33 Days.....

Well, folks, I guess it's official. I'm really going to Australia. I now possess an airline ticket which leaves CVG at 8pm on July 9th. I will connect at LAX and arrive in SYD on July 11th at 7:10am. (For those followers of Kenny Tarmac, these initials might make you giggle. For those who don't travel much, I leave Cincinnati, connect in Los Angeles and arrive in Sydney.) So, at this point, I have 33 days to get the world in order. Still working through a few logistics, but it looks like all will fall into place.

Uncle Price is giving me a furnished apartment in the heart of Sydney. 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. I will also have a roommate - Karalee is from the Chicago office of PwC and will be in Sydney with the same exchange program. This fact has relieved a decent amount of anxiety from this process. It's comforting knowing that there will be someone there to notice if I don't make it home and to be experiencing the same things alongside me.

Someone asked me last night what I am most excited about related to this trip. This was a good question, one I had not really considered yet. I have thought a lot about what I am anxious about, but had not begun to put words to what excites me about the opportunity. I think I am most excited about being out of the country again. Each time I have been out of the country, I have experienced a feeling of great empowerment and freedom. For some reason, when I am out of the country, I feel more like myself than any other time. It's hard to explain, but I hope this makes sense. Therefore, what I am most excited about is the opportunity to be in this place again - this time for longer than I have ever been before.