Remember that time when I should have been packing?

With only 3 days left to pack everything, one would believe I would be staying home, packing like crazy. Instead, I am heading out of the country, across the friendly Canadian border to visit some family. My aunt knows someone who is performing in the Sound of Music and got tickets oh so long ago for my mom for Mother's Day. With the day here, it seems like it may only make my preparations more rushed and a bit more stressful, but in the end, I think will be nice to have relaxation time.

For most of this week I was in Ithaca visiting friends. It was so weird being on campus with everyone who had classes, homework to do, and naturally were quite busy, when I had nothing to do. No classes, no meetings, no homework. I spent my time reading a, so-far, fantastic book The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards and wandering around campus hoping to run into someone I know. It was a bittersweet week, but I had a great time and was glad to see most of my friends. The weirdest part was when I actually found myself saying "I wish I had classes to go to..." when normally I would be saying "I wish I could be here but not have to go to class..." I guess I'm just never satisfied :P

Smile! You're in the news!

Earlier in the summer I went to China with a short-term study abroad to learn about traditional Chinese medicine and health for two weeks. When I got back I was interviewed for a news story in the local paper, and here is the article. It's kind of neat to see my thoughts and ideas about the trip written down in the newspaper. Adam, the reporter who interviewed me, and whom I presume wrote the article, did a great job writing the article.

Update on Spain preparations:

I've received my Euros in the mail. They're pretty as far as money goes, different colors, with shiny accents. More interesting than the U.S. bills I suppose. The bills actually differ in size based on how much its worth. The 2o euro bill (is that how you refer to it?) is larger than the 10 euro. I feel like a lot of other countries have incorporated this system, and though I don't know the exact reason for doing this, I'm sure it makes it a lot easier to quickly recognize each bill.

I've started a little bit of packing, to see how everything fits in. So far I only have my carry on packed. I still have quite a lot to do.

The Sold Project and a little bit of knitting

So today, the thermometer hit 90, or so I believe. I tried not to look at it and just go on my daily life as planned. Though I was supposed to be cleaning my room, or packing, I ended up starting a knit case for my iPod to protect it while traveling. Knitting isn't the first thing I thought I'd be doing on one of the warmest days of the summer, but with the fan set on high it was reasonably cool. I'm actually almost finished with it, maybe I'll post a photo when I'm done :)

Another thing I did today was attend my friend's "The Sold Project" Event, through which we learned of the human trafficking and prostitution that is occurring in Thailand. Don't be mistaken, this doesn't only happen in Thailand, but since Thailand is considered the sex tourism capital of the world, The Sold Project is focusing their efforts there. Through SOLD, children are receiving scholarships to keep them in school so they are kept from the uneducated life that often leads to prostitution. Women and children (girls and boys) are being used everyday. The big message tonight was that by working together we can raise money or help SOLD aid the children of Thailand so they are saved from the unpleasant fate of prostitution.

I'm no expert, so if you'd like to learn more go to: www.thesoldproject.org

Things are coming together... or so it seems

As my day works towards its 19th hour I reflect on how much today is a great example of how my summer has been. At the beginning of the summer I gratefully took hours at Valu Home Centers, my place of employment for the summer months of last year. Originally they thought that there may not be any hours for me this summer, so when they were offering me hours I took every one I could get. I quickly started juggling my time between friends and a sporadic work schedule, different every week, but still felt anxious about the fact that I could only get 30 hours a week, at most. With thoughts of Spain on my mind, the search for a second job started, and to make a long story short, ended at the beginning of July as I accepted a job as a convience store cashier. Ever since then I've worked at least one double day a week going from one job to the next with only a couple hours to relax and/or eat. At the beginning it was quite tiring, and I had my doubts of whether or not accepting the second job was a good idea.

Over a month later, I've finally gotten used to having the 2 jobs, and today was the last of my double shift days. I can't say its overly depressing, saying goodbye to 14 hour work days. A typical day would look like this:

1. Wake up at 4:15 AM
   
2. Ride into work with Mom
3. Work 8 hours
4. Eat quickly/get changed/check facebook/email...
5. Work 5-6 hours at second job
6. Home at 10:15 PM

Today had the added bonus of fighting with Fedex and ordering Euros.

Fedex told me my passport would be delivered today, Friday before 7 pm. They also said that if I needed a different time of delivery, to let them know. I called to make sure the passport was dropped off in the afternoon after I was home from my first job and they were more than happy to oblige. Or so they said. I came home YESTERDAY to a door hang stating that the Fedex delivery had missed me, please come pick it up after 5. Somehow the fact that the package came early was my problem. I called again, requested it to be delivered this afternoon, only to come home today to an identical door hang. I guess the requests for special deliveries are only so you feel convienced. Anyways, I got my passport, it has a Spanish visa in it (yay!) and it is all set to make the journey.

Ordering Euros was also fun as I realized that for 150 U.S. dollars, I will receive 100 Euros. Yikes. It seems in this way that money will leave the wallet quicker in Spain... but such is life. As my mom said, I've worked a lot this summer to save money for the trip, and I'll probably end up using it, but that's what I earned it for. I'm really excited to have the opportunity to spend a semester in Spain, learn Spanish, the culture, everything. I've been looking forward to this my whole life. Its starting to finally kick in that I'm leaving the U.S. in under a month. In 2 months I will be having daily conversations and making shopping transactions comfortably (hopefully, anyways) in Spanish. In 3 months I may be homesick for the U.S. but in 4 months I'll probably be homesick for Spain. Of course, this is all speculation. We'll just have to wait and see...

Why I started this blog

I'm this blog to stay in contact with family and friends while studying abroad in Granada, Spain this fall semester. :) I have no clue whether or not I'll stick with it, though I really hope I do. In 3 weeks and 2 days I'll be getting on a plane that will be the beginning of a very exciting adventure. I still have lots to do before leaving, but I still have time, right?

To do:

• Order Euros - the exchange rate is not in my favor, so getting Euros won't be fun. I have no clue how many I should start off with
• Visit college friends - at the end of last semester I promised all that I would be back for a little bit before I left to visit, so this is a must in the week before I leave
• Pack - which really deserves about 3 bullets as it will be the most time consuming and difficult task in this whole ordeal.
• Lots of other things that I haven't thought of yet - I sure there are many things that I should do to prepare but have yet to think of.