Unexpected

I finally finished my packing, after quite a bit of procrastination between spending the last few days with friends, family, and coming down with the dreaded common cold. It is ironic how my body just chooses to get sick at the most inopportune times. I am a health freak (as most of you already know), and getting ill is something that rarely happens to me. If you are an avid fan of the television show Parks & Recreation, I literally feel like Chris, like my body is a microchip and one tiny illness messes up my entire routine. I might not mind it so much if it were an illness that could be cured with an anti-biotic or something... but nope, it is rhinopharyngitis (that makes a "cold" sound much fancier than it really is). Complaining will not do much to fix it, however. All I can do is keep healing my body and hope that I feel better for take off tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning my dad and I will make the three hour drive to O'Hare, and go through the dreaded communist customs in the airport (I really hate this, if you couldn't tell. I am a large advocate for privacy and independence, and to be frank, airports are super ridiculous regarding check-ins and searches and what not, especially since 9/11). Anyway, my flight departs at 4:45 p.m. Jan. 2 CST, and I will arrive in Madrid, Spain around 7:40 a.m. CET (about 12:40 a.m. Jan. 3 CST). From there I have a four hour layover until the one hour flight to Granada from 11:50 a.m. - 12:50 p.m.

I am so excited to leave, even with this minor set back of becoming ill. Thank goodness last night was New Years Eve (I am so exhausted, definitely didn't help my sickness staying out late), or else I might be too anxious to get some sleep tonight! It honestly hasn't been as difficult as I thought it might be to say goodbye to my friends and family. I think that is because I still really can't believe that I'm going to be living in Spain for five months... it won't feel real until I'm actually there stumbling in Spanish over my words and worrying about my gender agreement when I should really be more concerned about the actual task I'm asking about... haha. I guess that's why I'm going to become a Spanish teacher, it is a big deal to me that the male words stay male and the female words stay female. I also realize that this opportunity is a time where I will become even more independent and will learn to be more self-reliant and learn a lot about myself, as well as embrace a different culture.

Well, enough ranting. It is my last blog entry sitting here on my couch in my cozy central Illinois home for about five months (and maybe longer). I appreciate everyone's support, and I am so excited for this trip and I honestly can't wait to share this journey with you all! I look forward to writing my next entry from my home in Spain, most likely sipping on some sangria because wine is the cheapest beverage in Spain!

Take care,
Hillary