Well, it is currently 10:39 on a Wednesday night, and 96 hours from now I will be most likely napping over the Atlantic.  It is kind of weird that this is so close.  It reminds me of how we all say “it would be awesome to do this” or “I wish I could do that,”  but the moments leading up the eventual action you were never sure you would take are nerve-racking for no reason that you can comprehend.  Some of my fellow study abroaders (is that a word? ) agree that the fact that we are leaving for Europe in less then a week is just completely unreal.

My suitcase is almost completely packed, I have all my clothes/accesories bought and assembled (except for that one shirt I have to return for the one I meant to buy.  Damn my inattentiveness at times!), books and readings collected, my Italian-English dictionary, thanks to Oxford and Barnes and Nobles, in my carry-on, the World Cup, which is one of the parts of this trip I’m most looking forward too, is almost half-way done (Argentina you are beautiful, USA you’ve made me very patriotic today and I love you for it… ITALIA PLEASE DON’T LET ME DOWN IN THE NEXT MATCH!) and my last goodbyes starting.  And, yet, I still don’t feel like I’m leaving.  This state (and a little bit of the surrounding ones), I have realized, basically holds my entire life, and I’ve barely left it (New York City has every culture, New York State has everyTHING).  This will indeed be interesting when I take off from Newark (and yes, I’m still baffeled as to WHY someone thought New Jersey was a good idea for a start to this trip (No offense, but you’re so far away (unlike Italy of course))).

I probably won’t blog again until I’m out of the the country, or at least until I’m sitting in Newark waiting to take off across the atlantic and back in time.

Peace, love, and Kimbob (Yes I’m aware that this is Korean and not Italian but I’m stuffed to the gills with it and can’t stop thinking about how full I am! (Thank you Ms. Agnes Eshak) (It is also interesting to note how the diversity of food will most definitely be different, but that is for a post or two in the future I think))

-E.M.M.