As per usual, I haven't started packing yet. It's Friday and our group leaves tomorrow at 2:30. But first, I need to panic. I must finish my grades and submit them, write out sub plans for next week, make sure the bank releases our travel funds, get the blog up and running (done, I can check 1 thing off my list), make sure I have passport copies, tickets, emergency info sheets, Kleenex and hand sanitizer, figure out my host gifts for my partners in Germany, feed my kid, write him a chore list, clean the house, attend some graduation parties, attend graduation...I could go on and on and on.
I work better under pressure. Give me a deadline and I will ignore it. I vow every year not to procrastinate about important things but here I am, T-minus 31 hours and I haven't done any of it (well, except the blog thing). I have to have that last-minute panic, so that I know everything will work out all right. But I have to wait just a few hours more. Right now I am strangely calm, waiting for my "Reisefieber" to kick in.
If you look up the definition of "Reisefieber" in a German dictionary, it states "travel nerves", "wanderlust", "travel bug". I am still waiting for all of those to arrive. Maybe it is because this is my third trip with students and in the back of my mind, I know everything will turn out fine. I have planned and planned, thought of all the possible scenarios and run through them over and over again. Each trip is a little different and there will be things that happen that are out of my control, but that is part of the experience, right? It might rain during our bike tour, we might miss a subway stop. I might leave my new copy of " Harry Potter und der Feuerkelch" in the seat pocket on the train again. But it is all part of learning and travelling and experiencing.
I know this trip will be a great one. I am calm and ready. Come by my classroom at 1:30 this afternoon and see if my "Reisefieber" has arrived yet. I hope so. This Frau is ready to roll. Right after I pack my suitcase.
See you tomorrow!
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