The journey begins!

I'm trying to get into the habit of blogging... so I shall update about some not-that-important details of my trip :).

Pudding, looking angry about my departure

Sometime during this week I prided myself on my fantastic packing job, because usually I'm awake at 230AM packing for my 430AM flight or something equally ridiculous, and this time I had my bags 3/4 packed the day before I left! Unfortunately, that last 1/4 included everything heavy and awkward sized... so packing, as usual, became chaotic and stressful. Anyway, I managed to sneak two 51 pound bags through, while also carrying my backpack filled with absolutely too many books, among other things, and weighing about 55 pounds. Good thing I've been working out all summer.... oh, wait...

The moon and I had a nice little moment last night. He came out very full and bright when leaving the house (I hear that it looks bigger this time of year... but that could be a rumor) and when I was on the plane, it was reflected on the wing! How grand. Little things like that make me feel like nature is looking out for me in some way or another...

Anyway, I also happened to have a 10 hour layover in D.C. (where I am now) and decided to carry my 55lb bag with me to tour a bit of downtown DC so I could end my time in America in a very all-American way. Now, I'm trying not to whine, because it really wasn't that bad, but 55 pounds is a lot of pounds, and in the rain... well, it WAS an adventure. People were quite kind in helping me find the bus/metro/mall, and I'm starting to believe that rumor about East Coasters being snobbish is not true. The Mall itself really is quite interesting (duh, right? I mean, it's the ultimate American tourist activity, minus Disneyland). I had my picture taken from about 2 feet away by a stranger who smiled and said "HI!" and I watched about 100 people run by me (not like a stampede... more like their own individual runs), and I saw some nice buildings and was denied access to not one but two Smithsonian museums due to the large bag. Anyway, Bag and I found a nice little garden near the Hirshhorn Museum, and I enjoyed my sandwich (thanks Mom) and watched people ogle at the interesting flowers.

Quaint garden, with the Bag in the background

Anyway, I've got a few hours until my flight leaves, but I'm officially ready and excited! Jenni and I have secured an apartment, and I can't wait to see it because apparently it's quite nice. Who knew craigslist would pull through in the end... We have an orientation in Graz for a few days, where we'll get a chance to meet people and I'll be reminded of how I'm kind of  awkward when meeting people. I kind of feel like I have NO idea what I'm doing. I mean, I don't know where we're living, really. I don't really know what we're doing over the next 5 days.... I don't know my work schedule or anything related to it... these things I can (and should) figure out, but there's something weirdly exciting about flying off into the unknown. I guess I'll know a lot more in just a few hours!