And I'm Off!

So, as I write this I am lying on my bed in my hotel room in New York City. Yeah, you heard that right...New York City. I have now officially began my foreign exchange to Italy. Cool, huh?! :) Today has been such a hectic and exhausting day. I haven't had a day like this in so long. Not since...last summer actually. Technically, it all kind of began yesterday, so I will start there.
Yesterday, I barely had anything packed. I had most of my clothes but it is so much more than that. You need your bathroom supplies, your host family gifts, and all the other stuff that you want to take. As a result, I was actually packing the entire day yesterday. Believe me, it was not the ideal last day with my family. I had to pack though. My grandparents showed up on Sunday, so it became a bit more distracting. Anyway, the reason that it took all day was because we were continuously interrupted and we just had trouble focusing. By we, I mean my mom and I. She helped me to pack. By the way, thank you for that mom. :) So, after I had finished packing, it was about six in the evening. Six in the evening! I had like zero time with my family. I finished everything up, had dinner (salad and popcorn; some of my favorites), and then watched Gilmore Girls with my mom and brothers. Because it was my last day, it ended up being my whole family plus my grandparents. Gilmore Girls is my favorite show because my mom and I literally have the exact same relationship that the two main characters, a mother and a daughter, share. Anyway, by the time that finished it was 10 PM or somewhere around there. Then, it was time to sleep. That didn't work to well. I started sobbing. Complete debilitating sobs. My mom and I talked and I felt somewhat better. I managed to turn out the lights and relax by about 11 PM. Surprise!!! Three hours later, at 2 AM, my mother comes into my room and wakes me up. It was time to get ready to go. I didn't start crying then. I was just trying to focus on getting out the door. We managed to do that and we drove away at 3. Almost the entire way to Portland, I was crying. In my head, I kept repeating "What in the world was I thinking doing this?" I was experiencing literal physical pain. My brother fell asleep on me and that is when I really lost it. I love him so much and it was so hard to leave him.
At the airport, we breezed through checking my bag and got ourselves into the line for security. My dad left so he could go find me something that I had forgotten. The security line went so fast that before I knew it I was at the front of the line with security people telling family members to leave the line. I freaked out then. Mind you, this whole time, I am crying or about to start crying. We eventually just got out of line and walked back to the end where my dad met us. I literally had to say my goodbyes right then, the line was moving that fast. It was so hard!! Security was easy and I went to my gate and waited. It didn't take long before the boarded the plane.
On the plane, I slept and woke up and slept and woke up. Looking out the window was great. The only things that I remember were flying over Lake Michigan, flying over Lake Erie, and flying over Manhattan Island. It was great seeing Manhattan from the air. I could see all of the major buildings plus Brooklyn Bridge. I managed to get my bag, follow the directions from AFS on how to get to my hotel, and here I am. When I checked in, they gave me a fresh chocolate chip cookie (HUGE!), an apple, and a granola bar. It is really a very nice hotel.
I am feeling a lot better about leaving my family. I know that my relationships with my family members will not change while I am gone. It was also insanely empowering to come here to New York by myself and find my way to my hotel, in New York by myself. I actually feel great right now! I am so excited!!! When I left my room to break a $10 bill, the staff sort of automatically knew that I was here for AFS. I really liked that because then they weren't questioning why a 16 year old girl is in a hotel in New York by herself.
Tomorrow, I will check out at the latest possible time and meet up with AFS people. Then, we will have our orientation, stay one more night, and then leave on Thursday. So, Italy is coming up really very quickly

Ciao!!
Rebecca