Back in Steeltown (for a bit)

Despite the fact that I've been doing a lot to get ready for my trip lately, I haven't written in over a week. There is a very good reason for this.

Starting the day after my last post (August 28th) I started a 4 day string of having to say goodbye to pretty much everyone who was a daily part of my life at the time. It was a very emotionally exhausting few days and as each successive goodbye happened, it was harder and harder to handle (though I think the first and the last goodbyes were actually the hardest). Following that I flew halfway around the world (literally right after the last goodbye at a boarding gate in a Tokyo airport) and I was obviously a little physically tired.

The last few days have been spent trying to recuperate from both of those shocks and slowly but surely I started to feel much better. The task at hand right now is to complete all the final preparations for Tanzania (and the rest of my travels). In the coming days or weeks look for posts about: 1) Language learning (I've been busy this past week), 2) Buying supplies (the excitement, boredom and stress of shopping), 3) Trip planning (maybe). My departure day keeps getting closer and closer (20 days now!) and it's starting to feel a bit more real than it did when I was back in Seoul (which I miss very much right now - but I already did a sappy entry last time).

For those of you in Canada (or the U.S.) enjoy Labour Day today (and have fun in school tomorrow :D).

Note: For those of you who aren't familiar with Southern Ontario, the term "Steeltown" refers to Hamilton (my hometown) which is famously known for it's steel mills.