Notes on Departure

Back during the spring my parents gave away our last miniature horse to our good family friends.

Did you know that we used to have a farm of miniature horses?  Probably not.  My parents used to breed horses and one of my sister's and I participated in horse showing.  I have all the trophies in my room still and last winter I purged a garbage bag full of my old ribbons, but at one point we had 20 minis!  When we moved we downsized to 6 and it's been on the downward slide ever since.  With my departure to college, I finally resigned and accepted that it would be best if we sold our last miniature, my show horse named Targetina (Tina for short).  We actually gave her away to some friends, because she's not in her prime for showing anymore and we know she'll have the proper amount of attention and love.

Last week we went to visit Tina at her new home.  Our friends live amongst fields of corn and cows, but they're in fact quite endowed with a lovely farm.  I don't know too many farmers, though the ones I do I truly admire.  They're very down to earth; they have a deeper compassion for the world to live in and people, creatures and land they care for.

She looks thrilled, right?
Oh, and don't call them ponies.  Different breed.

I'm sorry if this appears to be animal torture; I promise I only turned on the flash for a few shots.
I'll admit, I harbor some guilt for taking for granted my life with miniature horses.  But I also believe it's one of those things you should fully invest yourself in -- or not.  I believe this was the best choice for Tina and my family, because raising horses is a pretty expensive lifestyle.

Our friends also have a full-sized horse named Buddy, and a previous mini they bought from us named Comet.  And here a few more farm shots:

After that visit, we drove back to modernization because my mom was insistent upon purchasing an elegant outfit for my trip.  While I'm in France, my program director made reservations for an opera in Paris! Oh, what to wear.

Hopefully this is classy enough, and I figured the cocktail length will translate if I ever wore it at a school function.  Photos courtesy of my Pops :).

_________________________________________________

In other news, my friend Eamon was nonexistent in my life this summer because he decided to live in Philadelphia and work at his school.  Then he came back last week and had us over one night to celebrate his birthday.  It was so long since I had been at his house!  His mom chatted us up as she gardened and his dad made these delicious grilled and roasted ribs and homemade macaroni and cheese.  No pictures this time, but the amount of ribs I ate sufficed my meat intake for the rest of the month (I've been pseudo-vegetarian this summer :B).

And then, he left. 

He was home for 7 days.

Umm.. nice to see you, Eamon?
In spite of my sarcasm, I'm happy he's found life beyond our bubble.

_________________________________________________

And now I present :

How to Pack 4 Months of Your Life

in a 28 inch suitcase, a 16 inch carry on and backpack.

(without losing sanity or feeling naked and dreadfully unprepared) 

Demure, versatile, light-fabrics to accessorize with outrageous and pretty patterns.

Several dresses and tunics, because they pack easily and they you don't have to worry about bottoms.  I have a pack of tights, leggings and stockings coming with me.

Some "American" clothes (Adidas shorts and tye-dye and concert t-shirts to workout and be sweaty in),
shirts I won't mind re-wearing for 16(!) weeks,
3 sweaters that'll keep me warm at least through autumn,
my rings and XC/Senior necklace that I wear everyday,
3 pairs of jeans,
a pea coat (that's weighing down my suitcase), a lighter coat that can be layered beneath the pea coat and a blazer,
some tank tops,
and gifts for my 2 host families : travel guides about New York, local buckwheat flower honey, brass ornaments from my town and Reese's cups.  I hope they like peanut butter.

SO yes, my outfits will be redundant.  I honestly, really worked with the mindset of minimalism, but there still seems to be a lot of stuff.  I didn't post a picture of my shoes because I was still mulling over which ones to take and leave behind.  Guys have it easy, I needed (heh.. debatable) shoes that were appropriate for any possible scenario.  I'm bringing 6 pairs that include tall boots, short boots (those ones from my thrifting post that'll be my main go-to), moccasins (les Francais wear slippers in the house), sandals (for the shower and Africa), running trainers (you never know) and the heels that I wore in my dress photos.  I took out my ballet flats because those are one thing I plan on purchasing, yet I can't go day to day wearing those everywhere.. my feet aren't supported enough.

And this morning's grand weigh-in :
45 pounds for the suitcase

24 pounds for the carry-on

It could be worse!!!  The backpack will hold my laptop and important documents, so who knows.  I have to reduce some more weight from the carry-on because this Irish airline we're flying through have significantly lighter standards than the U.S. airlines.  Typical, right?  Our nation's rally of go big or go home, manifested in luggage limits.

In closing, I solemnly swear I will not be going on a hiatus because now I have friends and family relying on me to live vicariously!  I truly appreciate all of your well-wishes and I'll do my best to keep up with your posts, too.  My flight to JFK leaves tomorrow morning.  IT'S ALL HAPPENING.  

Listening: "You Are a Tourist" by Death Cab for Cutie

p.s. I hope my friends at school are all settled in comfortably and had a fantastic first day of classes.  It's really odd not returning to campus, but I'll be back before we know it.  I miss you all and wish you the best fall semester!