My last day in Chicago was spent packing (obviously), running a few last minute errands, to Joann Fabric to hem my new maxi dress that is (obviously) too long for me and my favorite part, sitting in the sun by the pool with my roomie! :) I managed to get a little sun before I left for Eastern Europe - hopefully wont be the last sun I get this summer! Last night K and I met D & L for dinner (us)/drinks (them) at our fav little Mexican/Caribbean restaurant in Lincoln Park - followed by froyo and dodging the hurricane that came up with K's cousin - a world traveler herself, she was totally excited for me, which made my sadness disappear for a few mintues... Didn't get to "sleep" until midnight but of course... couldn't sleep. Had butterflies in my stomach all night.
Woke up at 3:30am and left for O'Hare at 4:45am. Thought for sure that there wouldn't be many people traveling that early in the morning. HA! Had legitimate nerves that I would miss my flight to New York but after a little maneuvering between the check-area, removing 3lbs from my "overweight bag" (what do you want from me, I'm going to be in Russia for 6 weeks!) and subtle cutting in line, I made it safe and sound to JFK on time. Unfortunately I don't have the time or energy to make it outside the airport, so my time in the city that never sleeps is confined to the lovely Delta Terminal in Queens.
I think that there are other volunteers on my flight (if I understood my conference call correctly) the entire ROTC group will be on my flight. Which would actually alleviate my concern of not finding my group at the Moscow airport. I'll just follow the group of 15 army cadets... we won't stand out at all.
I was able to sleep on my flight to JFK - at least I think I slept. It was one of those sleeps where you can still hear people talking and sort of go in and out of being awake. Needless to say, not the best sleep I ever had. Although my eye mask is turning out to be a great purchase; I try not to think about what I look like with a bright pink eye mask on, bundled in my North Face fleece (SUCH a good idea to take on board!). My grand plan is to take a "sleeping pill" (aka Nyquill) to put me to sleep on the flight to Russia. The flying time is 9hrs and 55min and if I don't get some sleep on the plane, I'll be messed up for days to come. (Learned from my mistake of falling right to sleep at noon when I arrived in London a few years ago...didn't get on a regular sleep schedule for about a week!). I should be picked up from the airport around 11am and then driven (for 5 hrs) to Yaroslavl.. orientation around the town on Monday and then work starts on Tuesday!! Sleep is essential but right now my eyes are stinging because they're so tired, so falling asleep hopefully won't be an issue.
I've been trying to make my last minute calls to friends and family...however at this time, very few of you are answering. Hello!!!?? Have to admit that the websites that I "had to check" in my last few hours in America included Facebook (obviously), People and US Weekly. Don't judge, I have to get my gossip in before I depart :) (I am planning on checking CNN, MSN and the Wall Street Journal before I get on the plane ;)
Wish I could post a pic of anything interesting I've seen in New York but unfortunately, no dice. Maybe I'll walk around a little bit ... see if I see anything blog-pic worthy.
Will try to post again before I get on the plane... it's 1pm here and I'm thinking I should probably get my last little taste of American food before I start my diet of borscht, potatoes, goulash and beets. (anyone who knows me will expect me to return at least 5 lbs lighter as none of those items are part of my diet. But I guess the Russians didn't survive those harsh winters on grapes and yogurt alone...
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