So it's finally about to happen. In just a couple of days, I fly off to start my life in Germany for a year. A WHOLE FREAKING YEAR. It's starting to hit me how long a year really is.
A couple of tips for those who are planning to travel anytime soon:
1) Get space-saver bags. The ones that remove all the air from inside. Most of the ones I've seen at stores require a vacuum hose, but travel stores sell ones you just roll up to expel the air from. I seriously would not have been able to get everything into my suitcases without them. I have pictures for comparison that I'll put up later, but since I've already packed my camera...
That leads me to tip #2, though.
2) Check your airline to see what their limit is for checked luggage. After I packed my two suitcases, I checked my airline's rules for checked luggage. Turns out I'm only allowed one suitcase for free. OOPS. But there's no way I can get a full year's worth of stuff into one suitcase, so I'll pay the fee.
As for my last post: It has hit me, at least somewhat, that I won't be in America for a year. But I'm still not terribly emotional about it. There's still only really excitement and fear. Fear that I won't know anybody there. Excitement for meeting new people. Fear of not understanding what people are saying. Excitement for learning something new with such a steep learning curve. The excitement far outweighs the fear, though.
It's still a little mind-blowing when I think that, in just a couple of days, I'm going to wake up in Berlin.