As I sit here packing, last minute packing might I add, my mind is running 100mph. I am trying to think of absolutely everything that I might possibly need for the The Grand Tour: Art and Gardens of Europe trip that starts TOMORROW! Along with a billion other things that cross your mind when you are preparing for a trip. Time has flown by! I feel like just yesterday, I was student teaching and was telling my students about the trip that I am now about to embark on. Now it’s the day before the flight. I am all nerves. A mixture of excitement and fear, I’m afraid. I am super excited to see Europe! I have always dreamed of seeing Scotland and Ireland. However, I never truly thought that it would happen. I thought it was just…simply…a dream. When I heard about this particular study abroad opportunity and the possibility of going to not one but FIVE different countries to study the Arts and Gardens of Europe, I knew it was the trip for me! I feel that a lot of what I have the privilege to study during this coming three weeks I can relate back to my classroom, as an agriculture teacher. I can’t wait to see the world! For me, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. As much as I would love to say that everything is hunky-dory-fine in my brain, it is not. My greatest wish is also my current biggest fear. I am nervous about leaving the country. I have never been away from home, in another country, for three weeks by myself. Of course I have in states, but at least I am in Georgia. My family is a very tight knit family. We talk everyday in some way, form, or fashion. Luckily in this day and age, they have international phone plans, which my family has taken full advantage of. We will not talk as much as we usually do, but we will still be in contact.
Well…tomorrow begins a new journey! A journey I have looked forward to ever since I applied to participate in this particular study abroad. I still can’t believe that this is happening! I never thought that I would be able to say I have been to Scotland and Ireland, let alone five countries of Europe (adding Italy, France, and England). Tomorrow at this time I will be on a plane taking me to Rome, our first stop! Look out Europe because here I come!
