We're heading to the airport tomorrow at 9 AM. I'm sitting at Novoslobodskaya waiting for Dimka to get his luggage. Dima is a guy from Irkutsk who is flying with me tomorrow! The funniest part is that I'm also from Irkutsk, but we had never met before and only found out about each other when we were applying for our J-1 Visa. It's such a small world.

I have butterflies in my stomach, I haven't been able to sit still all day! I was packing and thought I'd get away with just one suitcase, but it ended up being: a suitcase + a bag, a bottomless tote bag, a laptop bag, a document bag... it's a total nightmare, I'm scared to think what will happen when I fly back, I want to buy a drum too!!!

I'll probably go crazy when I see Dima. Andrey (my friend who has been in Cape Town for a month) gave me a definition the other day – emotionally unstable, and yeah... he's right. All this week I've been jumping from one extreme to another! I cried and laughed at the same time, I was very worried and absolutely calm.

It was so nice to meet up with friends, and if it weren't for this trip, I would never have believed that they loved me so much!