T- 1 Month

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So, it's a little more then a month till I leave. I'm starting to take stock of what I have to do to prepare...

Visa? It's on it's way. The Turkish Embassy has my passport as I type, I'm sure diligently looking over my records and (hopefully) seeing that I'm not a threat to their country.
Packed yet? Absolutely not. I have no idea where to begin with packing. I'm still not sure if I'm studying in Prague for the Spring semester. I assume I'll figure it out when I get there.... one of the problems with this plan though is that I have no idea what type of stuff to pack. Istanbul is hot. Prague is cold. If I wind up staying in Istanbul then I'll just have lugged a bunch of heavy winter clothes across the planet for no reason. But if I don't bring any and go to Prague my only options that won't cost me money are begging for clothes or letting my body hair grow out, neither of which I really want to do. I guess I'll bring my usual summerware and a bunch of sweaters that I can layer. When my parents went to England they brought my UGGs over, so at least no matter what my feet will be warm.
Money?.... Not nearly as much as I'd like. I've worked, and will work this next month, but I really don't have much. It's my fault, I've been spending money on frivolous things.... but my justification for it is that I'm leaving the country for another year; I want to see my friends, many of which I haven't seen much of for the past two years. I want to be able to eat tasty food instead of the simple things, something I've done and will have to start doing again real soon. Yeah, my money situation abroad will be a lot more tight, but I was going to live on a small budget either way. I don't want to do the expensive touristy things anyways.
Not a very good justification, but it helps me sleep at night. I hope I can find an English tutoring job or something. Baby sitting? Dog walking? I'll basically take anything not too humiliating that pays at least enough to get there and back.


What else is there? .... I know I'm forgetting something...

Well, it's been pretty cool in Kingston. I've just been relaxing, working, and seeing friends. I haven't seen as many people as I'd like to, but I still have a month. Hopefully I can fit them in somewhere.
It still doesn't feel like I'm leaving. I'm talking about it and people ask me about it a lot, but it hasn't sunk in. I'm trying to imagine my surroundings in a month. I'll be in England by then. In two Istanbul. In six I don't even know. It's fun to have the world open to me. It's invigorating to be able to decide what culture I'd like to immerse myself in for a moment. At the same time I'm pretty scared... if things don't work out I won't have anyone around me that knows me and can help me. There's a very big possibility that no one will be able to understand me where I go.
I have to brush up on my miming skills.
I can't wait for that feeling though, that anticipation you feel when you have no idea what you're getting yourself into. People keep asking me about Turkey, they think it's funny that I don't know. Didn't I do my research? But I like not having any preconceived notions. I want to learn from the source. I can read whatever and form my expectations and beliefs based on the facts and opinions of other people, or I can go as a clean slate and just see what happens. To me it seems like a no-brainer. I guess going would be a bit less scary if I knew all about their customs and their values system, but I'm not going there to be comfortable. I'm going for that thrill.
But one thing I am keeping an eye on is Syria. As much as I feel like that I don't want to die. Thankfully Syria is to the east and I'll be in the west. Sure, I am close. But being American I have the luxury of being an ocean away from any major threat. I've haven't felt any international danger while being home, ignoring 9/11. It's good to experience that fear some people have day to day, and you can't do that unless you join them.
Also, Syria isn't going to bomb Turkey or anything. It has enough of it's own problems.

No matter how tense things are in Turkey about this Syrian revolt I'm sure it'll be a bit more mellow then Israel during the flotilla fiasco, and I got through that.
So, no worries.

I'm sure that by the next time I update this blog things will be concrete. Heck, I might have already started moving.

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