"After all it was a great big world..."

Never have these lyrics from the wonderful Tom Petty rung more truly. As Monday, August 31, 2009 continues to get closer, I feel myself becoming more anxious and more skeptical about what life in a foreign country will actually be like. Will it really be that different culturally? Will everything be the same except for speaking another language? My mind keeps circling around the fact that I have never been out of the country. I am Tom Petty’s “American Girl,” and I have no idea what life is going to be like next week as I walk along the rivers of Nantes. Anxiety and excitement all rolled into one are very difficult emotions to come to terms with. I feel like one of those Gumby dolls or those stretchy G.I. Joe muscle men/action figures being torn in two wayward directions. I desperately want to leave Palm Beach and run through the airport, clicking my heels (although I would fall) in excitement that my European adventure is finally beginning. At the same time, I want to cuddle up in my bed with my Dubby and Wally and prolong my departure time for just a few more weeks. It all just feels so incredibly surreal. Completing all of the paperwork, correspondence, and travel plans seemed so difficult while going through the process, and now it feels like I just dreamed I completed it all. How cannot I not seem to realize that this is not, in fact, a dream? Throughout this next five month journey of my life, I will be transforming into more than just an “American Girl.” One of my favorite quotes states that how we deal with change creates the authenticity of any one life. No one can challenge me on whether or not living in France for 4 months is change. I am facing change head on, and how I deal with an immense amount of change is taking me steps closer to a life authentic, truth-filled life. Je t’embrasse…-Tay