Continental ADD

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You are about to embark on an incredible life-safari

-G-Ma July 2007

The Abbott children have a disease, which we call "continental ADD". Patients with this self-diagnosed disorder often attempt to cram as many travels into a year as both their budget and mother will allow. Indeed, it was our mother that instilled in us an insatiable desire to travel. From a young age, my mother would take us out of school for four to six weeks at a time, to explore the Indonesian archipelago, discover the forgotten temples of Bagan, Burma, road-trip in Zapatista territory in Chiapas, Mexico. Our trips were never typical and rarely included a beach (we're all too white to tan anyway). Dad's trips always focused on the great outdoors. With dad we have climbed Manchu Picchu and trekked the epic Ladakh region of India. It is hardly surprising that with such an upbringing, I would be addicted to travel. Now, my continental ADD has led me to take a gap year before university to check off more destinations on my ever-growing global to-do list.

While sheer desire to travel is the prime fuel for my year off, I first decided to take a gap year when my sister decided to take take one (I can't deny the extent to which I look up to my sister Libby, five years my senior); although her AmeriCorp plans were run-aground with a one-day late application (ironically, my intention to study Arabic at the American University of Cairo was similarly soiled by a late application), I continued to plot my year of glory. The idea of my gap year sustained me through the college application process, so that when I wasn't preparing supplement packages or agonizing over my essays, I sketched dramatic round-the-world (or RTW) itineraries including overland travel on the silk-road, dancing lessons in Cuba, and a photography expedition in Peru. Of course the realities of money and safety grounded me, and I began to piece together a more permissable itinerary. Which brings me to where I am right now: chapter two of my saga of a year ahead, more commonly known as the guest room at my uncle's house in Göttingen, Germany.

Before I detail my activities in Deutschland, it is essential to back track to my time at home. The weeks before I took off (the preface, if you will), consisted of lists, errands, packing, unpacking, repacking, and finally waiting. Despite the associations with the word "waiting", this was the best part of all. I had the most of my worrying behind me, my eternal eye twitch was subsiding, and I had lots of extra time to spend with my friends and family, trying to squeeze the best of Sacramento all into one week. We hit all the classics: the drive-ins, Vic's, Taste of Thai, and some new favorites like Trivia night and Lipstick.

And as June 20th arrived, so began, as G-ma called it, "my life safari". While I do not own a digital camera (unfortunately that was lost in Palenque, Mexico last spring break), I will endeavor to add pictures whenever possible (digitized film) and write as accurately and descripively as possible, while at the same time keeping entries concise and to the point.

Below is a rough schedule of the next year and immediately below is a link to a google map that roughly outlines my trip. Enjoy!

http://www.travelblog.org/gmaps/map_4sw.html

June 20-August 5: Geneva, Switzerland and Tour de Mont Blanc (TMB)

August 5-August 11: Uncle Randy's house, Göttingen, Germany

August 11-17: Arpi's house, Budapest, Hungary (with Sofi)

August 17-27: Croatia (with Sofi)

August 28-31: Uncle Randy's house, Göttingen, Germany

August 31-September 6: undetermined destination

September 6-December 17: Arabic Language Institute, Fez (ALIF), Morocco, ideally by way of ferry from Tarifa, Spain, to Tangier and train to Fez

October 10: Libby arrives and stays in Fez until December 17

October 23: Mom arrives in Fez, possible trip to Turkey

December 17-early-February: home, sweet home

Early-February-May: Kathmandu, entirely dependent on whether Libby moves there or not

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