My Last Day in the States

Hey All,

First post! I once had a blog around my sophomore year in college. It was great for a while, then I forgot about it. Here's to hoping I don't forget about this one!

On Wednesday I leave for Egypt. I leave for Grad School. I leave for an adventure. On Saturday I will be at orientation for the American University in Cairo to begin my studies towards a master's degree in International Human Rights Law. Half of the school stuff I haven't done... mostly because I cannot do anything in the states since it involves getting a number off the webernets and taking it to some office on campus. So yes, I am nervous... but really only for the school part of it, and I attribute that to the whole "new school ,new year" jitters.

I am NOT nervous to move, believe it or not- not yet anyway. This is mostly because I have a place to live! My good friend Jenny, with whom I went to high school, studied abroad in Cairo during undergrad, and recently moved back to teach English at an American school, and I have a room in her apartment. Maslow would be proud- the first level of the hierarchy is achieved and I'm not even there yet! I will be living in Maadi, a relatively ex-patty 'hood with its fair share of diplomats. It is- from what I understand- fairly far from both campuses of AUC, so figuring out how to get places may be an issue. But again- its an adventure!

That mindset is QUITE different from how I would usually view things. As many (I do indeed flatter myself) of you know, I am fairly anal. However, with so much unknown in front of me, there is not a whole lot I can do. So I'll just go with it. Actually-this article from the HuffPo has not necessarily soothed what nerves I DO have, but perhaps given me some insight as to what I will encounter on my travels.

I have had the goodbye party, seen the friends (with hopefully one more time tomorrow), and now all I have to do is pack and get on the damn plane. I leave Wednesday at 3:40 on Lufthansa from O'hare, and will arrive around the same time on Thursday in Cairo. Orientation is Saturday, and then class starts Sunday, 9/5 (yes mom, I know its your birthday, I won't forget this year!)

Stay tuned for the "holy shit I'm about to get on a plane and I'm freaking out" post!