Yes, that's correct. 10 days until I leave for Ireland. Over the past few weeks I have slowly been crossing things off my checklist: rain jacket, hiking boots, all necessary articles of clothing, and miscellaneous camera equipment. And now that in just a short week and a half I will be stepping on that plane, it is starting to hit me what I'll be leaving behind.
As I sit here listening to some wonderful Irish folk music (courtesy of my friend, and fellow traveler for my semester abroad), I am realizing how drastically different this semester is going to be from previous ones. I will be with new faces in new places and saying goodbye to those at home. Campus will still be there when I get back in the fall, but that's quite a long ways away. Silly things like Mexican food (good SoCal Mexican food that is) and In-N-Out, staples of California life, won't be present for the next four months. No tv, no consistent internet usage, no texting.
Those things, though, are exactly what excite me about this semester. Studying a culture, immersing myself in it, familiarizing myself with what is out there in the world, taking a step away from my bubble; all these circumstances shape my immediate future. I embrace it because not only will it all be back to normal by the end of May, but also because what the heck is the point of living life to the fullest if you don't step out of your comfort zone every once in a while.
So although this post is a bit stream of consciousness, I am posting to say hello and goodbye(?). I will try to update this as much as possible while abroad because I think I am going to deactivate my Facebook while gone. I'm going to try to find a while to have this directly posted to my Facebook account, and if not, then I hope you all read/check this regularly for updates.
Pray for me. Pray for peace, safety, adventures and understanding. Pray for an impact. Pray for enlightenment. Pray for Ireland.
Until next time,
Max
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