The Different

The first sentence is always the hardest to write. Thankfully for me, I can use cliches to do all the hard work while I sit back and write. But that's easier said than done. BOOM! Do you see what I did there? I employed another cliche to do all the heavy lifting. This writing thing's a piece of cake.
Not all that long ago, I would never have believed I would be soon starting a blog, but more remarkable than that is the reason for starting it in the first place. And the reason for this hitherto unforseen turn of events is that in exactly one week, I will be flying over the Atlantic Ocean en route to Zurich, Switzerland. I won't be staying there, however, but taking a train to the charming (well I haven't been there yet but I'm positive it's charming) town of Bellinzona, in the Italian part of Switzerland not far from the Italian border. And in case you were wondering, they speak Italian.
Once there, I will be staying with a family who owns a veterinary clinic and will be working as a veterinary assistant. As someone who has wanted to be a vet or zookeeper since they were little, this is an absolute dream come true. I keep picturing myself as a Swiss James Herriot and if you haven't read All Creatures Great and Small, go away right now and read it, and don't come back till you have.
Ok good. I'm glad you're back and we're now on the same page. Did you like it? I hope so. It's definitely on my top 10 list of favorite books of all time.
Right now, I'm focusing on graduation (happening on June 10th) but I've started to pack (well if you count starting as thinking vaguely in the back of your mind about what you might need for 5 weeks in a place you've never been). I've also begun rudimentary Italian, which, fortunately for me, so far seems similar to Spanish so hopefully I'll pick it up pretty quick.
It's strange how you hope and dream and wish for something to come true, and when it suddenly is staring you in the face, you don't believe its real. I feel like poor little David after the dentist. Is this real life? To which I can gleefully respond, "Yes. Yes it is."