95 Days

As I sit here in the darkness of our computer/guest room in a giant leather chair, it doesn't feel quite real that I'll be leaving for New York City - and then Indonesia - in just 95 days.

It's hard to believe that in 95 days, I'll have had a crazy summer, said goodbye to old and new friends, backed my bags, and be in a hotel, getting ready to leave for the adventure of a lifetime. I've seen photos of Indonesia, and I've started to study the language, but I know it won't be real until I step off the plane and feel the heat and smell the smells of my home for the next 10 months.

How do I feel? Excited. Nervous. Very tired - I just finished my Sophomore year of high school, and I'm ready to make up all the sleep I missed. And as always, I'm hungry for more information, although I have recently received a big packet from AFS in the mail and will be attending conference calls and an orientation in DC very soon.

Google has been my best friend due to my local library's woeful lack of books about Indonesia, and I'm hoping to speak to some Indonesia inbounds/rebounds more before I leave. When my bahasa Indonesia gets better, I want to find a native speaker to chat with, too. The language is easy to learn and I think it's fun - but really, I'm just glad it shares an alphabet with English.

In the next 95 days, as I've mentioned, I plan on hanging out with all my friends, reading books, watching movies, and soaking up as much of Boise as possible while I still can. I have a 'Boise Bucket List' and I do hope to cross everything off before I step on the plane to New York City! It includes visiting some local restaurants, festivals, and stores and of course, taking lots and lots of pictures to share with my Indonesian host family.

In other news, I recently received information about my flights to and from the National Pre-Departure Orientation. I leave from Boise on the 26th at 5:35 AM, have a layover in Minneapolis, and will hopefully arrive in DC at 2 PM. This makes me very happy, as there will be a lot of leeway in case I have a delay and I'll have some time to hang out with others.

When I leave DC, I'll be going through Phoenix and will arrive - again, hopefully - at 11 PM. These are the craziest flight times I've ever had, but I'm not complaining! I'm just glad to be a recipient of this amazing scholarship and to be going in the first place.

Before NPDO in DC, I hope to finally make that post about the IPSE. Look forward to it, readers. I have lots and looooooots of pictures to post.

Until next time! :)