A Week From Tomorrow?!

I am truly in shock that I am making this happen, that I completed everything that I needed to do this summer, and that I am blessed to have another opportunity with such an unforgettable adventure. With saying that, my to-do lists are longer than ever before.

This weekend has been the first time I’ve actually done anything in relation to Europe! 

Having my first day off in what seems like a lifetime, I was able to meet my best friend Allison downtown Portland on Friday afternoon to do some much needed shopping! It turned out that Kat was able to take her lunch break at the same time that Allison and I were there, so the three of us headed over to our favorite store- Forever 21. I cannot even begin to say how thankful I was to have the two best shoppers I know with me, and I ended up walking out with five tops, one scarf, and one pair of pants. Not too bad!

Once Kat’s lunch break was over, Allison and I stopped for some fro-yo before she had to take off for our friend Erica’s house. Walking her outside, I think that’s when reality slapped me in the face.  It was the last time I was going to see her for about a year and I was definitely fighting back tears. As a side note, I just want to express how truly proud of her I am. For those of you who don’t know, Allison and I were roommate’s freshman year and instantly clicked. She got married on July 11, 2011 to Stephen Wall, and he has been blessed with the opportunity to go to med school. Stephen’s first year of school will be completed in Alaska, so Allison is moving there next week. As much as I would love to, I’m not sure that I’ll be able to make it up there to visit her in the next year, so this particular goodbye was a tough one.

I spent the next hour looking for my car in all the wrong parking garages, and thanks to Kat, we eventually found Rosario. Making our way over to the Old Spaghetti Factory (my favorite restaurant), I met up with some of my closest friends for a going away dinner.  Besides the fact that I was a little late, I had a great time, and am so thankful that I got to see everybody at least one more time before I leave.

Once I got home from dinner, I found a Fed-Ex envelope on my front porch. Knowing exactly what it was, I opened it up to find my airline ticket and my living stipend. Comparing my flight times to some of the people I’m going with, I’m pretty sure I won’t be flying alone at all! Thank goodness!

My flight schedule to Graf is: Portland to Philadelphia, Philadelphia to Nuremberg, and then Nuremberg to Graf. It’s about to be a loooooong day of flying.

Anyway, I’m hoping that in the next few days I’ll be super productive and get as much stuff done as I can, so I’m not scrambling at the last minute.

Wish me luck!