"You say Goodbye, and I say Hello."

Today was my last "real" day in America. I spent it with the sibs at Busch Gardens having tons of fun.

I also got to test out my new camera (so I will be uploading pics from Mongolia ^_^)

Here are the highlights of the day:

Tea Cup Ride!!!!!

Belated Birthday Blogging

Woooooooo .... as of yesterday at 3:25pm Central Time I am two and twenty years old!!! 22 on the 22nd which means this is my "lucky year" (doubly so as 22 is my favorite/lucky number ^_^). However as my family was out of town/working/at school I spent most of the morning hanging out with the dog or studying at the library (but what with me being the giant nerdo I am I really enjoy learning ^_^).

However the highlights of my birthday were the 3 awesome discoveries I made:
1) Instant Organic oatmeal -- Roy.G.Biv. is that stuff AMAZING!!!!!!! I'm a big fan of oatmeal to begin with, but man alive, this organic stuff just blew me away Scarface style

2) The Braveheart Theme Music Techno Remix -- no additional explanation necessary

3) Twin Dragons -- this is a Hong Kong film from the early 90s starring get this: Jackie Chan and ......... Jackie Chan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was everything you could have dreamed of and more. I highly recommend seeing it.

My Address in Cyrillic

back at the beach

I am now back in my "hometown" to spend what little remaining time I have with my family. So far it has been very nice and relaxing and most of all fun (especially dressing the dog up in a banana costume, hahaha).

Today I got my flight itinerary. I fly to Hotlanta at 7am Thursday May 31st. The next two days will be spent in intensive orientations and then on June 2nd I will hop a plane to Mongolia (via Korea ^_^). At 15 hours this will be my longest flight ever!

I also started shopping for everything I will need to bring O_o. I know I'm excited about the cold freezing absoballyloutly frigid climate I am about to face...but its a pain to shop for especially when the summer lines have just come out and are just swell. Oh well, thank goodness for L.L. Bean giving me the long john hookup or my tush would be in for a cold 2 years ^_~.

Also I received my address for the 8-10 weeks I will spend in Ulaanbaatar training:

Cassandra Weiner, PCT
Post Office Box 1036
Central Post Office
Ulaanbaatar 13
MONGOLIA (via China)

Once I scan it to the computer, I will put up a link to the label that has the address in Cyrillic (the Mongolia Alphabet). "Items will be delivered if addressed only in English - however, an accompanying Cyrillic version may expedite delivery."

YATTA!!!!!!

"I DID IT!!!!!!"

Well folks, its official .... I have graduated from college!!!! I now have a B.A. in Anthropology from the College of Sciences at UCF ^_^. While, I loved learning everything, I'm glad that it is over and my brain gets to rest (except for the whole learning to speak Mongolian thing).

The ceremony was long and boring (I totally fell asleep at one point), but it was really nice to get to see my Grandparents, Aunt, and Cousins afterwards.

My room is packed, I have begun saying my final goodbyes to all my Florida friends, I'm checking out of my apartment ...... my college career is drawing to an end and will soon be all behind me ^_^.

But that means :::scary music::: .... only 30 days until I leave for Mongolia :::gulp::: ... O_o

I am sooooo excited, yet as the departure date draws nearer I'm becoming more and more nervous ... there is so much I need to do in a relatively short time ... but I know I will get it all done in time, and before I know it I will be in Mongolia ^_^

Also, I have been reading this great book called: Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. It is really interesting to not only learn about this "blood thirsty savage" from a non-western perspective, but also to utilize my anthropology skills in discerning various possible cultural sentiments as derived from the knowledge that Genghis Khan is the national hero in Mongolia (man alive, I'm such a nerd). If you enjoy reading I highly recommend this book ^_^.