Today's the day!

February 29th has slowly crept up and then quickly pounced and it's finally time to start this journey! This morning is being spent deciding whether to check 2 bags and pay the fee or hope my bag is less than 50 pounds... if it's not, I might have an even bigger fee. Or to put back some clothes which I really don't want to do. I guess if this is all I'm really worried about, I'm ready to go! Adios, next time I check in, I'll be in Rosario!

One more day

It's just after midnight so it is officially Tuesday. That means my plane for Argentina leaves TOMORROW! The last few days have flown by a lot faster then the other 60 some since I've been home from Christmas, and now is when I need them to slow down so I can make sure I have everything packed and ready! I said goodbye to all of my friends in the last week/weekend. That is the part of this experience that is the most difficult. I hate that most of my best friends at Simpson are seniors and will be graduating while I'm gone, and I'll feel pretty lonely when they don't come back with me in the fall. I found a quote that helps clear my mind a bit when I think about all of this. "The world is a book and those who do not travel only read one page." -St. Augustine. I get this. I love to travel and experience new things and places. I know what I will learn in these four months in Rosario will be invaluable. There will be no class I can take at Simpson College that can teach me what I will learn and show me what I will experience there. Living, breathing, speaking, hearing, reading Spanish all day, every day is going to be infinitely more helpful towards becoming fluent in Spanish than a few more classes in Iowa. I am very excited to meet my host family and see what the city is like and see what else the country has to offer. I am looking forward to traveling as much as I can around the country during my time, because I know once I get there my four months aren't going to seem like enough.

My goals for this trip are pretty simple. Improve my Spanish skills. Travel a lot. I am challenging myself to make sure I am out doing things as much as possible and not living on my computer (though of course I will still be checking Facebook on a regular basis and having a few Skype dates =]). I plan to try to blog 3-4 times a week, but I guess it depends if I have new things to share.

All things said, right now I'm feeling very ready to leave. I'm getting pretty bored at home and I'm ready to have things to do again. I might be changing my mind about that in a few short hours when I'm sitting on a plane ready to take off, but there's not turning back now!