With less than 48 hours left before take off, I have said many goodbyes. Last night my grandmother threw me a surprise going away party. She bought a cake with the French flag on in and invited the family members that still live in the area. It was truly a surprise and a great farewell present. My "sister" or best friend from birth Elsa, visited me today. We made homemade pizza and picked up some last minute travel supplies. It was hard to say goodbye to her, but what makes the goodbyes even harder is the fact that I don't feel like I'm going anywhere. I have been preparing for this trip for years. . . .well at least thinking about it for years. When I chose to go to SUNY Oswego, one of the deciding factors was the opportunity to study abroad. Since then I have been planning my course schedule around this trip and researching Nice like it is my job. I've stayed up until the wee hours of the morning filling out paperwork, traveled over four hours for a ten minute Visa interview, and asked many favors of friends, professors and family. After all of this, it seems nearly impossible that I will be sitting on the plane in a couple of days. I've also had very little time to think about the trip. My winter break consisted of working full time, taking an online class and trying to begin my thesis. I honestly don't know when it will all hit me, but it's finally time to embark on this adventure. I have had to plan a lot to make this opportunity a reality, but letting go of it all and getting on the plane is a refreshing idea.
