It still doesn't seem real

As I sit here, exausted after another long day at my internship at Ketchum DC, I still can not believe the reality of my trip to Europe. In less than two months (56 days, not that I am counting) I will be leaving for a five month tour of Italy, Paris and Madrid. The food. The cultures. The people. The travels. The experiences... It is all too much to take in now. In some ways, I do not think I am ready: I know I cannot go on excitement alone. The only language I speak is English. The closest family will be in Coatia -- still atleast five/six hours away.

Everytime that I describe my travel plans, I get exciting responses. Encouragement. Personal travel experiences. Recommendations. How-to's and what-to-see's. I appreciate it all, without a doubt, but I still haven't realized that I will be living it. I will see these places. I will know these streets. I will (undoubtedly) come back with my own stories. My own recommendations. My own "you-must-see's". The more and more I talk about it, the more and more excited I become.

Tomorrow I am phoning a friend-of-a-friend in Madrid to start deciding where in Madrid I will be living. I think - and hope - that this initial contact with someone on a different continent, in a different country, speaking a different language, it will hit. Hopefully. The excitement and wishful thinking will eventually amount into a realistic understanding that I will be LIVING this for the five whole months...

For now I will continue to listen to stories, look at pictures, sneak peeks at books and maps in bookstores, and try to absorb as much advice as I can before embarking on my own adventure... and continue to build excitement for what is sure to be the most challenging and fulfilling experience of my life.