Day 0

I must have traveled to and from Walmart 10 times in the past week, among various other sell-everything department stores, in search of that one last item I forgot to pack. After a last minute freak out over broken camera lenses and government regulation papers (I still don't know...), I am proud to say: I have finally finished packing. I managed to cram too many things into the bulging hold all I plan to lug along with me at 2 am tomorrow when we set off to JFK  (so in less than 4 hours - ahh!!). So after all that running around and freaking out, I'm exhausted. Good night!

Packing: Madness to Manageable

 Before

After :) happy day

the REAL Day -1

So its come to my attention that I can't count. Luckily, I don't plan to pursue my math skills in college so we don't have to worry too much. AKA If Im leaving Friday, making that Day 1, thursday is 0 and today is -1. Let's just say math isn't my strong suit. Moving on...

After a completely non-GLA- productive day what so ever, I have 24 hours to gather the last of my needed supplies before I leave!! AHH. The main issue is my camera whose 2 lenses are bust. Gotta figure that out soon. No other news really - the fun will begin in less than 36 hours. So exciteddddddd

Day -1

I'm not sure if you can have negative days, but today's mine. I leave for the Dominican Republic in just two days (day 1), so counting back this must be day numero 1. Negative-ized. Anyway.

My next three weeks all began with Facebook (doesn't it all?) when I saw an ad promising the adventures of 'teen peace corps' on my side bar. Displaying a picture of a cute 'GLA' boy giving a piggy back to an even cuter 'DR' boy, I clicked, read and almost instantly fell in love. I've been wanting to go out and experience other countries, other cultures minus the parents for a while now, and it seemed like Global Leadership Adventures would provide me the perfect opportunity. After narrowing my choices to Galapagos, Tanzania, Ghana, Costa Rica and Dominican Republic (real narrow, I know), I finally decided between Costa Rica and the DR, where I will be spending the next twenty one days of my summer, starting this Friday, June 29th 2012.

After applying, being accepted and filling out many a form, school work and life seemed to drown out the idea of my GLA program. When my strenuous junior year finished (FINALLY), I had but 14 days until this journey. I remember what seemed like last week when I was typing into the Facebook group we have "only 8 weeks guys! Cant wait!!", and now it's but two days away!

As of Day -1, I am almost all packed, very excited, a little lot nervous and completely unexpecting of what my experience for the next 3 weeks will hold. I'm creating this blog to document what goes on during this trip, I guess. When researching the organization, it seemed few people had publicized their journals and experiences through blogs, for all but one GLA-er , who's blog makes me more excited every time I visit it (http://leahfoundintranslation.wordpress.com/). I want to provide the same excitement and information to future GLA-ers, and give my friends and relatives a rough idea of what's happening while Im over there (hopefully day by day, as the blog title suggests)  but I guess its also for me to look back on when Im old and wrinkly (if they still have the internet way up then) and remenisque..? I'm not sure, but I know that whatever its for, it should be filled with interesting stories and memories from the next few weeks.

And so,  the countdown begins.