Bon Voyage

We made it to the airport! Today is 11/12/07. After 2 crazy days of packing and unpacking and repacking, I finally fit my stuff in only 2 bags. I ended up bringing one rolling duffle, and 1 big backpack that has a detatchable daypack. We made it through security and the Quantas guy did not charge me extra for being over the weight limit, although I am sure my bags combined weigh more than I do! Who would have thought it would be possible for me to pack for a year or longer and only bring 2 bags?? And many many thanks to my awesome ex-roomie Tara for her patience and assistance in helping me pick out my cloths to pack as I tried on my entire closet for her. For those who are wondering…I only brought 4 pairs of shoes…1 pair of running/hiking, 1 pair of flip flops, 1 pair of ugly Chacos (needed for white water rafting and kayaking) and 1 pair of cute shoes. The hardest part of packing for me was which jeans to bring when I could only bring a few and i love jeans! I finally decided to not stress about the packing as I can buy anything I forgot to pack in Sydney. It does feel really good to have all my belonging organized and put away in storage and to only have limited stuff with me to worry about.

Lauren and I are sitting at the bar and she is filling me in on all the information I am suppose to already know regarding the Bunac program and what we must do once we arrive in Sydney. Apparently there is very important information in the booklet I was given that I have not yet read. She seems to have read alot about the country and thought things through a bit more than me. I figure I have plenty of time on the plane ride to read up on Australia and I like to just figure things out when I get there. Life is more fun that way!

Today was a whirlwind of last minute errands, packing, another trip to my storage unit, and final goodbyes. My good friend Aine came by and brought me a burrito from my favorite place in the Mission. She has been to Australia before and knew that there is a lack of Mexican food in the county and this information makes me very sad. Thanks for sending me off with a final big burrito Aine!

I don’t think it has hit me yet that I am really leaving. I am very excited, overwhelmed, exhausted and very sad to leave all of my friends and family. I love you all and will miss everyone very much. Thanks to everyone who came out Saturday night for the going away party…fun times! Please keep in touch and I will let you all know when we arrive safely (15 hours from now…OMG!)