Update

I got so many great things on Christmas day to prepare me for my travels! I got a gorgeous 3rd travel journal, so I think I'm getting the hint that my family and friends want me to journal while I'm gone. :) And I got an awesome small little mp3 player from my brother, that does recordings too, so I'll be able to hopefully use it when I'm working on my independent study project during the last four weeks of my studies in Madagascar. I'll use it for interviews and the like so that I can write my 40 page paper that's due before I leave. Oh joy. I usually try to convince myself to overlook the fact that studying abroad actually includes studying, but then I'm so quickly reminded by things like the voice recorder, and two books that my parents got me that are reading assignments for my program. I have to read them before I leave, which will be a challenge for me, because I'm not a huge fan of reading. I suppose I'll have to squeeze it in some time in the next month.

I also got a nice tiny camera that was relatively inexpensive so that if it gets stolen, I won't be losing a whole lot (although I am very hopeful that it won't get stolen). And my mom gave me a bunch of summery clothes that we got on sale from Old Navy that will be great for the warm weather that I'm about to enjoy. :)

My Dad got me a pink pocket knife and a pink swiss army knife. He knows me so well. <3 And my brother also gave me an adapter so I can actually use the electricity there. And he gave me bug spray and sun block. My poor fair sensitive skin will not do well with the sun or bugs, so that was very kind of him. :) I got a money belt from my mom, and I was given some money from some family members, which I will put towards buying myself a pair of Tom's shoes. I think they'll be pretty comfortable to do a lot of walking in, and a smaller option than taking a pair of hiking boots, which my program said were optional.

Earlier today, Mom took me to the hair dresser to get my last hair cut here in the US. I got a nice little bob that will hopefully grow out well, since I don't plan on getting it cut in the next six months or so (which is probably longer than I've ever gone without a hair cut....uh oh). I really like it and I'm hoping that having it short will make it a lot easier to take care of while I'm gone. Here's what it looks like:

And the last update for now, I've officially taken all of my typhoid vaccine pills, so I should be relatively safe from getting typhoid fever while I'm gone. Woohoo! :) 

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! One month from today I'll be heading south to Boston, and flying out the next morning, bright and early for a trip that will last me 24 hours. I fly from Boston to JFK to Johannesburg, to Antananarivo, which is the capital of Madagascar. I found out the other day that there are a few other students in my program who are on my flights from JFK to Johannesburg, and from Johannesburg to Antananarivo, so at least maybe others will help me from getting lost in an airport, because that is something that would definitely happen to me.

I'm excited to see what an international flight is like since I'm used to flying on really small planes to and from Portland, ME, where only one side of the plane has storage for carry on luggage. They are so small that I have to duck my head while walking down the center aisle, and they even make me start to feel mildly claustrophobic.

So it should be an interesting experience to fly in this instead:

Unfortunately, on my way home from Madagascar, I have a 7 hour layover in JFK before flying into Boston, and then I still have a 3 hour drive home. And then maybe I'll be lucky enough to get showered with presents, since my 19th birthday is three days after I get home. Or maybe I'll be thankful enough just to take a shower after my 30 hours of traveling. And then I'll probably pig out on Reese's and make Mom make lobster and haddock for dinner. Oh the joys of Maine that I will certainly miss while I'm gone. Or maybe I'll even ask her to make me German Apple Pancakes. We have them every year on Christmas morning, and they are AMAZING. Seriously, if you haven't had them, you have to try them.  

Doesn't this just look scrumptious?

Although I suppose that before I start planning on what I'm going to eat when I come home, I should think about my last meal here in the States and what I want it to be. :) I'll probably settle on brownies. I seriously have a chocolate problem.

Anyway, enough about food. I'll have to do a post within the next few days showing everyone some of the treats I get for Christmas in preparation for my trip. Honestly, I hope my stocking is full of sunscreen, bug spray, and all kinds of different medicines that could prepare me for anything. Unfortunately, I've always been the kid who always caught all of the colds and flus, so I have a feeling I'm going to be one of the sicker ones on our trip, and I want to make sure I'm prepared for anything. :) I just hope I don't have any skin problems, because they gross me out more than anything. Speaking of medicine and health, I'm half way through my typhoid vaccine pills, so I'll be done with them in four more days! Other than that, I have to find a medical alert bracelet for my amoxicillin allergy and take malaria pills right before I leave, while I'm in Madagascar, and a week after I get home (although I did find out that even if you take malaria pills, you can still get malaria, and even though I'm taking the vaccine pills for typhoid fever, I can still get typhoid fever, so those are a few fun facts.).

