In 50 days I begin a new...

I realized today, that in 50 days, I will be walking down the streets of Dublin for the first time. This realization is exciting, scary, and oh so close.

The Backstory:
I'm going to be cheesy here and explain everything to all who stumble across this blog. Truth be told, it will most likely only be my friends and family. But, I know that someone else who likes to research (like me) will probably read these words at some point. So here we go.

My name is Melissa, I am 18, and I am from a small city with an even smaller town feel in Alberta, Canada. I have lived in the same house all of my life, my parents are still together, and I believe I have been brought up to be a strong, independant individual. I graduated high school in 2008, and have been working, just waiting. Waiting for Ireland. I have been planning the trip of a lifetime for four years, and now that its almost here I am a bundle of nerves. I have no idea what to expect. But it will be great. I know it. I can feel it.

The Plan:

I leave on May 21st, 2009, and fly to Minneapolis to visit my best bud for life, E, who is going to school there. I leave there on May 25th, fly overnight to Amsterdam, run around an airport I don't know, and hope I don't miss my connection to Dublin. What does this mean? I leave the life I know in 45 days, and will be walking the streets of Dublin in 50 days.

Time Left:

There are many ways to look at the time I have left;

1.47 months

6.29 weeks
44 days
1071 hours
64315 minutes
3858929 seconds

I call it soon! It just kind of crept up on me. But I'm going to make the best of the time i have left, and try not to freak out too much.

How I'm doing it:

I am using a program called SWAP (http://www.swap.ca/) to help me get my Visas. I am going on what they call the Brit-Ireland swap on a holiday makers visa. This means I am able to work in Ireland for one year, and Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) for two years.

I am lucky enough to have my friends and family behind me on this one, because I don't know if I would have the courage to go to another country by myself, let alone for almost two years. I will miss my home, my life, my friends, but this is something that I can feel in my bones. This is where I am supposed to go, and what I am supposed to do. Any further than that and I am stumped, but after I get myself to Dublin, I'm sure that I will figure it all out.