Anastasia in Asia... Alone.

I have great tidings of progress joy, sadness, busyness, and hopefully some courage.
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Progress - If all goes well, I should have my Visa AND my plane ticket by tomorrow afternoon (Friday, October 14th), and I should be departing sometime this coming Monday. That's right, THIS Monday. I am supposed to be arriving in Korea on the 18th (Tuesday), and right now it looks like that's actually going to happen.


Joy - I am actually going! I have dates! I have all my paperwork done! Like, real done, not fake done like all the other times! And I am very excited, and so glad to be getting out of Macon (I love it so, but it's high time I moved on) and into the beautiful Jecheon City. 


Sadness - I am ready to go... Will is not. Will has yet to receive his background check from the FBI. (They need to hurry up!) The school in Jecheon wants me to arrive on October 18th, and for Will to arrive on November 1st. The FBI says to expect his background check late this month or early next month... After which he must send it to D.C. So I may be in Korea for 2-4 weeks without Will. Sadness. :-( 


Busyness - This weekend, I must SHOP and PACK. I did some shopping at home over the weekend - I procured a lovely, chic wool coat and some snazzy new boots, as well as some practical walking shoes. (I've been told I look like a real teacher now.) Now it's on to the little stuff - a supply of makeup, some travel bottles, the usual. Then, I must figure how to pack an entire year's wardrobe into 2-3 suitcases... What fun! 


Hopefully, some courage - Am I nervous about going by myself? Yes. Worried? Yes. About? Navigating the airport, finding food, finding my way from my apartment to the school, meeting new people, starting my job, simply being in a country with NO previous acquaintances... I'm terrified. At the same time, there's a tiny little voice that tells me that I can do it. That I'm strong, that I'll adapt. Of course, that voice sounds just a bit like Will's voice... But I'm telling myself that, too. This is a chance for me to prove myself... to me. 


And of course, there are both small and great comforts... A beautiful landscape, Skype (anastasia.dunlop, if you want to find me), good music on my iPod, the anticipation of starting new books on the plane, the prospect of an adventure, and the knowledge that I'm going where many others have gone before. 


Let's do this thing.