Off to China

Atlanta decided to send me off with warm weather, foggy skies, and lots of traffic. The next I will see my home town, two seasons will have passed, the Super Bowl will have occurred (let's hope with the Falcons), three major holidays will have gone by, and I will be fluent in Chinese. That's a lot to occur and a lot to comprehend.

It still feels unreal that I will be spending a semester in China, a country I have long loved and been fascinated with. Ever since fifth grade I've known that I want to speak Chinese and I have been lucky enough to have such early exposure to the language, and to have had opportunities to study in China. I spent a month in China during high school, to test the waters one could say. And test them I did. Upon arriving back in the U.S. after that month, my fascination wasn't quenched but ignited. I knew after that I would spend a semester studying the language in China.

But everyone says that. The idea of studying abroad is amazing and fascinating and goals. But actually following through? Stressful. Nerve racking. And to be honest? Still doesn't feel real.
I am going to try and update this blog weekly, hopefully more often. Some of the posts might be long. Some of the posts might be very short. Some will be more composed, some I won't even reread. Some might be all photos, some might have none. But I can guarantee they will all be about my time travelling. (And let's be honest, most will be about food).

I would like to have a little shout-out time. Shout out to my parents for putting up with my crazy fascination with China and being totally supportive of my desire to constantly go across the world. Thanks to my grandparents for keeping me grounded and always giving me advice and believing in me. Thanks to my sister for listening to me ramble about China every possible moment I have. Thanks to my friends for sticking with me and not hating me for leaving for an entire semester. Thanks to my dogs for putting up with my last minute smothers. And thanks to the people at the Atlanta Airport for not judging me as I cry writing this.

See you in China!