This is so surreal.

Well, I'm here. I have had so many new experiences in the last 48 hours I'm not even sure how to describe them yet. I haven't really slept since what I think was yesterday morning, so I'm a little delirious and kind of still feel like I'm flying. It is not the good kind of flying either.

It's gorgeous here, the views are amazing, the history deep and actually meaningful, and the people are really sweet. I still miss home though. I miss my cat, my bed, my boyfriend, parents, and friends. Luckily I have a very sweet roommate here and a two bedroom suite, so I can kind of deal with this on my own. Saying goodbye was a lot harder than I thought it would be. It's really hard to be excited for something even this amazing if you feel really alone.

The first flight was fine, the Detroit airport was very clean and impressive(step it up Nashville, if Detroit can do it, you can do it), but the flight to Amsterdam was pretty rough. I sat next to a very large and intimidating Kenyan on his way home. He was sitting in my seat which would have put me in his in the middle of the center aisle for 8 hours, so I asked if we could switch in the nicest voice I think I've ever used. He said he'd do it all grumpily, but as the flight went on he realized we were a student group, softened up and started asking questions about our trip. He later had four beers and reeked all flight long, so all the good graces he had accumulated started to slip away. I watched (500) Days of Summer because it was free and there. TERRIBLE decision. Tom is JD. His mannerisms, his adorable nerdiness, his wardrobe, all modeled after JD Peery. This was a mistake because I then had to silently snuffle for the rest of the flight and deal with the missing him thing on a whole new adorableness level. Great movie though; we will be watching it when we're both back home. After this self-afflicted fiasco, I decided it was Scrubs and Lunesta time. I got fifteen minutes of great sleep, until I guess I started to slump over to Kenyan's side of the seat, and he elbowed me away. Those graces previously mentioned, gone. I was then wide awake, never going back to sleep with sleeping pill sloughing through my veins. Cruel. The last flight from Amsterdam to Athens was fine, noisy, bumpy, and a baby screamed the whole way, but fine.

We got here, I had made a few friends by this point, and we came through Markopoulo to Porto Rafti, seeing the sights and getting little tour along the way by one of the full time teachers here. We got our rooms, got a little settled, them headed out for a little walking tour of the city. I think I took at least fifty pictures in this hour and a half alone. It's so... Grecian. All the things you see in movies, but slightly more hilarious with real life elements thrown in. Pictures will follow soon.

We're going into Athens tomorrow and learning how to get around without dying. It will be amazing!

My heart will catch up with my brain soon enough. Unfortunately, I think it's currently still stuck in security in Nashville. This is an amazing blessing, I know it is. So, fake readers I'm talking to, don't hate me for being selfish, just bear with me. I'll get my excited act together, right after I get my heart in line. It just feels better to get it out.

Trying something new

The earthquake in Haiti really has the world thinking. I read somewhere about a call to a day of prayer and fasting. I've never fasted before, but I'm really drawn to it today. I'll be praying for all those suffering in Haiti and around the world, but I'll selfishly be praying for myself and our trip too. I'm still really nervous and feel horribly unprepared, so maybe a day with God will help. Pray for Haiti. Pray for healing and guidence. Pray for strength. Just pray.

Woah.

It's real. Those are my tickets. Wow.

Just a few more weeks...

I leave for this huge, life-changing adventure in two weeks. I know I should be excited, but I'm just not. I know I'm going to go and see the things and places I have dreamed about all my life. I know I'll change and that God will be with me no matter what. I know that this is a gift and blessing that so many people would love to have. I know all this things, but I'm scared. I'm going to miss my family, my boyfriend, and my friends. I'll be so far away, if anything were to happen here in the states, I'll be a world away. I don't know. I just don't feel prepared at all. I guess we'll see how the next few weeks go.

On a far less whiny note, I am going to some amazing places! Porto Rafti, Greece will become my new home for the next few months. It's a cute little port city fifteen minutes from Athens. We get to go to my ultimate dream Egypt, see the pyramids and King's tombs, and float down the Nile. There will be this high pitched noise heard around the world, yeah that'll be me squealing for joy. Then we head to Israel to see the Holy Land. The Garden of Gethsemane, Golgotha, the Wailing Wall, and so many other places. We also get to see Corinth, Delphi, the Dead Sea, the amazing list goes on and on. I'll do my best to remember to blog and talk about all these amazing places.

I am excited. I am. The nerves and thoughts of being away from everything comfortable and loved are just a little louder right now. But that's the beauty of adventure, right? Finding new and unexpected things in the world and in yourself. That's what I'm looking for.