Adventures of a Gringa

leaving today

so here we go...my flight is at 3:40 from JFK which means I have to be there at 3 hours early which means we have to leave the house in an hour. I'm a little disturbed by my lack of emotion - excitement or dread. I've never been this ambiguous before going away. And at least I wake up really excited the day I leave. Today just feels like any other day, except that I have to lug a lot of shit to the airport. I feel like I could be forgetting lots of stuff but I don't really have any desire to go check. I have so much stuff. And though I am in fact broke I'm going to wind up buying stuff there, like toiletries. Hm this is really boring. Well anyway. I'm off to the airport soon. Hopefully I will me animar at some point today. Wish me luck...

almost all packed

I am almost all packed...in 3 suitcases and 2 carry-ons. Despite having traveled a lot, I still am terrible at packing for long periods. I just think I'm going to need everything. I tried though, to cut back a bit, and I think I did an oK job. One suitcase is mostly presents, anyway. ay dios mio. I'm in slightly less denial today, but it still hasn't totally hit me. i had a slight banking crisis this morning and i totally forgot about everything else. but now that everything is almost all ready to go, I'm starting slowly to grasp the concept that I am leaving...it's just so weird how fast time has passed.

denial?

i think i've reached the point where all of this seems surreal. like every time i've gone abroad, i've planned and planned and when the time comes for me to go i'm in shock that it all wasn't hypothetical. this is a huge move, and i just can't quite believe i'm leaving the day after tomorrow. i can't even bring myself to pack yet, though as usual that is not a fun task. i know in theory that everything will be great, everything will be fine, and everything will work out. but i still can't believe it is almost here, and i am finally leaving.

checklist

Secure apartment for first week: done
Secure apartment for 6 months: done
Start packing: ahahahahha
Get TESOL certificate: tomorrow!
Do Walgreens run: Monday
Get prescriptions and dry cleaning: Monday
Deal with banking stuff: Monday
Say goodbye to friends in metro area: hopefully in the next 2 days
Be calm enough to be geniunely excited; hopefully soon.

countdown to rio: 5 days

in the five days i have before i leave for rio, i have so many things to finish up and deal with and do, not to mention the delicate task of packing when i am one of the world's most notorious overpackers. i am nervous, i am scared, but i am also ready. and excited. it's not like i haven't done this before, set off for a new country to live for awhile. but it's been a year since i lived abroad and the old jitters have returned. but somehow, things are slowly falling into place and i though i am perfectly content here at home, i can already feel myself moving away from this life into a new one, one of which i have no idea what to expect.