to mark maps, to shop for next semester, to pack everything I'll need in the next three months.
to say goodbyes.
until I get on a plane headed for Tel Aviv.
Yikes. I don't know what I'm getting myself into. But I'm getting excited.
The emails from JUC are getting more frequent as the semester gets closer. Yesterday I got an email with the schedule for orientation weekend. It made me feel like I was a freshman all over again. I love it.
A photo scavenger hunt of Jerusalem? Bring it on.
The last photo scavenger hunt I did was of Oak Ridge, NC when I was in high school. (I'm pretty sure I was with Jon T., Katherine Medlin, Kyle, maybe Tyler? and I don't know who else, but on our way back to the church we recorded ourselves singing "We are the Champions," and then ended up being smoked by the other teams... We also drove all the way to the elementary school to get a picture on a playground, completely forgetting that there is a playground in the backyard of the church we started at. Oops. Good times.) Hardly the same.
Anyways, JUC sent me some maps at the beginning of the summer. They also sent a 98-page workbook with instructions on readings from the Bible with corresponding map-markings that I am supposed to complete before I arrive. And if you know me, you also know that I haven't started yet. But, like always, I plan on starting today. :)
Preparation for this trip is making me depressed that I won't be going to Taylor. That I won't be seeing my friends in two weeks. That I won't be living with them and doing all of the fun Taylor (and 1st West) traditions at the beginning of the year. That I won't see Airband. That I won't be with family for Thanksgiving.
But I've also really enjoyed preparing for this trip. The anticipation is part of the fun. Sure, I'll miss all of the great things at Taylor in the Fall, but I know that great things are in store for me in Israel.
I can't wait to meet all new people and see all new (actually, very old) places, and have completely new experiences.
I'll be sure to carry a camera to those big events and traditions for you. That first "paragraph" has a bit of a Rob Bellian quality to it, by the way.
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