Where Exactly Is Sleep?

In the past year, I have: driven across the country with the bulk of my worldly possessions in the back of my truck; started calling myself 'doctor,' sutured the chin of a four year old child screaming "No! No! No!" repeatedly (get a friend and try it), been on several semi-blind dates, gone regularly to movies by myself, put in IVs and endotracheal tubes, and sang "Edelweiss" in front of a large group of elementary school students. Okay, that last one was in the second grade, but still...

No, I'm not creating some weird, free-form resume, I just want to point out that I've done all that and none of it made me quite as nervous as the fact that I'm leaving for Spain in about... four hours. Well, leaving for the airport, anyway. Where I'll sit for several hours because the shuttle is coming at the butt-crack of dawn to get me for some ungodly reason.

I'm totally an adult now. I get that (much as I might rail against the fact). As an adult, I should be able to travel confidently, competently. Right? I don't know! Something about the trans-Atlantic flight and the new city and the new country and the language barrier... terrifying. Granted, my 'Spanglish' is passable, but only in a medical setting. I can get through a well child check perfectly well as long as the parents speak a bit of English. But I am saying things like "open your mouth" (abre la boca) or "does he have a fever? cough? having fevers?" (tiene fiebre? tos? hay vomitando?). Not necessarily conversational Spanish to get me through things like figuring out where the heck I am or where I can find a place to sleep for the night.

Speaking of sleep. I need to go to it. To sleep.

Why am I up? I am mentally and physically incapable of leaving my apartment without cleaning it thoroughly. I should have done it during the day, but I was doing important things like having my brakes checked, and having my oil changed, and getting a pedicure. Leaving the cleaning for tonight. The compulsion to clean drives me to mop my kitchen at ten o'clock at night, knowing that I have to get up for the shuttle in less than 5 hours. My apartment is never so clean as when I am not in it!

Anyhow. I'll try to write from Spain, but no promises.