Getting Dangerously Close

My departure date is getting dangerously close, and not to anyone's surprise, my mind is spinning. I will stay the night in Omaha on Monday, and my plane hits the skies Tuesday morning. After a short little jump to Chicago, I will spend nearly nine hours in and out of what can hardly be called sleep and wake up in Düsseldorf the next morning. I'm sure this will be especially challenging because I'm going to want to SLEEP!! But the day will only have just begun for all the people I will meet in Germany. Hopefully I'll be too darn excited to feel tired!
This entire year of surreal planning has finally become real this past week. It's all starting to sink in. I began packing and realized that a 50lb bag is really not much room for a years worth of clothes and supplies for a typical teenage girl. Wish me luck on making THAT all work out. Sadly enough, half of my suitcase is full of the only kind of hair gel I've found that controls my disobedient curls. As silly as that seems, it's been on the top of my priorities. I'm less concerned about clothes because I know I'll want to shop when I get there. But packing is still not a complete success yet.

I'm starting to say my goodbye's to friends and family now. It's harder than I thought it would be. When all of this was just a romantic idea, I didn't think I'd miss home at all. Fat chance on that one. Luckily, my host family seems very nice and I know I'll be just fine.

All-in-all, I think I'm nearing a point of preparedness for this adventure. It's not going to be easy, but it's an opportunity to be an ambassador and for cultural cultivation.