Three weeks...

As of today, I have a 21-day countdown until I leave Alaska. My dad, sister and I will be flying to Colorado on the 15th, as soon as I get my braces off! There, we'll visit family for a week and get Maddie settled into CU Boulder, where she'll be attending college at this fall. On the 22nd of August, I'll fly to New York for the AFS Orientation, and will be in the Netherlands by the 23rd!

In the last few weeks that I have left here, I'll be busy sorting through my stuff and deciding what to take, leave, and give away. Seeing as I am only allowed one piece of luggage under 44-pounds, this could be tough. I still work across the bay on the weekends, however I dropped my online Language 11 Connections class. I figured that I had about a month left to complete an entire semester of the class, and that it just wasn't realistic nor should be a top priority. Tomorrow I have a meeting in Soldotna with Connections, to talk about my graduation plan for when I get back, and what credits I can receive while abroad. Following the meeting, my mom and I are going fishing! Last week we went to Kasilof River to dip-net for Red Salmon (Sockeye), and got 17 fish, so this time we'll be going to the Kenai River instead. Because we're residents of Alaska, we are allowed to subsistence dip-net, and for our family of four, our limit is 55 fish. My mom normally stays on shore to gut and filet the fish, and I stand out in the river.

Here are pictures from last weeks fishing trip:

Lately I have been trying to get together to see friends as much as possible, before my final departure. I don't think everything will really hit me until I'm on the plane out of Alaska. My sister and I will have a going away barbecue on the Saturday before we both leave, as a final goodbye to all of our friends and family. We are also planning on having a garage sale earlier that day, to try to sell a lot of our old belongings (and to make a bit of pocket money). Departure seems bittersweet at this point because I am so eager to leave and can't wait for this experience, yet leaving such important people to me is hard.

My host family and I have been talking a lot! Marijke and Rob (my host parents) have both posted on my Facebook Wall, letting me know what their summer plans are and how excited they are for me to come! Tim, the 16-year-old son, has also been messaging me lately. It's good to get an idea of what him and his brother do in their spare time for fun!

I don't know what to expect for this coming year, but I am incredibly excited.
For now I wait, and make the best of these last 21-days in Homer.

-Molly