1 more week

Wow, it's getting close.

More euro pretties:

These are the flip sides of the euros. They're so colorful.

I should have mentioned in my last post that I didn't have to lift a finger to get my hands on these euros. My parents did all the work! Thanks, Mom and Dad. :)

My dad also gave me some coins:

Yup, I'm a little euro-obsessed right now. It's such pretty currency.

I packed last week. There are a few tweaks that I'm going to do, but otherwise I'm set with my luggage. I need to familiarize myself with my flight and all of the airport and airline conditions. Thank God I flew for the first time last year. Now I have some idea of what to expect. It's going to be a much longer flight than what I experienced, though, and obviously the regulations will be stricter since I'm leaving the country. Full body scan, anyone?

But I'm now getting really excited. I was saying to my brother Gerald last night how unmotivated I've been for the past several months. Honestly, I've never been so unmotivated in my life. I've been doing a lot of difficult things lately for sure, but I've been doing them in a really uninspired way, like putting them off until the last minute or doing the absolute bare minimum. This trip is going to give me the inspiration and boost that I need. It could not have come at a better time.

Just look at this architecture. Who wouldn't be inspired and motivated?

I'm ready. I'm so excited!

Euros!

I know I said I'd post only once a week until I got to France, but I got 100 euros today.

I have the 5, the 10, and the 20 right now.

I've never seen them before, so it's interesting to me how they're different sizes and have a shiny silver strip on the side.

Here's a poorly-taken picture of mine; I think the size differentiation is adorable.

Hooray for pretty money!

Two More Weeks

I'm having this weird feeling of withdrawal. I'll be honest, it's depressing. I feel like everything I do here at home is unnecessary, because I'm leaving anyway. My mind is already saying goodbye to things, and I'm not ready for that yet. I don't know if it's normal, but it's bothering me a little. It's almost like a part of me is saying, "Don't get too comfortable. You have to move on to the next stage now." I wonder if all students who are getting ready to go abroad experience this.

I'm trying to get excited. Everybody should be excited when they go abroad, right? At this point, though, it feels like me going abroad is more fun and exciting for the people who hear about it than it is for me. I know how sad that is, and I'm making myself fight that feeling. But it's going to color everything that I do until I leave. Home will never feel completely cheerful and serene again until I go and come back.

I can't focus on that, though. I need to concentrate on preparing to go. A huge part of that is packing. I've made a list of everything that I have to bring with and... well, I seriously need to pare down, ha ha ha. I'm quite the clothes horse, so packing a limited wardrobe is going to be a challenge. I've read some tips online for packing for study abroad terms, though, and there are some really good tips that I'm applying, like packing scarves to make the same outfits look different. It probably sounds silly, but I've actually been practicing packing all summer. It's a good thing, too, because a lot of odds and ends that I wouldn't have thought of until it would be too late have come to the surface.

So, I'm off to fill my hot pink luggage set.

My mom got it for me for Christmas. So cute, and it will definitely stand out amongst the other luggage.

About 3 More Weeks Until I Leave for France

I've been meaning to start this blog for about a week, but other responsibilities have gotten in the way. Also laziness.

This blog is inspired by my dear friend Erin, who kept a blog about her study abroad term in Sweden. I'll be studying abroad for the fall term in Montepellier, France (not Paris, thank you kindly - though my plane will be landing there). Montpellier is a city in the south of France on the Mediterranean coast.

Look how cute!

Montpellier is supposed to be a laid-back place. It's comparable to Louisville, Kentucky and Barcelona, Spain. I've read that the food is some of the heaviest in France and snow is rare. It's the capital of its region.
I'll leave September 5th, land in Paris the 6th, hop on the TGV (superfast train), and hopefully be in Montpellier by the evening.

TGV, take me away to Montpellier!

Thank God I'll probably be doing all of this with Julianne, another girl from Beloit College who is attending the same university in Montpellier as me.

Hopefully I'll be a good and faithful blogger who posts really frequently and has lots of pictures to share every time. My intention is to fill this blog to bursting. Everybody, I'll do my best.

Please enjoy what I have to share. Thank you for looking.