Leaving the coop

So I leave for Hong Kong tonight. Am I excited?? Hell, yeah. Am I ready? Well, not really. I'm a little apprehensive about leaving home just because everything here is so easy. I don't have to worry about my stuff and I can just leave it around everywhere. Its nice to be able to put my bag down and not think someone is going to steal it. Also, its just so comforting to be at home where I can see all the people I love. Well, at least talk to them. But we can't all just be lazy bums. I have things to do and places to go so I'm leaving the coop.

I'm also not really ready because I'm not ready for this year to be over. I'm already more than half done with my trip. I can't believe that I'm done with South America. It wasn't always the easiest place to be but I loved it. I loved that I knew the language and I love that I got to see and do things I would never have imagined for myself. And it also means that the real world is right around the corner. I have China, Southeast Asia and Australia ahead of me but then I'm done. Once I start on this final leg, I will just be counting down until having to take responsibility for myself. I have some friends who are starting jobs and hearing what they deal with makes me very glad I'm not working. I've worked for the last 10 years (part-time and full-time) but I've definitely gotten used to this lifestyle of mine!

But I'm also soo excited about this part of the trip. I can't wait to eat amazing food, hike the vanishing gorges in China, see Mount Everest, scuba for the first time and just hang out at the beach. I'm a little nervous about the whole language barrier, especially since most people will just assume I can speak the language but I will just muddle through. I'm heading to Hong Kong first so hopefully, I'll be able to ease into the whole China thing.

I also bought the rest of my RTW ticket. RTW tickets make it affordable to travel but its a huge pain in the butt to book. I finally decided to just go with STA Travel especially since I have a fake ISIC card that's giving me some pretty great discounts. They have been so nice and helpful so I would recommend them to anyone trying to book a ticket. I bought my final ticket from Sydney and I'm coming home July 27th. That gives me plenty of time to readjust and get ready for school which starts mid-September.

Oh, and I just found out I got into my number 1 grad school!!! I'm very excited. Thrilled, in fact. Actually, kind of in shock. Yay!! Its located very close to my hometown so after 8 years, I'm finally coming home. My mom started to cry when she found out. And then my dad gave me 50 bucks as a reward. Sweet.