TTFN-TaTaForNow Saint Louis
My hiatus from tumblr was much enjoyed as I drank, studied, cherished, and mainly cried my way through the end of my spring semester at Northeastern University. Alas I am still an official student as I am taking part in a summer study abroad in Lusaka, Zambia. Which leads me to my leaving!
It is the night before I leave, a feeling that is probably too common and has made me a bit numb to it all, but will always be bittersweet. I have a routine... make sure the Bubz is snuggled up next to me - have a glass of chocolate milk - and I watch an episode of my favorite show in bed. (this time it is the latest episode of Game of Thrones)
Tomorrow I am off to a bunch of different places, but first will touch down in Italy to spend a relaxing few weeks in Italy with my parents, younger brother, and our best family friends. Next week D will be joining us, and as one would expect I can’t wait to see him! Following a small Italian Get-a-away, the family and friends will return to the Lou while he and I get the keys to our first home together! After 5 years of being in a long distance relationship and having to always count down the months in between seeing each other, this is the best thing in the world and I am so lucky we have both worked so hard to be able to make this finally happen for us.
The post move in plan will be to get some Scuba diving in before I leave for my study abroad in Zambia! We will most likely go to Portofino where 1/3 Christ of the Abyss are and is a must see in divers world! (especially because I was lucky enough to already checked off #2 of 3 in Key Largo florida this past spring break). All settled in and scuba-ed out i will re-pack a bag and head off to what i hope will be the greatest adventure I have ever taken so far.
I have high hopes for how much I am going to fall in love with this part of the world...I have written a lot before about happiness and the pursuit of it. And I must admit that those two ideals are lost in my modern western world (where money and superficial items usually trump experiences and raw feeling) but exposing myself to the purest forms of happiness, joy, and life while I am in Zambia will change my heart and soul. (or at least I hope it does) I am so lucky to have grown up in a world where I never had to worry about my next meal, a roof over my head, my education, or having to be a parent because I didn’t have any. I know that I can not make all the bad in the world go away, I know that I can’t change it all, but if I can have some long term effect on some more than deserving children’s lives during my time there it is worth every drop of sweat, every hour of every long plane ride, every moment of missing home, and every dollar that could never ever ever be spent in any better of a way. I really hope to leave Zambia with a new love and look out on the world. I’m ready to embrace the changes, I’m ready to work, I’m ready to learn, I’m ready to live.