Last Night in Canada
It’s currently 7pm on Monday night and I’m finally ready to leave. Tomorrow’s the big day! Also someone named Mindy is doing something…. I dunno it’s not important (sorry Jorie).
For the longest time I’ve had impeccable luck with travel; (almost) never been stopped at security and never had a flight cancelled. Today my luck ran out. Air France pilots have gone on strike THIS WEEK protesting the airlines decision to use a low-cost carrier for some of their flights. As such, my flights have all been cancelled. Luckily my dad is super smart and managed to get us entirely rerouted. Instead of flying via Montreal and Paris, we are now on the 0600 flight to Chicago then an afternoon flight to Amsterdam getting in the next morning, followed by an afternoon flight to Madrid, then an evening flight to Casablanca and then a night flight to Rabat arriving at around 10pm. On the one hand, it means waking up at 4am to fly and being on 5 different planes for close to 2 full days, but on the other hand, it means more time to explore new airports and time for #internationalselfies!
In spite of all the delays, I’m still lucky I have everything together. My suitcase is almost entirely packed and my duffel bag is totally packed. On that front things are good. It’s weird, almost uncomfortable to look at my closet and see that it’s almost empty. In some ways it seems like I’m closing one chapter of my life and moving into a new one. It’s a lot like standing at the top of a high diving board and looking into the water. On the one hand, it’s scary to be looking down and knowing you’ll have to take the plunge, but on the other hand, it’s cold at the top of a diving board and the water will be warm. It’s all about having a little bit of faith that taking the plunge will be worthwhile and gratifying. Additionally, by taking the plunge the first time, every other time becomes easier.
This is how I feel about exchange. I’m worried about whether or not I’ll like Morocco or if I’m making the right choice. But the only way to know this is to take the plunge and get settled in Morocco. There really isn’t much that my worrying will do until I arrive.
My suitcase ready to go!
In the mean time, I have to say my final round of goodbyes. I know that tonight will be the last night in my bed and in this great country for at least nine months so I’m trying to make the most of it. A couple friends and family are coming over tonight to say goodbye which should be nice. In a lot of ways, this won’t be a goodbye; just an extended see you soon. It’ll be a long nine months without all my friends and family, especially not coming home for Christmas, but I’m excited and blessed to have this opportunity to travel the world and experience a unique society.
Over the next couple of days, I will have limited connectivity- it’ll differ based on the airports I’m in and how reliable the internet at the hotel for the first night is but I’ll try to post lots of pictures on Facebook for y'all to enjoy.
The next time I update this, I’ll truly be Rocking Rabat
Here’s a picture of stressed me:
