Adieu

Tonight is my last night in the U.S. for the next 6 weeks.
This time tomorrow I'll be on a plane for England, then on Thursday I'll be headed to South Africa.
None of these things are a surprise... so then why does it sound so weird?
Perhaps because I'm still not completely finished packing yet. Oh, I've got all the items I'll need (and probably a few things I don't) for my time in England and Africa... but they still are all in piles next to the bags in which they will soon be packed.
Maybe it's because I haven't really said goodbye to anyone yet. I've received a few phone calls from family members telling me to take lots of pictures and wishing me luck, but the only person I've hugged goodbye was my older brother... and it seemed more like a hug goodbye that you would give to someone you had lunch plans with tomorrow then someone whom you wouldn't see for quite a long period of time. Hmm.
I would have loved to have seen everyone before leaving; but most around MD are still in classes, those from JMU are scattered all over the coast, and family members have their jobs and busy lives. So instead, this is my goodbye for those who may happen upon this page. I will miss you all, the list is too long to type but if you find yourself reading this (and many more who I'm pretty sure won't) then count yourself as sorely missed.
Hopefully upon my return I can talk the fam into having a little party over here at the house - but who knows. Regardless, I will take a ton of pictures and regale you with stories of my adventures abroad. That is, actually, what this lovely little piece of the internet is for... yet its usefulness is in question. You see, there are two possible sites that I can go to for my expedition in S.A. - one has internet and electricity, and the other does not.
I don't know which one I will be assigned to until I (and the other team members) arrive at the base camp, and so I really have no idea if I'll be able to keep this up or not.
If I cannot get any internet access then I will still chronicle my stay in Africa in a journal that I am bringing along and probably just update this whenever I return to the states. I have no control over which site I'm placed at so there is no sense in worrying about it now. Just know if you don't hear from me for a while, I'm probably enjoying the escape from the teathers of email and facebook... no matter how overloaded my inbox may be on my return. Yet, feel free to leave messages to remind me of home and you... I'll love reading them whenever I am able and will write back to any question in the next post.
Well I suppose I should get back to the piles which still need to be packed.
Goodbye and I will miss you dearly.
All my love,
~Mia