So I threw out nearly all my plants. Nearly. I was about to throw out the two succulents I had grown from seed and just couldn't do it. The little plants had survived for over a year, and I had brought them up from seed. So now I'm leaving two plants for my room-mate to take care of.
All official parties have been informed of my leaving. My subletting papers are in order and my bank contacted for a travel note. My room is all packed up, my entire existence here fairly neatly fitting into three boxes. My suitcases are all packed too, with even so extra room for more stuff to be added later.
In the spirit of classic Arctic expedition records, I have compiled an inventory list:
1 winter jacket
1 pair of over-mittens
1 blanket
1 pair of plastic indoor slippers
2 zip-up sweatshirts
1 button up shirt
1 nylon windbreaker
1 polyurethane jacket
1 fleece vest
1 hawaiian print T-shirt
sweatpants
sun-lamp
2 pairs of jeans
swimsuit
swim shirt
3 scarves
fleece pajama pants
leather gloves
fur hat
balaklava
7 long sleeve shirts
2 T-shirts
3 thermal undershirts
3 thermal underpants
4 pairs of socks
spices
electronic chargers
school supplies
thermos
Things I need to add:
compass
ski goggles
more thermal underwear
more socks
new under-gloves power converters
Am I prepared in other ways? I don't speak much Norwegian, and the few things I've learned I've mostly forgotten. Learning Norwegian fell by the wayside as the summer progressed. Not to say that I've completed many of the other projects I've set up for myself. My comic is barely started, graduate school applications have not been started, and whatever ideas of becoming physically fitter over the summer have evaporated in the heat. Yet I did sieve hundreds of lake samples in the geophysical sciences building, and my "To-Do List for Svalbard" has had most of its items crossed off. The only remaining ones are "Talk to Recommenders", "Learn Norwegian" and "Write In-Case-of-Death Letters." I'm not sure if I'll get around to doing that last item. The more I read about Svalbard and the UNIS program, the less worried I am about being in mortal danger. Something could of course happen, but there seems to only a few circumstances that I am still worried about.
Emotionally, I'm probably about as prepared as I could be. I've been trying to fill my last weeks in Chicago with fun, friends, and warmth, and I'm definitely looking forward to spending a few days with my family. My final days with my boyfriend Freddy have been a bit melancholic for me, despite having had an incredible time exploring Chicago and spending as much time as I could with him. I've felt myself tearing up at the stupidest provocation. I want every experience in these last days preserved in heightened detail. For the most part, though, I've been dry-eyed and upbeat. Five months isn't the insurmountable time-span that I once thought, and with modern communication, I can keep in contact with everyone in the US everyday. Still, I worry about all the experiences that I will miss out on due to not being here.
The UNIS program's start looms ever closer. I will be one of two Americans in my class and one of four boys in a class of twenty. I must admit I'm very surprised at the gender make-up. It will likely be good, fewer macho-men trying to one-up each other with stupid stunts! Still it's going to be strange to be surrounded by Norwegians, Danes, Swedes, Austrians, and other northern Europeans.
As I take out my final load of laundry and prepare for the going-away party I'm hosting tonight, I'll probably have a million thoughts of exquisite emotional pain, but I'm not regretful.
Listening to: Underwater Love by Smoke City
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