Tuesday, January 24, 2012

It's About Time To Fly Away, But Wait...

Tomorrow's the big day!! We're leaving the house at around 1:00pm to get to the airport early ( three hours before my flight... my nerves are considerably out of control )

But Wait...
I discovered today I'm horrible at packing.
Especially when I only have one backpack and one carry on, for an entire semester. And for some reason, I can't seem to fit much more than my camping equipment in my bag. I also just realized I forgot to pack socks and a baithing suit. Those are going to need to fit somewhere as well. Luckily the resident expert in packing, my father, comes home around 5:30 and he said he would help me organize and pack everything. What a relief.

So I'm starting to get pretty nervous. Neighbors, family, and friends keep calling and stopping by to wish me luck and safe travels. I can't believe this is all happening so quickly. I remember sitting in statistics last semester thinking how the next 54 days were going to drag by... they didn't. It's completely surreal.
But I'm ready for my adventure. It's going to be a semester I'll never forget.

Heres a quick list of things I'll most likely miss:
-family and friends obviously
-real showers
-my iphone (that's staying in america)
-being able to hop in my car and drive to the store when I need something
-easy internet access
-a real mattress/bed/sheets

One of my best friends always quotes Eleanor Roosevelt in saying: "Do One Thing Everyday That Scares You"
I think I have that covered for a couple months...

Well see you on the other side!
of the ocean that is.
-Emma

Friday, January 20, 2012

So Many Colors

FOUR DAYS!
This weekend I'm at Saint Michael's, saying goodbye to all of my friends from school. It's hard to think that I won't see everyone for a whole four months. And whats worse is I have to say goodbye to many of my senior friends who will be graduating before I return.
I've made some of my best friends at this school, and tonight I've been running from house to house trying to spend a little bit of time with each of them.
Well, off to bed, I'll write more in the morning, when I can actually compile full thoughts that don't include climbing into bed.
Hope you all had a great Friday night
Explore, wander, and discover,
Emma

Friday, January 13, 2012

Glory's Waiting Outside Your Window

15, 840 minutes from now (11 days), I will be on a plane, luckily in a window seat (especially grateful to my father for that), just beginning to grasp the grandeur of the adventure I am about to embark on.

But as for today, I’ve been cleaning and packing all day. And I mean all day. I spent a total of five and a half hours cleaning my room. You may ask how it could be possible to spend five hours cleaning, but when you have way too many pairs of shoes, and books overflowing from your bookshelf, it’s not too difficult to become cluttered. Who am I kidding; I truly have way too much stuff. But after much ado, everything is organized, my closet is color coded, and my bed is made.

The most rewarding part of the day so far has been packing though. I’m starting to put everything together outside in the hallway, and as I cleaned I found more and more of what I am planning to bring along. I have both of my cameras, the larger one for safari, and the smaller camera for short trips, and days I don’t want to carry a bulky camera bag around. I’ve also packed my tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, and water purifier. I got the coolest purifier from my grandmother for Christmas. It called a steripen and it purifies water with UV light!

Other miscellaneous Items I’ll be packing include binoculars, a head lamp, a plethora of medications, and gifts for my home stay family!

With a couple restrictions on clothing, my outfits for the trip will be an assortment of two skirts, two pairs of pants, shorts, a dress, and some tee-shirts. (you have to pack light when you're planning to carry everything on your back!) Prepare yourself for the same outfit over and over again in my photos. In Tanzania, it is a customary for women to cover their knees and shoulders. The only times we are allowed to wear shorts is in the national parks, and even then, our shorts must be knee length. At some points I’m told I'll even have to cover my hair. But even with restrictions, I’m really looking forward to discovering the cultural differences between the United States and Tanzania.

It strange the emotions I’m feeling right now. I’m scared, anxious, excited, uneasy, and restless all at the same time. It feels chaotic, and wrong, and I’m up half the night writing things down that I know in all reality I won’t forget (Or my family would never let me forget, like my passport or my camera). I can't believe it's so soon! These next eleven days are going to fly by.

