Excited but frightened yet anxious and restless...

The countdown began a long time ago. I have 9 days left here in the good 'ol US of A before my journey to France (and Korea) begins. My emotions are going haywire and it's hard to contain them all, let alone make sense of it. Sure, I can just go with the flow and avoid "sorting" out my thoughts and feelings but then, I'll be a lost puppy for the next 9 days. So bear (or is it bare?) with me...

First, this summer has been nothing but amazing. Yes, I've worked a lot, reducing my number of beach days to barely nothing but my experience at the OC Register has been nothing short of awesome. Not only have I been part of the breaking news bureau, I've had the freedom to do food reviews and write [almost] freely for the Orange City News blog. In addition to that, they've asked me to come back for a paid internship when I come back. Isn't that great? It surely is.

Now, my other job, Provision Ministry Group, will be ending in a short 4 days. This is definitely bitter sweet. I've been here for a year and a half --the longest I've been at one job--and it has been the best part time job a college student could ask for. As marketing assistant, I've learned so much about marketing (duh!), professionalism, people, growth, etc. For it to end is very sad to me. A large part of my college experience is ending. Now, I know this means a new opportunity for a new day which makes this break up "sweet." When I come back, I'll have a lot more time on my hands to pursue writing internships and projects. And here's the bitter part II: the money won't be as good. Ugh.

Next issue on the agenda: M-O-N-E-Y! How can I not? But I'm going to stop there because if I start, this post might be 5 pages long. (*le sigh*)

You know how I said this summer has been nothing short of awesome? Well, with that crazy cool internship at the OC Reg and making my money at Provision, I've managed to squeeze in some good fun with the people I love--my friends, my main squeeze [Mark] and my family, making that much harder to say "bye" (I know, I know what you're thinking: Liz, you're going away for 4 months, not 2 years)...but still, just let me rant&rave. First off, my friends are amazing and many of them are planning to visit which is berry exciting and since they swear that they'll be here when I get back, I can't get too sad about saying a temporary "goodbye."

My main squeeze, boyfriend, man, little friend (oh wait, that's me), love, whatever you want to call him, will be difficult to leave for a little while. In this crazy summer of ours, we've managed to become quite the bestest of best friends. And this is our 3rd time doing the long distance thing which you would think would make it easier for us, but actually, with 3 years now as our foundation, we've become quite fond of each other, falling deeper in love.

My family will be hard to leave for a quarter of the year because they are so young! With 3 siblings 9 years of age and under, the motto--out of sight, out mind--couldn't be any truer. Slowly, their enthusiasm to talk to Sissy will reduce significantly, eventually becoming, "Hi, Sissy. How are you? I'm good too. *Silence*....Ok, Sissy, I'm going to go now. I have nothing else to say. Bye." Hopefully Skypeing with them once or twice a week will remind them that their Sissy IS alive and well, just far, far away.

Ok, so you've heard all the anxiety, fear and icky stuff so let's move on to the good stuff. Let me tell you that I AM EXCITED!!! is an understatement. I am about to embark on a journey that's going to fuel my already-raging love for travelling and cultures around the world. I'm going to meet people who will be lifelong friends that share a very special experience with me. I'm going to live in a country rich in history, culture and art. I'm going to eat some of the best foods. I'm going to see other places of the world that words cannot describe. How can I not be happy, excited, ecstatic, joyous, etc. etc.?

Want to know something else? I may have found the perfect little apartment for yours truly :-) It's a little one bedroom apartment in Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon), probably the most popular part of Lyon. The buildings of Vieux Lyon are protected by the French governemnt as they date back to the Renaissance period. I am going to see it for myself as soon as I get there and hopefully, finalize it in person with the owner.

So there you go, mes amis, I have managed to somewhat "sort" out my feelings [whatever that means]. I hope this has entertained you as much as it helped me. Now, I can relax and enjoy this weekend. I hope you can too! Happy Friday :-)