The Beginning

So here we go. This latest internet project will hopefully be a chronicle of my soon-to-be adventures in Bali, where I'll be spending my fall semester studying abroad. I say hopefully because I am both unsure of my internet access in country and have oh so many trepidations about, you know, going to a foreign country and spending three months learning the language/dodging Dengue fever-carrying mosquitoes/becoming culturally immersed. Had I started writing when I planned to, this first posting would have been really kind of a downer. The past few months have been kind of bleak as far as thoughts about going abroad go; the initial excitement feelings of planning the trip turned swiftly into fear and desperation and general reluctance to actually carry out my plans. Of course, this kind of thing happens every time I make a transition (like going to college and things that I objectively know are good), but still it's no fun. Until the other day when I got an email of reassurance from the friendly people at SIT actually giving me a schedule, which made all the difference. My two biggest fears (I think) were contracting one of the festive diseases I've been slowly being vaccinated for and general lack of knowledge about what life in Bali would be like. The fear of illness should go away once I get there and spend a month healthy, but having something concrete to base my daydreams around has really cut down on the panic factor of going abroad. So hooray for that.

Cool, so now we have a little bit of backstory for this endeavor. As I said, internet access will probably be a bit sporadic, but I should manage to keep you guys posted on my adventures at least semi-regularly. So... what's new before we go to country? Oh, the usual, packing and whatnot. I mailed my visa app today, so this is a kind of celebratory posting I guess. One more stress off my back. I might check back in if I get bored with my reasons for deciding to go to Bali, but that'll come in a little. I'm in country in less than a month, so expect to hear more from me in the future. In the mean time, hello world/future self/audience of eager readers. Let the chronicling of past expectations and thoughts begin.