Until then,

Wander, discover, and explore,

Emma

Monday, January 2, 2012

So Many Foreign Roads

Today is January 3rd ( Yay, Happy New Year ) and I am leaving in less than 25 days, 22 to be precise. I figure as I am preparing to leave, starting to pack my bags, organize my lists, and say goodbyes, I should tell you a little more about myself.

So as mentioned previously, I'm Emma. A junior mathematics major, biology minor, at Saint Michael's College. I swim on the varsity team at school, lead an A Capella group, and I am an active representative in the Student Association. I'm a member of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee, a peer tutor for various math classes, and I was an orientation leader this year. You could say I'm busy, but I've always found I do my best work when I have a full schedule.

Anyway, Today I should have been returning to Vermont for winter training with the rest of my team. They're leaving for the Puerto Rico training trip in two days. Since obviously I'll be in Africa soon, I'm done swimming until next season. It's actually kind of hard to see everyone travelling back up north, and not joining them. Though suffering through double sessions for two weeks isn't exactly what I call a fun, relaxed holiday break, being with the team is important to me. I've made some of my best friends on the Saint Mike's swim team, and I wish I were there to cheer them on through this tough part of the season.

Aside from school activities, in my free time, I read, listen to music, hang out with my sister, and just take time to myself.  One would probably say I read excessively. In the past week, I've polished off five books, and hope to finish a couple more in the coming days. For Christmas I received a Kindle Fire, and it hasn't left my side since I opened it.

I listen to music as often as possible. Music has been a constant in my life since I was little. Starting with listening to the ABC's in the car with my parents and playing recorder in second grade music class. Then, progressing to playing violin from grades 4 to 12, and singing in select choirs throughout high school. Music has always taken up a decent amount of time in my schedule.

Cliché, I know, but I enjoy listening to all genres of music, from Classical, Jazz, and Oldies, to Indie and Blues. I guess violin has trained me to love classical, Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky being favorites. If asked to pick a favorite artist, I wouldn't be able to, but, in the past couple months, I've been listening to a lot from The Black Keys, Bon Iver, John Mayer, and Roman Holiday.

So, one of the books I recently read, gave playlists throughout the story, and gave me the idea of once in a while, giving a playlist in my blog. This is what I’ve been listening to while writing my blog. If you haven’t listened to some of these artists, you should.

Give Me Love - Ed Sheeran
Long Way Home – Roman Holiday
Moon River – Frank Sinatra
Skinny Love – Bon Iver
Something Beautiful – NeedToBreathe
Towers - Bon Iver
January Wedding – The Avett Brothers
In My Veins – Andrew Belle
You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You – The Rat Pack
The Stacks – Bon Iver
Lay ‘Em Down – NeedToBreathe
Way I Am – Ben Rector
Someday You Will Be Loved – Death Cab For Cutie
Won’t Turn Back – NeedToBreathe

If you didn't catch it yet, I'll let you in on the secret of this blog. Every post's title comes from song lyrics. Most of the songs have certain significance to me. Today's post is Bon Iver, For Emma Forever Ago. It’s one of my favorite albums. Not only have I had friends sing this A Capella (members of the Saint Mike's all male A Capella group, Mike Check) but it was also the very first Bon Iver song I ever listened to. And of course the obvious, it has my name in it...

Well, if I haven’t bored you enough with my excessive musical history, here are a some fun facts about myself:
I can whistle three different ways.
I’ve fractured my rib.
I am incredibly impatient, and I get that from my dad.
My sister and I named our first fish colorprinter...
I don’t have a favorite color.
and my favorite animals are elephants, big cats, and giraffes. Oh my.

Okay, well that’s enough for tonight, I hope this gave you a little insight into who I am, so you can understand me a little more when I write these blog posts.
Until next time,
Listen, explore, and wander foreign roads for me.
Forever Ago,
Emma.