Pre-departure

I just wanted to post an entry to see what it's like. Turns out it's pretty easy.

A little background on my trip for those who don't know. I'm taking a year off between high school and college to work on organic farms. Why? It's not something I can explain easily. The best I can say is that I need it. I need a break from academics and obligations and the craziness I usually create for myself to live in. I want to see the world, learn new languages, and experience new cultures. I think it will give me a good context for what I am about to pay thousands of dollars to learn from a book. Why organic farming? I love to be physically active. So while my mind is resting, I want my body to keep moving. Also, I have grown up eating lots of organic and local food, and I love the idea of getting closer to the source and learning about organic agriculture. Will I choose it as a field of study? I don't know. The next few months will be a big factor. But I love foreign language, which is why I am choosing to farm across the ocean. That's about all there is to it. If you still have questions feel free to ask. I think there are ways to comment and write messages on this site so figure them out...

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In 10 days I leave for Chicago, where I will go to a wedding and spend a little bit of time with family there before my first trans-Atlantic flight of the trip.

Ironically, due to some last-minute information, I am doing some last-minute re-planning. I was originally going to spend three months each in Italy, Spain, and Germany. Due to Schengen visa limitations, however, I need to leave the EU countries for three months in the middle of my trip. For those who don't know the rule it's like this: unless you can get an extended stay visa for one of the Schengen countries (which are basically the same as the EU) you can only stay in any of those countries combined for 90 days out of every 180. That's 3 out of every 6 months. The 180 days are contiguous, the 90 days are not.

So here's the plan as I have it now: I had already booked my one-way non-refundable ticket to Rome via Dublin. So there was no turning back from Italy. And besides, who would want to? So I am still going to Rome first. (Due to some other last-minute changes (the airline rescheduled my flight from Dublin to Rome, extending my layover in the land of St. Patty from 7 hours to 24. I'll be staying in Dublin for one night, living it up, then leaving the next morning. Thrilling, no?) I arrive in Rome on September 23rd. I have one and a half days to crash there, see some sights, and recover from jet-lag. On September 25th I go to Bologna, and then to my first farm, Il Granello. From there it gets gray. If I like Italy or my farm, I will stay longer, if not, I may head right to Spain. No matter what, I'll be out of the EU by December 23rd OR ELSE. I will most likely be going to Israel to work on a kibbutz. I'm still working out the specifics on that (go ahead and gasp at this overwhelming underprepared-ness. I may be leaving the continent without knowing the second leg of the trip. I say: this is a free-spirited trip, so suck it up. I'll end up somewhere, somehow.) After three months in Israel I'll come back and do 2-3 more months in Europe. Planned stops: Austria (to visit the Thene family), Germany (to visit Enja and possibly others), Spain (if I haven't gotten my fill yet), and Holland (to bike with Sarah). I plan to fly back to Chicago at the beginning of June in time for my cousin Lily's Bat Mitzvah.

Well, this turned a lot longer than I planned, but I think it will answer most of the questions for anyone reading this. If you hear anyone ask about what I am up to, feel free to send them the link to my blog. It will be a good way to follow me on my adventure.

So I guess that's all for now. See you in Dublin!

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