Less Than 20 Days

Well, the time is coming closer when I will boarding a plane for my journey across the Atlantic Ocean and travelling to Asia for the first time. I am excited, nervous, pumped, and sad. I am essentially running the whole gamut of emotions every day.

I think that I have all of my necessary things in order, and I will have a pre-departure meeting via phone this coming week. Me and my follow traveller from my school have been texting back and forth all break trying to figure everything out. Short texts here and there: "I finally got my Visa." "Did you get that one email about our flight?" "Do you know if we will have internet?" It is nice knowing that I am not the only one from my school going, since this is the first year my school has this program.

I'm not sure what I should expect. This may sound bad, or maybe weird, but I am trying not to have expectations. I know that my time will be fantastic, but I also recognize that I will have limitations, being a foreigner in a foreign country and all that. I want to take things in stride and just get settled. I also realized that I have time when I am there. Last summer, when I had the opportunity to study in Greece I wanted to constantly be hiking or in the ocean, since we were only there for a month. I am excited to live in Israel for six months, but that means I can really get rooted. I won't have to run from place to place every single day in order to see things before I leave. I will be able to have days where my roommates and I can relax and watch some tv or just have some coffee. I am extremely excited to see everything that Israel has to offer, but I am also exciting to connect with people from all over the world.

In other news, I think I may have got everything that I need packed, in suitcases. The suitcases are kind of full right now, but that is okay. I am planning on not coming home with everything I bring. I know I will be leaving some undershirts behind, as well as some boxers. I also brought some toiletries that I probably won't be able to get when in Israel, so they will all be used up by the time my study abroad will be coming to a close.

I have about 12 days left at home and then I am travelling to spend time in the cities, since my flight leaves from there for New York City. I will be spending time with friends and finishing graduate school applications and all of that fun/sad stuff. Am I excited to leave, yes. Am I excited to leave all of classmates behind, not at all. We will graduate while I am gone, so when I come back everyone will already be gone. It sucks, but that is also part of life. I don't want to trivialize all the people that I have met. I know that it will only be goodbye for now. We will come back into each others' lives, I know that for sure.

I know that blog posts have been few and far between as of late, but that is because I don't have stories yet of my experience IN Israel. There will definitely be a story about my travel experience, but that can't be posted yet, since it hasn't happened. There will also be more pictures, like my blog from Greece. If you want to check it out click here. I was there for a photography class, so there are quite a few photos. I am not making any promises that there will be as many photos in my posts, but I'm sure that after 6 months there will be a vast amount of photos.

I also feel the need to create some consistency. I may take a page from my good friend and create a signature of sorts.

Peace and Anticipation 

When It Hits Home

Less than two months!!!! I am not sure how to even handle this. I am excited, terribly sad, and apprehensive all at the same time. I have less than two weeks left in my current semester and now Jerusalem is shockingly evident. I do my Visa process tomorrow and then I have to take care of my loans and all of that good stuff.

One of the things that will be the hardest for me to overcome is missing the "lasts." I am a senior this year, so this means that I will be missing my graduation walk (which in all honesty, isn't really that sad). What I am sad for is this final month of school, because it is essentially my last month with some of the most amazing people I have ever met. And I'm not ready to say goodbye yet. I've vocalized it once before at a meeting, but it really hasn't set in until now. "I come back to no one." When I am done and return home school will have been over for at least a month. My classmates will be seeking jobs and gone, and it really sucks knowing (even though I wish it wasn't true in the slightest) that these next two weeks may be the last time I ever see some of these people ever again in my life. 

My time table is becoming smaller and smaller. There is a world of firsts before me, yet I am finally coming to terms with the lasts that are present around me. 

In my class, "Legacy of Luther," we are discussing Dorothee Soelle and her understanding of mysticism. She identifies three aspects to mysticism. They are: 

1. Be Amazed

2. Let Go

3. Resist/Heal

I finally feel like I am being amazed by my life that will be happening. It is becoming more immanent and more real. I honestly don't want to let go yet, and I think that will be the hardest for me. I won't permanently let go, of course. Simply, the idea that everyone will stay the same. Who knows. Maybe when I come home I will find out I will be in the company of my friends in the future. That would honestly be fantastic, and I can only hope. For now, the emotions are hitting hard.