Getting Ready to go!

So I know I'm not officially in Spain yet, but I thought I should get into the groove of this "blog" thing now. I've never really blogged before, but I thought this would be better than writing the same email like, 50 times. AND I want to give anyone who wants to see me before I leave official notice.
The logistics:
I leave December 31st.
7 hour layover in Dublin. Ew.
I'll be in the Chamberi neighborhood of Madrid for 3 months, and afterward, Italy, Morocco, and Prague, here I come!
I will be studying (of course) tons of Spanish, and art history.
I don't have an exact return date, but I'm thinking the end of April.
I found a lovely lady named Laura who is going to sublet my place and keep my plants alive.
I can't believe I'm leaving in less than a month. After going to the orientation last night the reality really hit me. However! I still know NOTHING about the family I'll be staying with, which is kind of a drag. Apparently I won't know until I arrive in Madrid. Hopefully they don't have 5 heads or are cannibals. Or worse, really into cheesy American pop culture and assume I am too.
Oh, AND at he orientation last night, they dropped the bomb that the advanced speakers (meaning me) have to go to additional "conferencias" for two weeks. Basically some guy lectures for about two hours (in Spanish) and then I have to write what I got out of it (in Spanish). But all in all, I'm excited for the classes. Usually subjects like art and Spanish come pretty easily to me and are interesting so I hope that continues to be true.
Now I just have to do all the tedious crap, like packing (blarg), making copies of my passport in case it gets lost and blah blah blah.
And this month before I leave is going to be bus-AY. Finals in two weeks Eek! I can't WAIT for classes to be over. This semester was way hard. Biology is evil. Then it's my birthday, then Christmas. . . . did I mention I work retail? Then I board a plane New Year's Eve. Maybe there will be a cute flight attendant to kiss. Who am I kidding, being good looking is some sort of requirement if you want to be a flight attendant. They'll all be cute. But I digress.
I'm worried about missing everone and everything. . . . I do so love San Francisco and my friends and family and Nerf Beast and job and apartment, but hopefully I will be so busy in Spain I won't have time to get homesick. So call me or email me if you want to see me before I leave!