1 month til departure...

I CAN'T WAIT!

It's getting so hard to sit here and wait for the days to pass by.
It's a double edged sword...

I want to leave for Semester at Sea, but I feel the anxiousness setting in.
I want to meet new friends, but I'm going to miss the ones back home.
I want to hear the laughter of natives, but I'm afraid I won't understand their humor.
I want to try new foods, but I'm going to miss my moms cooking.
I want to see the world, but I haven't even been to California...
I want to experience new things, but will they meet my expectations?
I want to talk to natives, but will they accept my clearly American English?
I want to play with the children in all the countries, but will I be strong enough to leave them?
I want to smile at the elderly villagers, but will they smile back?
I want to learn everything I can, but I'm afraid that I won't absorb it all.
I want to be strong, but I'm afraid I may succomb to certain weaknesses.
I want to be a better person, but will this trip guide me in the right direction?
I want to feel emotions I've never felt before, but will I have the support system to help me through?

I want to head into this trip wondering who I will meet on this voyage that will have the most significant impact on me, what it is about America that I love and what it is about America that I would like to see change, where I will learn the most (both personally and on a larger scale), why different cultures act they way they do, how people survive in conditions that "we" see unfit, and when in history did Americans become so over engrossed in themselves that we began forgetting our own ancestors?

At the same time, I want to walk away from these 108 days abroad with a deeper understanding of who I am as a person, what my purpose in life is, where my life is going to lead me, why I have had the opportunities I've had, how I'm going to sort out the future, and when I will achieve all I've set out to achieve...