T-3 days until my departure

T-3 days until my departure from Boston to Sarajevo. After spending the past six months at my co-op, absorbed with my life in Boston, this trip has really snuck up on me, and I’m spending the next couple days scrambling to make sure that I have everything I need for a five week adventure in two entirely new countries.
Ever since I was young enough to know what study abroad was, I wanted to study abroad. My mother is a high school language teacher who’s been lucky enough to travel around the world with her job, visiting countries like Spain, France, and China. I’ve done a good deal of traveling myself — both within the United States, and longer trips abroad, to countries such as Belize, Guatemala, and extended times in France, visiting family who live there. I always saw traditional study abroad destinations, mainly concentrated in Western Europe (in fact, I have friends leaving for Spain, Italy, and England within the next couple months), but saw this program as a chance to visit a part of the world that so few people my age ever really get to explore.
Having never traveled this far east before — I’ve never been farther than France — I’m certainly expecting to feel some culture shock. Though the pictures I’ve seen do remind me of places I’ve visited in Europe before, it’ll be a completely new experience to be surrounded by people whose language (and alphabet!) are completely foreign to me, and whose history I don’t share a part of, and have yet to learn about in depth.
I’m definitely hoping to be able to pick up some of the language while I’m abroad; I find language in general to be so fascinating, and hearing how people express themselves can be so different between different languages and cultures. I expect that most of what I do pick up will end up being from exposure rather than sitting and trying to learn from a book or website.
I do have to say that I’m relieved that there are no restrictions on what we can wear — I have a hard enough time deciding what to wear to work, much less what is acceptable in a foreign culture! I’m glad to say that for now there are very few things I’m apprehensive about. For now, I’m looking forward with an open mind to the experiences that we’ll have. And honestly, after six months of working forty hours a week, I’m excited to get back to taking classes!
That’s all for now. The next couple days will be a whirlwind of saying goodbye to friends, trying to pack (even though in all likelihood, that’s not going to happen until Monday morning) and making sure that I have everything I need ready to go. At least I know my passport isn’t expired this year!