Today is the day!

Forgive my tardiness in posting but I have confronted some technical problems that delayed it. Anyway I am now in Washington D.C. in a hotel by the airport. I spent the night here after having begun my journey all the way back in Indianapolis. I didn't arrive at the hotel until around 2 a.m. and though I slept like a rock I still feel like I could sleep for hours, which I guess is a good thing because in about 7 hours I will be boarding the plane to Johannesburg, South Africa!

Amidst the feelings of fatigue I am also excited and scared! I can hardly believe it's happening! I am en route to South Africa! I find myself barely able to contain it, as I have told everyone I have sat next to on the planes so far! I feel a whole mixture of things. Excitement to be able to have this chance and start this journey. Fear of the unknown. Sadness at leaving behind those that I love. 

I have gone between the three of them quite frequently! It's exhausting! Just kidding, mostly I just keep my eye on the prize, especially while traveling. I know that if I think too much while in the airport I may just randomly breakdown in tears or a fit of excitement. I know this may sound like I'm quite a handful but really I am quite stable!

I've been lucky so far in that I have arrived safely and on time for all of my flights. I realize as I say this that I may somehow be jinxing myself and the most important flight is going to go wrong, but that's just me being a bit anxious.

It's been a little hard on me to travel. I get so lonely when I see people traveling in pairs or groups. Also my check-in bag originally weighed 57 lbs! Imagine my family and I, pulled over to the side taking my luggage apart for the heavy things that can go in my carry-on! Now my check-in bag weighs exactly 50 lbs on the nose! And my carry-on is heavy too! So the weight of rolling those two bags around and my lap top is exhausting me, just thinking about it! Another stupid thing about the airport is that the Internet is readily available to all... who want to fork over the change it costs! Lame! It seems un-American to charge people for the Internet.... although it seems American to want to make a buck!

Airports aside, I'm ready to meet all the students going on this trip with me! I can't wait to meet them and finally have people to travel with. I want to get to know them all since we are going to spend the next four months of our lives together. I wonder how we will all mesh as a group. Also I can't wait to get to South Africa! I feel stuck in the limbo between here and there and I don't much care for it. Sometime I wish we could exist in the far future where travel is so easy, you go to sleep and when you wake up you're there... ah someday!

Well I guess I am out. It's strange to think that the next post on this blog will be coming at you straight from Johannesburg, South Africa! Anyway, to all my loved ones and friends in the U.S. right now I just want to thank you all for your support in getting me to this point, on the edge of the precipice. Your help is invaluable to me and you all are never far from my thoughts. Thank you, again and keep reading! It's bound to only get better!

On her way,

Sam

P.S. I was so nervous when I was packing that I would forget something important but the only thing I can think I forgot so far, was a pen! Who does that? Who forgets a writing utensil, as the schools call them? I guess me! : )