departures

It's decision time and I'm in a crux. In October I applied for GWU's Spring Semester Abroad program at American University in Beirut. They were supposed to have a decision for me in mid-November, but I didn't find out until mid-month-long vacation, that is mid-December. Now I'm back. GWU classes start this Tuesday. AUB classes start in two weeks. I'm definitley going to lose 20% of my tuition if I don't start GWU classes. I haven't told work because I was waiting for a final decision from AUB. My mom knows as of today. If I were to go to AUB, I would have to get my visa, secure student loans, sublet my condo (anyone interested or know anyone?), tell work and try to make arrangements so I wouldn't get fired, find a home in Beirut, register for classes, book my flights, take care of all that legal power of attorney stuff, turn in a bunch of paperwork to GWU and end up in Beirut in TWO WEEKS.

If I don't go, I continue just like any other Spring Semester at GWU, and try to find an Arabic tutor to master the ridiculously difficult language in order to gain proficiency and pass my Master's language requirement. There are so many reasons to stay/go not do it/do it:

Pros of Spring at GWU:
-Get work to pay for a class; continue earning salary
-Can get private language tutor in DC for Arabic
-Be able to spend time with family/friends after 8 months of shift-work hell and one month of awesome vacation

Cons of Spring at GWU:
-Same old boring Spring semester
-Not really good Middle East program, might have to take classes at another University
-No real language immersion
-still shuffling full-time career and part-time grad school; which I'm getting tired of

Pros of AUB:
-Fullfill one of major reasons to return to school and that is study abroad
-Get in-country ME exposure
-Get some sort of in-country language immersion
-travel around the Middle East
-take classes on the ME and get an ME perspective

Cons of AUB:
-So little time to prepare
-Unstable political situation in Lebanon
-get no salary while there, live on loans, and rack up monstrous debt

Neutral zone (regardless of either decision)
-Pending conflicts with work will hopefully be able to complete my M.A. in Dec '06

What do you think? One suggestion is to defer it to Fall or Summer, however I think that means pushing commencement back to May '07, and by then I would've had enough course work to graduate that AUB would just be extra credits ...

Career-wise, I worry that it might be a step back in my progression, although it means gaining experience I can't get in Washington. Also I feel like a bit of jerk asking for five months of absence after returning from an extravagant month long vacation.

What are your thoughts?