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Published: August 1st 2006
Are you scared?
Scared is an understatement. Here is a list of my biggest fears (longer explanations can be provided if necessary):
- Plane/bus/car/train accident
- Natural disasters
- Disease
- Getting sick of each other
- Squat toilets
- Being scammed/ripped off
- Death of a loved one while I am away
- Robbery/theft/rape/kidnapping/murder
- Severe heat
- Arrest
- Homesickness
- My own lack of patience
- Starvation
- Finances
- Being forgotten by everyone at home
- Becoming a lost soul who continues to travel at length because she has no clue what she wants to do with her life
- Limited internet access
- Finding a job/home when I return to New York
Needless to say, I'm going to draft a will before we depart.
So why are you doing this?
I have no commitments holding me back. This may be the last time in my life I am able to do something like this. I have never traveled for longer than 2 weeks. I have always wanted to visit these places. I will have radical things to share with my children one day, if i have any. If I said no, I'd definitely regret it at a later point in life. I do not want any of the fears I have to hold me back from living life to the fullest (as corny as that sounds).
And no, I'm not going to "find myself," and I'm not having a quarterlife crisis. This was all Kate's idea. Analyze her.
How can you afford this?
I am a decent saver. Or at least I was before moving to New York. I don't want to buy a car anytime soon, and I am not ready to buy a home (even though I realize rent is a waste), so this is how I choose to spend a gigantic lump of my money instead. I have been living a VERY low budget life for the past few months in preparation for this, I will live a low budget life on the road, and I will return to a low budget life in March of 2007.
Are you booking transportation and lodging in advance?
No, our flights are the only things we've booked in advance. We will figure everything else out when we get there.
May I come along?
Yes, please! Let us know where you want to go and when you would arrive, and we'll meet you. Men are especially welcome to serve as our bodyguards. Don't worry about it seeming random if we're not already best friends forever; the less we know you, the more questions we can ask you while traveling.
If you want to visit any of these places, now is the time. You may not have another chance. Just remember that Kate and I are doing this on a tight budget, so if you want to stay in fancy hotels, that's fine, but we'll only pay you $5 to sleep on your floor.
What if I want to send you something?
You may send it to Australia. Ask me for the address. We're spending the holidays with Kate's family friends.
Can I help in any way?
Yes. Let me borrow hiking/travel gear and Lonely Planet guides. Offer me travel tips. Please. Thanks.
How will you keep in touch?
People on message boards say a traveler should tell his/her friends/family to expect very little from him/her in order not to be disappointed. However, I am addicted to the internet. I've already told Kate I will be annoying about it. I will DEFINITELY read all of your emails and attempt to reply. Steph also says phone service is mega cheap (at least in India), so you may receive a phone call if I am having a meltdown.
But the main source of communication will be the blog. Kate claims she does not want to be a blogger; I love writing about my deep and fascinating self. Kate owns a digital camera; I don't. Therefore, Kate will be the official photographer, and I will be the official blogger. I'm sure we'll switch roles at times.
Based on my research the past few months, travel blogs are boring. We will try to spare you. Entertaining yet informative. Concise (unlike this F.A.Q. sheet). Lots of photos. Mostly photos with people in them. Witty captions. You get the picture.
If you want to be notified when we update the blog, you can sign up for that through this site. If not, you can bookmark this page and visit at your leisure. If you're totally old school and I really love you, I might send you updates via email.
Oh, and send me your address if you want a postcard. I realize I failed to send any from Argentina, but I'll be away for a lot longer this time around. I won't slack.
Do you think you'll meet the love of your life on this trip? That would be cool!
No. Perhaps Kate will. She's allowed to do so, as long as she and the soul mate make being the third wheel fun for me. I am an excellent third wheel. Sometimes I suspect I am a mediocre wingwoman, but I can work on that on this trip.
As for me, I'm 90%!s(MISSING)ure I only like American dudes. American women's mouths drop when they hear this. "What about the cute foreign accents? And men from other countries aren't as ____ as American men!" I don't know. I guess I like ____ men. There's something inherently attractive about American men that I haven't found in guys from other locations.
Then again, maybe I'll be proven wrong. The ball's in your court, international fellows.
Are you going to return mega-skinny?
I don't know. Kate seems to think we'll exist in a neverending cycle of dysentery (thus, the trip title), losing dozens of pounds in the course of our trip. I think I really love samosas, tofu, and empanadas. We won't be exercising in gyms, but we'll be walking around with 20-pound bags on our backs.
If I lose weight, I'm chunking up as soon as I return to the States, so I don't have to invest in a new wardrobe. Cheapness trumps girliness.
What will you do when you return?
Right now my plan is to move back to Brooklyn, attempt to find a home and job, adopt a pet, learn how to knit something other than a scarf, etc.
Please become rich and powerful while I am gone, so you can either support me or hire me upon my return. Thanks.
May I hang out with you before you leave?
Yes, you may. Email or call me. I cannot spend loads of money, but I can entertain you. I have 3 more weeks left in New York and 2 weeks in Pennsylvania. Take a road trip to sunny West Chester and spend a weekend with me! Better yet, help me move on August 31 and THEN spend a weekend in sunny West Chester!
To those who've listened to me ramble endlessly about nothing but travel insurance, visas, and the best walking shoes: Thank you (especially to Steph... I was the worst with you). I apologize in advance for all the new things about which I'll ramble upon my return.
To those who had no clue I was taking this trip: All apologies. Take comfort in the fact that I've felt like a conniving hussy. I didn't want to be deceptive, but I had to keep this hush-hush, so I would continue getting paid and have money to pay my rent until my departure.
To those I've inadvertently blown off in the recent past because of my attempt to live on a strict budget: I'm sorry. I wouldn't have been much fun to be around anyway, since I'd be worrying about how much money I was spending and blabbing about travel insurance, visas, and the best walking shoes (see above). Plus, I needed to enjoy Alone Time while I could; I probably won't get much of it on the road.
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aunt peg
non-member comment
my nerves are shot
oh moria....i read this blog, hoping it would make me feel better. however, my nerves are still shot thinking about my sweet niece trotting around the world with all the dangers and creepy, evil people out there. dysentery is the least of the worries! my sister will be beside herself. all of those fears you mention....multiply them by a thousand and you will know what pat and i feel - my poor sister, how will she sleep at night????????????