Well, all of our "big things to do" have been done. We just turned in the Jeep to the dealership, so we're carless. Apartment is secured, financial aid has gone through, storage room is paid through 9/18/04, yard sale is done with. Now all that is left is to pack our clothes (which we will do over the next couple of days), take some stuff to Postal Annex to be shipped, and a few other odds and ends.

Feels pretty strange to be without a car. On one hand, we have become more and more unencumbered over the last couple of months, but on the other hand we have become much less self-reliant (living in someone else's house for free and now having to rely on borrowing a vehicle for further transportation, for example). I guess we had to do that in order to become more self-reliant than we were in the beginning. Our move to Belgium will be a HUGE excerise in self-reliance. And it's going to be great!

The final three days are going to fly by. In no time we're going to be standing in line to board an aircraft. Everything familiar and safe is going to be replaced by a great unknown. I have not a single clue as to how this coming year will play out. Not a clue! Will I find a job in a brewery? Or a job at all? Will we be able to assimilate before our spirits are crushed by feeling like outsiders? Strangers in a strange land. Things as simple as buying groceries or getting a hair-cut could potentially be a lot more difficult than ever because of language issues. "Sprekt u engels?" and "Parlez englais?" are going to be our catch-phrases.

My head's swimming...

--RP--