So, this trip began with a wild discussion which turned into a wild idea on a roadtrip from Boston to Raleigh. Starting my third year in North Carolina, and my last as a graduate student, I realized I was going to have to either get a job or get out of town. I had done some small vacations here and there, always finding myself longing for more days - but the money and time would run out and I would return to the states.
Knowing that one plane ticket to Europe would cost you the same amount whether you spent two weeks or six months, I decided to stop spending my money flying back and forth. I would do all my work in one fail swoop and then have six straight months to travel.
Lucky as I was to have my parents in Aspen, where the money flows in from all directions, I headed home to save. And ski a little!
This six months of easy work, comparatively speaking (everything is easier when you used to be a teacher) has given me plenty of time to think about the trip. I've thought about how hot it will be, and how heavy my backpack will be, and how frustrated I will be when the good hostel is full and we are wandering around in the dark looking for a new place to stay! I also thought about how exciting it will be to stand in front of the Taj Mahal, and on the beach in Greece, and on the top of the High Tatras. But, I mostly thought about how six straight months of travel and vacating my work life, my American life, can change me. How this is an opportunity to develop patience beyond understanding, and gratitude for the smallest things, and a love for all people no matter how different their world may be from mine.
So here I am, at the end of my dreaming period - with my wild idea about to come true. I leave in one week and will be gone for 196 days. I head to Hanoi first, where some great adventures in the rice patties await me.
Knowing that one plane ticket to Europe would cost you the same amount whether you spent two weeks or six months, I decided to stop spending my money flying back and forth. I would do all my work in one fail swoop and then have six straight months to travel.
Lucky as I was to have my parents in Aspen, where the money flows in from all directions, I headed home to save. And ski a little!
This six months of easy work, comparatively speaking (everything is easier when you used to be a teacher) has given me plenty of time to think about the trip. I've thought about how hot it will be, and how heavy my backpack will be, and how frustrated I will be when the good hostel is full and we are wandering around in the dark looking for a new place to stay! I also thought about how exciting it will be to stand in front of the Taj Mahal, and on the beach in Greece, and on the top of the High Tatras. But, I mostly thought about how six straight months of travel and vacating my work life, my American life, can change me. How this is an opportunity to develop patience beyond understanding, and gratitude for the smallest things, and a love for all people no matter how different their world may be from mine.
So here I am, at the end of my dreaming period - with my wild idea about to come true. I leave in one week and will be gone for 196 days. I head to Hanoi first, where some great adventures in the rice patties await me.
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