Normally, I'm not an anxious person, but the week leading up to my departure included alot of stomachaches and alot of tears, at one point I even called my mother explaining my symptoms thinking I was sick, until she explained to me that it was simply nerves...who knew?
On the plane I decided to read some information from the school, which only left me more anxious (and nauseous) as I realized how little I had done to prepare for this trip! Why hadn't I researched this more? Why did I not have an Italian phrasebook? What's the point of reading a book that gives websites to go look at, when you don't have internet access and its too late? Did I even have health insurance? Where was I going to live? There were only 2 pages on Bologna in my guidebook!!!
After 11 hours in aisle 46 (this section of coach couldn't even fit my short legs!) I landed in Frankfurt to switch planes and looking at my passport I realized it was almost 9 years to the day that I flew to Germany to spend a semester of undergrad and I thought if I could do it at 19, I can definitely do this at 28.
Besides more wisdom (hopefully), I did have:
-some breadcrumbs in my backpack leaving a trail back to SF (old school GPS),
-a St. Christopher in my wallet to keep me safe,
-stones from my friend Judy including Hematite: to help keep inner peace, Citrine: to stimulate the intellect and mental activity, Jade: to reduce fear &banish negative thoughts,
-lots of postive vibes from friends and family,
-oh and both a Visa AND a MasterCard!
As I got to Bologna I found that I was smiling and calm... :)
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