So, it's my last full day in the United States for more than two months and I've planned my time so well that I really have nothing to do. I finally finished unpacking, reorganizing, and cleaning my room - or at least tired of it. I packed last night, said goodbye to my closest Brewer friends and went in to school today to get one last run in on the zipline and tell my teachers about my amazing freshman year at Princeton.
So now I sit alone in my (fortunately) cool empty house, trying to take in the things that are so familiar to me but that I won't be seeing again for a while. I wonder - should I try to pack today with things American? How different is it really going to be over there? What does jetlag feel like and is it really going to take me six days to adjust? (I hope not - I'm only in Serbia for seven :P). What am I going to miss most about my country? And other such questions that I will be sure to note the answers to in this blog. I wonder about my host family, and whether all of my connections will be made on time both between flights and at the other end of the journey. I think (and try not to worry) about what will happen if my luggage gets lost - and whether I should try to have it sent to Nikola's house or my host family's in Russia. Lots of things, all so new and different. But when I start to get too nervous I remind myself that college was completely new and different, too, and I ended up liking that a great deal. Maybe my greatest challenge to going over to Russia is my stuff - I'm so used to being the person that has everything that it's hard to adjust to only having one suitcase and one carry-on bag. Which I managed to fit everything into - I'm pretty impressed with myself, I must admit. I'm even bringing a few more clothes than I think I'll need, just because I can. :]
That's another thing - clothes. Russians dress so differently from Americans, from everything I've heard. We were told that shorts, sandals, hoodies and backpacks will mark us as distinctly American - something I'd like to avoid. Unfortunately, that pretty much describes my wardrobe. But I told myself that if girls had to wear dresses for hundreds of years, then I could learn how to, too, and went out and bought some sundresses for the trip. I'm packing two pairs of jeans, three nice T-shirts, and no shorts or sandals. Hopefully I'll survive :]
So now before I get too distracted doing other things, as is my wont, I'll sign off for today, for the last time on American soil. For those of you reading this who care to, please pray for the safety of my travel tomorrow and Friday, and then again next Friday as I fly from Belgrade to St. Petersburg. Also pray that all connections and meetings work smoothly and that I won't worry about what I have no control over. I shouldn't get nervous - I've seen the LORD work everything out up to this point, from providing the money for the program to ensuring that my visa and passport get to me in time (they came this morning, if you're curious :]). I know I'm in His hands, no matter what country I'm in, and that nothing can happen that's outside of His plan. Somewhat on that note, if any of you have any prayer requests that you would like me to pray about while I'm in Russia, please feel free to email me at my GMail account (if you don't know the address, check FB - it's on my wall along with a link I posted to here - or ask my mom. If you're not my FB friend and can't contact any of my friends who would know my email, then I probably don't want you emailing me anyway - sorry! :P (I really hope that doesn't end up leaving anyone out :]))
Have a great summer, everyone! I love you!
No comments:
Post a Comment