Tomorrow!

It's 10:30 pm on Wednesday, September 8.  That means that tomorrow is Thursday, September 9.  I've been counting down, looking forward to, and waiting up for that particular date for almost a year, and tomorrow it finally arrives.  It's been on every piece of paperwork I've had from the wonderful people at the Institute for Study Abroad-Butler, and it's been on my mind every minute this summer.

My mind is full of things to come, straining to imagine the sight of the pyramids, the smell of 20 million people in a 100 degree fahrenheit city, the sound of the Cairo muezzins calling the faithful and the atheist bystanders to prayer five times a day.

My heart is full of my family, those people who love me who rode 4 hours on a motorcycle to see me off, and took the time to call and give me strength and courage and love, or sent me news to encourage me in my path, or helped me pack and kept me company with humor and kindness, and cooked me the most delicious and beloved food in the world, or stayed up late with me to read the wisdom in an old deck of cards.

My heart is full of my friends, scattered across the world, living with passion and creativity and courage wherever they are, enriching the worlds of those around them, as they have always enriched mine.

But tomorrow, I and everything I am will be in the air.

Salaam,
Helen