Tuesday, January 15, 2013

One Week Prep

With only 7 days till departure, the anxiety is kicking in...and maybe the nerves too. It's not so much the traveling that's freaking me out, it's the idea that I'm not flying back in two weeks—I have to keep reminding myself this is not just a trip. I'm moving. Temporarily perhaps, but long enough to be lectured about the "W" affect—the highs and lows of living abroad. But it's okay because I have my handy-dandy guide complete with pictures and maps! 
It's a pretty book and it smells even better—new book smell is great motivation—but a book is a book. I can daydream about the thrilling cities, cosy pubs, and timeless landscapes, but I can't experience them from words or pictures or maps. And so the anxieties of living abroad linger: will this "timeless" nation fulfill years of anticipation, will York be just as grand when I wake up after two weeks of sleeping in scratchy sheets? I guess this is all part of the experience. Perhaps in 7 days as I stand waiting to board the plane with my fellow travelers, I'll forget all about my anxieties—with my luck, I'll forget only because I'll be on the verge of peeing my pants. Eek!