Two days left!!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness. How did I get here? Considering that I've been working towards this for almost a year, it's really hard to believe I am three days away from being in India.

Just a quick update: I'm packing up my things today--yikes! Everything has been spread out on our guest bed for the last month or so, and slowly being added to. It is a lot of stuff, but considering that I'm gone for 3 1/2 months, it's pretty minimal. What takes up the most space are things like four bottles of contact lens solution, since supposedly you can't get it over there. Not a big deal, but kind of a pain. I would like to have less stuff, since I know I'm going to bringing so much back :-)

I started the malaria medicine--no bad dreams yet! *fingers crossed*

I decided to bring along colored pencils and a small sketchbook. I've never been much of an artist, and I still expect to take more photographs than drawings, but it could be nice. Maybe I'll start a new hobby. They don't take up much extra space, and I don't mind leaving them in India if I don't use them.

Regarding entries--I really have no idea how often I'll be able to get to a computer. Even if I do get to a computer, I'm probably going to need that time for research & paper-writing. I probably won't have access for at least a week, possibly more. I will definitely try to keep up the entries, but chances are they will be either A) very far apart but long, or B) regular, but really short. No promises with either. Just don't think that I've forgotten it--it's only because of convenience!

Probably no post tomorrow. Next time you read this, it will be posted from India!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Well, things are moving along quickly. I leave two weeks from Sunday! I got my international flight tickets in the mail, and I have a seat reserved from Dulles to JFK. I'm leaving at 5 AM on Sunday morning, and am going to end up sitting in JFK for 6 hours, but it'll be OK. Not wonderful, but I'll be all hyped up anyway. And I'll bring a book. I don't know exactly how long the flight to India will be, but between 15-17 hours probably, with a stop-over in Paris. Hard to believe I'm leaving so soon.
I have my visa, credit card, and am a phone call away from getting my cell phone stuff figured out. Muhlenberg requires all study abroad students to have a phone, so while I would much rather not have to worry about it, I still have to get one. Perhaps I will be glad about it later, but right now it's just another thing to worry about.
Almost finished with one essay, and I'm done with the book I needed to read for the second one. I haven't looked at my alphabet for awhile, but I've pretty much got it down. Almost all my shopping is done, and when I practiced packing it all, it actually looked like I might have a little extra room to spare! Exciting since I only have two small bags I'm taking.
I've been doing lots of reading about Delhi and India in an attempt to know everything I can. Currently I'm reading a book called, "Holy Cow", by an Australian journalist. It's very interesting, because she starts out really not liking India, so this way I can be prepared for some negative things too.
I've been in touch with a few people on the trip, but the list hasn't officially been released yet. It's pretty exciting. All I know is that everyone is from the US (or at least has dual-citizenship), and that there are 19 students going. We are spending our first week--orientation--at an ashram in Delhi, where they have yoga in the mornings and meditation in the evenings, and we are welcome to help with classes at their school.
That's all for now--I must get back to my reading!