We're nearly there!

It's packing time! And boy, am I doing a lot of it.

I've sorted out the essentials: warm clothes (which will NOT be warm enough, I'll have to buy warmer stuff when I get there), snow appropriate boots, some bed linens and a pillow (since that isn't provided by the university housing), hats, scarves, my faithful gloves, plenty of warm, fluffy pajamas. The non-essentials (at least, not essential to my survival) have all been taken care of, too: the macbook, complete with adapters for any country I might find myself in, a Europe-compatible cell phone that I didn't ask for but my father thought would be necessary anyway, my sketch and drawing notebooks, my inking pens and my pencils. I'm still going through which few books I plan to take with me, and this is proving to be the hardest part of the process. There is so much I want to take with me, but so much of it would just be superfluous and provide extra clutter. Oh yes--the camera. Food tends to be something I don't pack to take with me, but I think taking some of my preferred teas along with me might stave off the inevitable homesickness that is bound to creep up on me when I'm least expecting it. So I'm including two of my favorite (and most sturdy) mugs, an equally sturdy teapot, and the chai I bought at India Festival this summer.

My carry-on luggage will consist of: the macbook, the sketchbook and pencils/pens, Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman, the blackberry, the passport, the wallet with necessary picture I.D., dollars, pounds and kroner. I thought about packing my DS Lite but have since decided that it might be better to just scrap bringing it altogether. I rarely if ever play it here, so what makes me think I'm going to play it in Norway, especially when I'll have a foreign country to explore? Then again, I did buy that frigging thing to use it, grumble grumble grumble whatever I don't need more video games. *grump*

Still left to do: contact my bank to remind them that I'll be in England for most of this week, then Norway by the weekend. I expect I won't ask them to recognize any other Scandinavian or mainland European countries just yet, since I don't know when/if I'll be in Sweden or Denmark. That entirely depends on how comfortable I feel traveling, and how soon.

Additionally, some of you know I am a (somewhat irregular) patron of the Church of the Nativity, Episcopal here in Huntsville. I'm relieved to say that I've found myself a new Anglican/Episcopal home for the duration of my stay in Oslo in St. Edmund's Anglican Church. I really like the sound of this place, not only because services are conducted in English, but also because the youth organization seems geared towards addressing the needs of international students. I think getting involved in St. Edmund's will be a good way for me to established a non-school community for myself while I'm in Oslo--and going to church always makes me feel better, so! :)

I've said most of my goodbyes to friends and family alike; Mum, her fiancee and I went to see Sherlock Holmes tonight and then dropped by Barnes & Noble afterwards for coffee/tea. I visited my grandmother, who has been in hospital since October, and was relieved to see that she is not only doing much better, but is going to be moved to a physical therapy center in Madison come Tuesday after she receives dialysis. So, the long and the short of it is, the new year is getting off to a grand start, and I feel confident about my departure.

I don't intend to update this journal any more while I'm here in the states. The next time you'll hear from me will be from South England as I kill some time with my relatives. As of January 9th, however, my adventure really begins.