I have wanted to travel all my life, and a semester abroad is something I have been thinking about since I knew it was a possibility.  I always expected it to be the adventure of a lifetime, and I’m sure it will be.  But as I get closer and closer to leaving home I am also realizing how much more work has to go into this adventure.  I’ve got about two weeks left and there is still so much I have to do, there is paperwork to fill out and things to arrange with my school, not to mention learning the metric system and packing!  And the closer I get to leaving the more I doubt myself.   I am not an outgoing person in general, and my shyness is the one thing I worry will get in the way of my experience.  I can’t remember why I thought it would be a good idea to go to a foreign country by myself for four months, or why I think I will be capable of making lifelong friends in that time span.  But with that said I also thought it was a good idea to start my freshman year of college all alone, one thousand miles from home and that didn’t turn out so bad.  I like new things and I am extremely excited to go to Ireland, and the next few weeks could not go by fast enough.  I can’t wait to experience a new culture on my own and not only as a tourist for a week, but to actually live there and get to know the people who do.  I don’t know much about Ireland and I think it is better that way.  I do not have unrealistic ideas of what to expect, because I don’t really have any ideas.  I can foresee this being a little bit of a problem, and I keep meaning to figure out how the transportation works over there so at least I won’t be lost all the time (seeing as how I kind of have a problem with that at home too), but at the same time I want to have the adventure and experience of figuring it out all at once.  As much as I don’t know about Ireland there are a few things I know I want to do while I am there.  I want to go to a castle, kiss the Blarney Stone, and touch a sheep, I realize these are not big goals to accomplish but I don’t want to have too many pre made plans because what I really want to do is experience what it is like to live in another country.  Everyone I know who has been to Ireland has had nothing but good things to say, and assured me that the Irish are a very friendly people.  I know I will need the next few weeks to get everything in order to leave, but I am more than ready for the planning part of this to be over and the doing part to start.