"I'll Figure It Out When I Get There..."

Today is really the first day that I am packing for Beijing. It has been a very busy couple of days preparing to go abroad. Between shopping for last minutes items, calling the bank, the phone company, or the airlines, and trying to spend time with the people I love before I leave, I am beginning to feel just a bit overwhelmed.

Preparing to go abroad so far has been a really frustrating experience, but from what my friends have all told me, it is definitely going to be worth it once I arrive. I am leaving for Beijing with a "I will figure it out when I get there" mindset, which really isn't like me at all. I like to plan ahead and I am incredibly organized so I am beginning to wonder if this is just the first of my cultural adjustments or merely one of the early changes that my study abroad experience is bringing about in me. I am nervous about taking two independent studies in place of normal classes, but this seems to be the only option available to me if I want to continue to pursue all of my academic studies and graduate on time. Who knows... maybe I will actually enjoy whatever independent reading and research the professors in Beijing have in store for me. I am also nervous about the language barrier, but it seems as though I will be in Chinese classes almost the entire time I am abroad, so I hope to come back at least conversational. Right now, I am most worried about the weather because it definitely looks like a snow sky outside.

Several people have been asking me about how I'm feeling and to be completely honest, the fact that I am moving to the other side of the world hasn't really hit me yet. I am actually just feeling kind of nonchalant. I wish I was more excited, but I think I will be once I get on the plane on Thursday morning. I don't think you can really be totally prepared for this kind of experience. Maybe it's just all about optimism and making the best of things. I guess I really will just have to figure it all out when I get there.