That's it for now! To all of my friends and family (with a special shout out to Lily Hofstra for being awesome), have a very Merry Christmas!! <3

So I'm officially all packed to go home for Christmas break, except for the last of the bedding for my last night here in DC. It's sad to leave it behind, but I'm definitely going to try to come visit DC for a week or so this summer after I get back from Madagascar. I'm starting to get antsy about my trip and it isn't even Christmas yet. I have gotten two beautiful travel journals as Christmas gifts, and I've already started using both of them. :) My goal is to fill them both with drawings and writings by the time I come home (which is definitely going to be a challenge since I've always been terrible at keeping a journal.). I drew a picture of my visa in one of the journals, with colored pencils and all, so I'm off to a good start.

One of the journals I got was from my bestie Kate Brendel. She filled the front page of the journal with a bunch of sayings in Malagasy. Let's just say this looks like it's going to be a challenging language. She said that these phrases are the only ones that I'll need to know:

• Hi! - Manao ahoana e!
• Good Bye! - Veloma!
• Cheers! - Mirary fahasalamana e!
• Sorry! - Mifona!
• I'm lost :( - Very Aho :(
• Theif! - Mpangalatra o!
• Are you married? - Manam-bady ve lanao?
• I'm single- Tsy manam-bady aho
• Can I have your number? - Azoko raisina ve ny laharana findainao?
• Would you marry me? - Hanam-bady ahy ve lanao?
• I'm just kidding. - Mananihany aho
• I'm hungry! - Noana aho!

So it looks like I'll be leaving Madagascar with a husband. Thanks Kate! <3 I'm glad someone is looking out for me here. I'm sure all of these phrases will come in handy, especially "Would you marry me?" :)

And on top of these wonderful phrases, my other bestie Gabbi wrote me a beautiful card with some great pieces of advice, my favorites being the following:

• If it's moving, don't eat it. 
• Know that, even when it's tough, you're where you should be and you'll come out all the better for it. 
• Follow your gut!
• Remember all those back home who believe in and love you. Never forget them- though they are thousands of miles away, they can still provide comfort when you need it most. 
• Smile at least three times a day- even if you're curled over a toilet
• Don't be afraid to try new things
• Don't be afraid to fall in love- with anyone or anything. In fact, try to find something new to love everyday

I will definitely be trying to follow all of this advice, so all of you back home, I'll be calling on you for comfort! Thank you all for supporting me, even though a lot of you think I'm crazy. :) 

Well that's all for now! I'm off to have my last dinner in DC for a while! 

In one month and ten days, I'll be starting my trip from Warren, Maine all the way to Antananarivo, Madagascar, and I cannot wait. I'm studying abroad on what is sometimes called "the eighth continent," since 80% of the species found on the island aren't found anywhere else in the world, and yes, some of those species are lemurs! :)

Right now I'm sitting in my dorm room at GW, and I've just packed up most of my stuff because my mom is on her way down here to help me move out. The last day or so has definitely been hard. I'm having a lot of mixed emotions. I've left a job that I loved and co-workers who had become like family to me, and now I'm in the process of wrapping up finals and saying goodbye to my besties, which is definitely hard. Knowing that I won't see them for possibly a year (because I'm planning on studying abroad in France in the fall) makes saying goodbye really hard. But even though I'm sad to leave DC, I am so excited to start an amazing adventure. I'm hoping that studying in a country so different from mine will help open my eyes to different experiences. I know that parts of the trip will be difficult, like dealing with sickness, and fleas, and cockroaches...ugh. But I hope that in the end it is all worth it and that I will have made wonderful friends and learned more than I can imagine.

So those are just a few of my thoughts for now, but after packing everything up, I think I need a nap. Keep checking back though, because I'll be posting all about my adventure, the good, bad and ugly, for the next five months! :)