30 days

{photo thanks to feaverish}

i can't really believe that i have one week of classes, then finals week, and then i'm no longer a sophomore. that is slightly ridiculous to me.

anyways, going back to more travel related things... i leave in 30 days. flying out june 29th and flying back august 21st. i can't believe i'm spending most of my summer in countries that i've been dreaming of for years.

i want to send postcards everywhere i go, to everyone i love. and paste some in my travel journal. i want to bring back tons of souvenirs for everyone, but i'm not sure that my single form of luggage (my backpack) will hold everything.

i guess i'll have to wait until i'm in germany and about to fly home. i can hardly imagine june 29th coming.. let alone coming back in august.

a lot of emotions and feelings are going into this summer.

oh! my ACL is still torn.. but i can walk better and my MRI is this thursday (which will probably just confirm that i need surgery which i'll postpone to next summer). but it hurts less, which is a plus... oh softball, what i sacrifice for thee.

just my luck

turns out i tore my ACL. i can barely walk without feeling like my knee is giving out. i may not be able to go after all.

40 days...

until i leave for europe.

i just got an updated itinerary and finished booking our athens hotel and am kind of surprised that it's only 40 more days. ridiculous. also, i sprained my knee on monday... which is unrelated. BUT, if i am not better by my trip i am going to be sad.

anyway, here is a list of places i will be going while with ucla:

athens

nauplion

sparta

olympia

delphi

thessaloniki

istanbul

mykonos

patmos

rhodes

santorini

... so anxiousscaredexcited.

people to miss {raine}

i love writing about people i know, and what they mean to me. since this is my travel blog, i'm going to call each of these entries "people to miss," because i will most certainly miss them when i can't see them all the time. this blog is about my niece, raine, and i think the best way to talk about her is to let her cuteness speak for itself.

these are all from hanging out this past saturday:

playing bubbles




hanging out in the backyard
and at the park
i love this baby with all of my heart.

Finally

So... I just booked my flight [finally].

This feels weird.

realizing

while i should be studying for my midterm that's in less than 2 hours,

let me pour my heart out.

i just started this blog recently, to have a way to share my travels this summer
and hopefully further into the future
but the more i write here, the further away i feel from home.

i feel like i've lost a few friends and lately it's just been
me, my words, and the photos i wish existed.
i'm thinking of greece this july, parts of europe in august,
and then being away again next winter in oxford.
and while it's really exciting to think about, i've been focusing more
on how much i'll miss my... everything.

david and i managed to survive going to different schools last year
but at least then we could visit on weekends.
there aren't really weekend visits when
you're on different continents, though.

i'm afraid i'll miss him more than anything.

list of happiness

i've been inspired to write this list because of this lovely blog, but decided to extend it a little because.. well i just couldn't resist.

1. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
2. stationary and writing letters
3. tulips and tea parties
4. the sound of my mother's sewing machine
5. finding the right words
6. being speechless
7. cooking with david
8. "dancing in the moonlight" - the song and the action
9. fall foliage
10. old couples holding hands
11. being in love
12. greek
13. jim and pam on the office
14. remembering how much my family loves me
15. and how much i love them
16. baking
17. perfectly imperfect photographs
18. being organized
19. allowing myself to be unorganized
20. the oakland a's
21. swings
22. chai tea lattes
23. rain[e]
24. getting things done
25. the fact that david's arms feel like home

summer hair

this is by far the shortest my hair has been in a good 7 year span. i'm sort of missing having long hair, but i figured i should chop off a lot in honor of my travels and the heat they will bring me to this summer.

More for the Future

Sooo... I just found out yesterday that I got accepted to go here:

Oxford! Which I essentially take as going here
(because this is where the movie was filmed):

Hogwarts here I come :)