Northern Ireland!!!

So, I talked to the lady in charge of students studying abroad and such today and told her that I would be interested in studying abroad first semester next year.

I would have to pay my regular tuition, the plane flight, $315 application fee, and $50 a month for insurance, which isn't a bad deal... except for the Whitworth tuition part, but I've become resigned to that. One of the universities I could study at is in Northern Ireland where my grandpa is from. Apparently I still even have relatives there! (Of course, they don't know me, but they actually know my mom!) It would be really cool, but...

Well, there's a few things. First, it's so far away. I went to Whitworth for a reason. It's still sort of close to home. If anything goes terribly wrong (stress fracture, say) my mom or dad can come up and help me. Second, track. I could still do track, but I feel like I'd be missing out on a lot of good work in the fall semester if I was gone. Third, for some ridiculous reason, their first semester doesn't end at Christmas. Finals are after Christmas break, and the college closes over Christmas. I wouldn't be able to have Christmas with my family AND I really wouldn't have a place to stay during Christmas, would I? And fourth, due to that, I would have to give up not only one semester away but a Jan Term as well... can my four-year plan manage that? Fifth... well, I'm a little strange, and this may sound paranoid, but what if everyone there hated me and I had a miserable semester alone, doing homework and not much else?

It sounds really cool... the classes I could take sound awesome, and when would I get the chance to stay in Ireland again, in the land of my ancestors? I've always said studying abroad sounds like fun, but it's a little more difficult when it comes to making the decision.