Aliquam Lacinia/

Through all of the travel agent follies and wasted time worrying, I think I may actually leave the United States! All I am waiting for is my HIV/AIDS test to come back notarized and then send it (same day shipping) to Washington and the travel agent. Three days after that I am gone!

I am not sure I will be able to make it through traveling by myself, as I will most likely be the only one going to Russia this time of year (my host mom is awesome and got all of the paperwork to the travel agency that I need for my visa; and my Liaison is awesome and has worked her tail off making this process as smooth as it can be). And I can hardly believe I am leaving! It's so surreal! TOO surreal! I'm beginning all of these goodbyes and am getting all verklempt (a Yiddish word for being choked with emotion) and all the while not believing that I am leaving in less than a week! How is this possible?

I still need to shop for a ton of things too. Not shirts (but a couple of long sleeved blouses would be  nice), but items like TSA locks, tights, a Russian-English Bible, a converter, pictures from family vacations and day trips. . . And before this weekend?!? To think that only a couple weeks ago I believed that I would be going to State Fair this weekend to make cranberry poached pears with mascarpone-cinnamon filling. That is some kind of sad joke now (if I am actually leaving. . .)

Aliquam lacinia? Maybe just a little!
P.S. And guess what? My next post will probably be from RUSSIA!