Mixed Feelings

In 8 days I will be leaving for the US. I can't believe July has whizzed past and we are almost a week into Aug already! It feels a lot like I'm waiting for the first day of school. Travelling with 2 women I hardly know, meeting 18 strangers from different parts of the world, sharing an apartment with 2 other women... There are just too many new encounters awaiting me.

I will be landing at Washington, D.C on 14 Aug and 3 days of orientation await me. I think we will be taken on a tour of the city one one of those days. That will be nice. We are then transferred to the University of Maryland, College Park on 18 Aug. I will be living in the student apartments called The Varsity, sharing a flat with 2 others. We ballot for our flat-mates and we don't get to stay with the Fulbrighters from our own country.

The university hosts have been very kind so far and conducted a pre-departure survey to ensure our needs would be met. One of the questions was - what are your 3 top concerns? I said - my knee, whether I would make friends and the cold :) On hindsight my answers seem juvenile, but those really are my top concerns :)

My prayer is that God will watch over my comings and my goings. I trust He has already chosen my flatmates for me. I trust my knee will not trouble me and that I would be able to finish my project! Thus far my mind has been on the places I will visit and the experiences I will have. Maybe I should expend some mental space on my project asap! :)

It is a strange feeling - trepidation, a little anxiety, some excitement, a touch of fear, lots of bravado.