In Transit

August 1, 2010
about 3 AM
somewhere in the air over Japan

I’ve tried to sleep on as much of the flight as I could—broken up by cross-stitching, food, studying, and watching TV. Accio! Deathly Hallows is stuck in my head, again. Thank you, Sarah.
Friday went by in a blur of packing, unpacking, repacking, and goodbyes. I held it together until it finally came time for me to leave Mom, Mike, and Sarah at the security check point. I lost it a little. I’ve never gone so far away from home for so long before without knowing a single person I was going with. I feel like I’m going 6000 miles away and despite millions of people living in Taiwan I feel like I might be all by myself there. Since leaving them at security I’ve found two of mom’s notes hidden in my carryon bags and they keep making me smile.



I ran into a few of the other Fulbrighters jut before boarding the plane; they seem friendly. Some of them are going to Gaoshiung straight after we arrive in Taipei, some of them are in the Yilan group like me. The plane stopped in Anchorage to refuel about 3 in the morning local time, so my only impression of Alaska is dark and rainy. We deplaned and stretched our legs for a bit before getting back on. It gave me a chance to make phone calls.

I hope I got enough rest. I feel too alert to go back to sleep just now. It’s going to be a long, busy day and I hope what sleep I got is enough to sustain me. I’m going to try and keep my day to day thoughts alive in this notebook and get them up onto the blog as often as possible. Maybe I’ll even try to grab another hour of shuteye before we land.

The Letter Arrives

April 20, 2010
2:30 AM
Room 219 Thomas Hall

I can’t seem to stop smiling. I haven’t gotten much done today other than cooking, cleaning, and making phone calls. Judging by the responses I’ve gotten, it seems like I was the only one who didn’t think this thing was certain from the start.

I opened my mailbox about twelve hours ago and saw the letter from IIE. I ripped open the envelope before I even made it up the stairs. I gave in and opened it. I screamed a little I think. The next hour was a blur of phone calls and baking brownies, just to give my hands something to do. Besides, chocolate makes for a far better celebration than alcohol. I remember trying to explain the feeling to my brother—that my mind felt like it was going a mile a minute but wasn’t getting anywhere.

I needed to do something with all the energy. I started hauling things I had packed up out to the car. 3 weeks from today I move out and that day can’t come soon enough. I’m ready to be out of here. After knocking over the empty bookcase (again) I hauled it out to the curb. The rest of the evening passed in a blur of good food, a couple of friends, and phone calls.

I’m sitting here scrolling through my mental to-do list, still trying to really let this sink in.

Barring crazy misfortune…I’m going to Taiwan. The butterflies are still thundering away, but I feel a sense of relief.

For months I’ve been saying I want to fast forward the next six months, figuring it must be better there and then than here and now, but not knowing where there was. Now I know. Six months from now I’m going to be in Taiwan. I know it. I feel better. There are lots of unknowns left, but that’s one less at least.

Erin 欧依琳