 11 30am, get to Philly around 12 45, and have a 5 hour layover. Ughhhhhh. So then at 6 15 I leave Philly to go nonstop to Brussels and I'm supposed to get there the next morning at like 8 o'clock. Gahhh it all gets more and more real every day. Every time I find out something new about this trip it's like someone is smacking me in the face with a fish (I have no idea why I used that analogy) and I just have a reality check. Woah I'm going to Europe!!!

I have no real qualms about flying. I find it enjoyable. Though the last time I flew anywhere was 6th grade... But I remember liking it! Hehe I just hope I don't end up next to someone with bad motion sickness... I don't handle puke well... At all. Actually I'm quite scared of it. The only thing that I am really concerned about with the flight is doing it alone. Once I get to Philly I know that I'll be with a bunch of other exchange kids that are also on their way to Belgium. But I'm pretty sure I have to handle this first flight from Cleveland by myself and then figure out what I'm doing once I get to Philly. By myself. That is the scary part. And then once I do get to Brussels, what then?? I don't speak enough French to understand what people are going to be saying! And then I find my host family and then what?? How do I speak to them!! I speak some French (I had 4 years high school French) but not enough to have conversations... GAHH

Ok well I think that is enough rambling/complaining/rejoicing/whatever else emotional rollercoaster nonsense for one post... Wow this post has all kinds of emotion in it ha