Leaving, On a Jet Plane

A little too on-the-nose? Probably, but when else will I get to use what is clearly a perfect title?

5 Days

In five days, I’m getting on a plane to Skopje and beginning my time abroad. It still hasn’t totally hit me that I’m moving to another country… I’ve been preparing since April, and I think when something like a moving day is so far in the future, it feels abstract. Things are beginning to solidify, though — I found an apartment and figured out how to use the website for the bus system. Plus, I’ve connected with a church, an expat group, and some potential friends via social media.

I’m looking forward to taking my newfound Macedonian skills for a test drive as well… I figured this is the perfect opportunity to experience true language immersion, and I hope learning it will help me connect with the culture more fully (and when I say ‘connect with the culture’ I mean meeting grandmas, befriending them, and hearing their stories while learning recipes from them). Unsure of exactly how I will make this happen but I’ll keep you posted…

For now, I’m enjoying the last few days at home and the last few times I’ll have some of my favorite American foods (Honey Nut Chex cereal, bagels and Chickfila) for a while. There are a lot of unknowns (no work schedule yet, although my advisor seems really kind), but what I do know is there will be so many opportunities to appreciate all the newness that I’m about to experience. How often in life will I know for certain that I’ll get to experience so much newness on a daily basis? That’s a grounding thought in the face of a whole lotta change….

(Song Credit: John Denver)