December 29, 2009- pre-pared?

Ann Arbor time.

I woke up on the 26th SUPER early in attempts to pack and get organized. I had the place to myself and had a laid back yet productive afternoon. I was lucky enough to get some stefan time (which turned into hannah, mia, heather time) before I drove down to Ann Arbor to hang out with michael watts. We got two perfect days in! Lots of Super Mario, which is Super Addicting, dinners and such. It was very relaxing and fun-too short- but great. That was a crazy goodbye, one whose details will remain in the journal owned and viewed only by me.

The 28th brought me back to East Lansing where...pretty exciting packing took place. We all hung out by the fire and meg, jenna, and mackenzi came over. It was a really nice night just warm by the fire with music and goodness.

TODAY, the 29th.. more of the same. lots of it. I ran errands, went to lunch with my mom and did NOT get carded- which is crazy- and things. My dad took the three of us out for coffee and I got a teddy bear for the first time literally in years. It was delicious. Dinner with my mom and mark, and Guinness with my brother and sister (sorry dad- but did you know the bubbles actually go DOWN the outside of the glass- crazy huh? ;)) It was really nice. We walked, so the fresh air and scenery- ohhh east lansing Michigan- was great. Not a cloud in the sky, just the bright moon and stars. It was great.

Tomorrow is the supposed "big day", although the fact that I can't say "TOMORROW I will be in Bangalore India-how crazy"-makes it not seem real yet. Haha, my imagination is not so great. Tomorrow at this time I will be on another flight, and then the next day at this time... i suppose I will be arriving. Too many tomorrows if you ask me.

Honestly, I have no  idea what to expect. I have read a bit about india and travel there, but I wonder what it will be like in the context of Bangalore, a huge city, and of the University. I have one big backpack packed... im estimating 40lb because it feels pretty light, and then a small carry on backpack, as well. I have... a few t-shirts, 2 pairs of jeans, a pair of soffees, flip flops for the shower, a towel, a hoodie, a zip up, a long sleeved shirt, 2 casual dresses, 2 skirts, and an incredible amount of medications. I started malaria today... mmm malaria.

My dad has been such a huge help. There is absolutely no way I could have gotten everything together to make this trip happen without his help. The medications, vaccinations, flights, planning, visa, important paperwork... everything. I think without his help, I would be much more nervous about the trip than I am. I actually said goodbye to him today, which was hard. He made it very clear, however, that he wasn't sad in a discouraging, he-thinks-its-a-terrible-idea kind of way, just in a missing-you, kind of way.
That was hard.

Mom, Corey, and Brad are taking me to the airport tomorrow- so that will be another super depressing event of goodbyes.

Srishti School of Art, Design, and Technology for the next four months! I am super excited to see what kind of classes they offer, and hopefully learn a lot of things I can't at home.
sleep for now,
travel tomorrow