August 15, 2009 - Night Before the Big Flight

Dear All,

As I am finishing my packing, organizing my room, and sending out my last emails, I cannot begin to attempt to reconcile the reality that tomorrow night (EST) I will be landing in Brussels, for what I hope to be an incredible abroad experience - don't tell my Mom that I am actually leaving for 5 months.

A little about my program: I, along with 28 other Muhlenberg students, will be taking four courses in International Business through the Center for European Studies (CES). The academic semester is divided into Block 1 and Block 2, both of which are 8 weeks long. I take two classes in each Block. I will be living in the international guesthouse, in my own room, with my own sink! Yet, I unfortunately have to share the toilet and showers with with not only men but women as well, which is very different from my fraternal environment at home or at Sig Ep. I am also sharing a kitchen with my floor mates so maintaining a certain level of kashroot (kosherness - a level of Jewish dietary restrictions) may be challenging. I am assuming though that a bigger problem with sharing a kitchen with my floor mates may be my uber-neurotic necessity for a high level of cleanliness. Just a concern that I will figure out. My Muhlenberg delegation will also be accompanied by a Muhlenberg professor, Dr. Laposata, and his wife Kathy. Dr. Laposata teaches economics at Muhlenberg. He is also my academic advisor, which makes his presence on the trip all the more special for me.

Emotions regarding my Departure: The summer overall, although highly rewarding and educational, specifically in terms of the solar industry, was a bit of a burn out, primarily because of the rigorousness of the work schedule. As a result, I am not psychologically or mentally aware that tomorrow I will be boarding the plane for not only the time of my life, but a life changing opportunity that I don't expect to experience ever again (a little pessimistic, I realize), and will probably feel all too short by the time it is over. This being said, I am waiting for the moment when I board the plane and sink into my plane seat, the official moment when my semester abroad starts, and the moment when preparation for abroad actually, and finally, 'thank the lord', ends. That moment of satisfaction, liberation, confusion, insecurity, anticipation, angst and just pure excitement when I hit that seat cushion is the glut of emotions that I have looked forward to feeling for a long time. Thats when it begins. Thats when my 'Life Changing Adventures' begin.... more to come.