December 18th, 2010- 10 Days Before the Trip

Before I get started I just want to let anyone who views my blog to know that any and all comments are welcome and I love ideas and tips about anything and everything!  

3:46pm Pacific Standard Time

Seattle, Wa

Hello everyone! Pre-Departure update:

     Feeling a bit nervous about leaving the U.S. in ten days! Still have so many things to get and still can't believe I'm actually studying abroad in Athens, Greece my freshman year in college!! So crazy! 

     Some of the things I'm worried about are that I'm leaving my Sigma Kappa sisters so soon after just starting to get to know them and feeling at home in our house. We always have so much fun together, even if we're just sitting in our rooms doing homework or going to the library together, but I hope to return with tons of stories to tell and to pick up exactly where we left off. 

     Fall quarter here at the UW got off to a slow start for me. I went to all of my classes, came home, studied, talked with my friends, watched movies, all of that, but I never really got into campus life or the myriad of opportunities that UW had to offer. I suppose that's another one of the reasons I'm a little shaky about going to Greece my freshman year. I have so many plans about how to better myself and how to get involved in the university community that I feel this trip might put a halt on all of these improvements. In high school I was always busy, busy, busy, running, running, running, and now I feel like I have so much extra time. I don't do well with extra time and I like to go to bed knowing that I used my day to the fullest, so just leaving the country without the opportunity to immerse myself in campus life is a little disheartening, but I'm sure that as soon as I get to Athens all of my worries will be erased.

     Yesterday, at the encouragement of Professor Panagiotides, I purchased a Communicating in Greek textbook, CD, and two workbooks so that when I return from Greece and start Spring Quarter at the University of Washington I can (hopefully) test into Greek 113 (the 3rd sequence of the language). This is important to me not only because I want to come back knowing as much about Greek culture and language as possible, but also because my major and degree require me to have 2 years of a foreign language. This will be a challenge for me, because I don't pick up foreign languages very easily and I will be learning two quarters worth of a college foreign language in one quarter with no instructor. But I love challenges like these and if I succeed I'll feel even more accomplished!

Worried and excited, 

Susie Dobkins