sagaciously is...

I'm so ready to leave, I can't even explain it to you....

So my study abroad pre-trip classes are over, and we have our itinerary.

Buenos Aires, Argentina - 7 days. 4 days we have commitments to company visits, visits to government headquarters and university visits. The other 2 days are dedicated to settling in, etc. And our professors surprised us with.....

Colonia, Uruguay - 1 day (optional). Apparently, Colonia is just across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires, so they're offering another play day, with a ferry ride to Colonia as well.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 7 days. Again, 4 days of company visits, government visits and university visits, with 2 free days, and one optional day.

Can I just say that, I've been so consumed with the logistics here at home (sitters for Hammy, sitters for the house, etc.) and at work (ensuring coverage, wrapping up my projects, etc.) that I haven't had time to think about it? Well, that and...

...well, sometimes when people throw salt in your game, it's hard to enjoy it, kna'mean? Nuff said.

But these last few classes for this study abroad trip, we finally got beyond the economics and history of Brazil and Argentina (which is interesting in and of itself) and started focusing more on it's current states of - development, globalization, economics, politics, etc. That's when it really started sinking in. I'm crossing the equator, thousands of miles, to two beautiful and completely unfamiliar locales, to a place where English is the second language, and American capitalism is considered imperialist. I'm SO open about this right now, because I get the feeling that this experience will teach me more about myself, than about the countries I'm visiting.

The word glee comes to mind.

Anyway, stay tuned...I have updates that previous students have shared about traveling safely, shopping, customs requirements, etc. The next 3 weeks are gonna be interesting.