This is actually happening....

My name is Erin Wankier and I am from Salt Lake City. I go to Brigham Young University and I'm currently a sophomore. I'm nineteen and will turn twenty in October. (Definitely cannot wait to be out of the teen years...) I have been given the exciting opportunity to travel to the Holy Land in two days! Jerusalem will be my home for three and a half months where I will study the New and Old Testament and actually travel to the places that we learn about in our classes. Words cannot adequately describe how excited I am to embark on this adventure of a life time. I have been counting down the days until my departure since...well...April. Its gone from 75 days to 24 days to 2 days left so quickly. Actually the approximate time left from right now is... 1 day, 20 hours, 51 minutes and 50 seconds. Pretty much I haven't slept in a week because of my anticipation. My suitcase is currently sitting on my floor and I haven't even begun to pack. My clothes are in a huge pile on my floor as well as several other supplies. Actually putting these items in a suitcase is something I am successful dreading/trying to avoid...There is also another task I am dreading fully. For Jerusalem I am bringing my brothers Camel-back..and my mom keeps reminding me that I have to sanitize it....YUCK!! Maybe that will happen today...or maybe better yet I will beg my brother to do it :). Before today my departure still didn't feel quite real. People would ask about my study abroad and I would say, "Ya, I'm going to Jerusalem and I'm super excited!" But I never quite felt like it was real. To me it felt like some big joke and I was either going to die or just show up at BYU again because I really couldn't rap my mind around the fact that it was true. But last night we had a Pre-departure party where I got to meet a bunch of the people that I am going to be spending the next four months with. When Mikele and I arrived at the park and saw a small group sitting under a pavilion we both started freaking out. This was real, we are meeting people. Thousands of thoughts swam through my brain and I didn't even know what to expect. Mikele and I had a good freak-out moment and then quickly jumped out of the car before we could change our minds about walking over there. But we never should have been scared. Everyone was so kind, funny, outgoing and friendly. I know that I will love every moment that I spend with these people. They truly have the light of Christ in their lives and I know that all of them are going for the right reasons. I was sitting across the table from a boy that was staring around and then said, "Its real, this is really happening." I don't think he could have described my thoughts more clearly. This is happening. In less than 48 hours I will be boarding a plane to live in a foreign country. I couldn't feel more blessed or happy. I have prayed so long and hard about this experience and I feel as though I am ready to learn and let the Savior in to truly enrich and strengthen my life. To walk where he walked and study more deeply his words in such a sacred place is truly a dream come true. This experience will be truly incredible and I have no doubt in my mind that its where I am supposed to be going in my life. I will have to survive life without Cafe Rio and Oreos. I know that I will miss my family and friends but what I will gain from the experience will be worth everything else. So here it goes. I'm ready to go...well almost :).