So I suppose that I have been pretty slack with this whole blog thing. To be truthful the concept scares me. I mean I understand it, you write, people read. A way to let the world know what’s going on in your life. To allow others a window into your existence, or in my case, a way to let those back home keep up to date with what’s going on here in America. There aren’t any real rules I gather. I can write what I want. People can read into it what they want. It’s all rather subjective. But I was just thinking, one of those early morning thoughts when you should really be asleep. Where to start? This whole new journey thing should have a clear beginning. It is in chronological order I mean, from when I hopped on the plane, to when I got off it is the only real grey area. But does that mean I catch you up to speed on what I have been doing for the last 2 weeks and 4 days? Or do I just start from now, 4.45AM on my 19^th day here? And then I got to thinking about defining moments.

Does anyone actually know when a defining moment is in their life, or is it only in hindsight that we understand that was when everything changed. The moment my journey began. Because I have had many moments. The day I found out about my scholarship. The day I booked my ticket. The day I got on the plane. Said goodbye to everything that I know and everyone that I love to take an adventure to the other side of the world. And everything that I have experienced from that point onwards?

How do I catch up you, the readers, on my life up until this point. Give you a real understanding on what it is I am doing here, how I got here? And why? So I’m going to skip all that. If you don’t know already I suppose you will figure it out. Or catch up along the way.

So here I am writing my first blog, 19 days late, in my apartment room. I should probably be writing that paper for English that is due on Tuesday, or doing some sort of study. I have assimilated to the college student lifestyle and all the procrastination that goes along with it quite fine. So this is it… and I don’t really have much to say. I have photos up around my room of everyone back home. Random assortments of foreign candies litter my desk. Accompanied by my text books and a bunch of note books, a calendar full of dates assignments are due. A Clayton State athletic hand book full of forms I should be filling out. An ipod playing music I listen to every day. Two bears with the last written words from the people back home, sorted into two groups; friends and family. On my wall I have a table with the times in the different time zones; at 12am here its 4pm back home. So right now it’s 9pm there. This is it. Home for the next five months, and periodically over the next 4-5 years. Subjective to my performance both in classes and on the soccer field.

That’s all I have for now.
Much love and a pound of strawberry artificially flavored twists.
- Stef