Trip is booked

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What will happen now?

A few days ago, i turned my dream in to reality. Waiting in a George St. cafe in Sydney for a good six hours and it finally hit me - i'm going and i don't have to come back. I turned eighteen early this year and was all set to do a volunteer stint in Malawi for the first six months of this year. Along with life's complications came the cancellation of said trip and my planning of my next out.

Here it is. My flight leaves two days before Christmas, with a stopover in Taiwan, before a final flight to Vancouver on the 24th December. Over the two and a half months that follow, I will travel down the West Coast of the U.S. and in to Mexico, a country i have been dreaming of going to since i was twelve years old.

Many people know of Chris McCandless nowdays. I suppose an indie flick directed by Sean Penn will do that. Regardless, now that McCandless' journey to freedom is widely publisised, many have deemed the man insane. I, however, do not take that stance. Of course it is difficult for one not to be influenced by the courage and strength it must of taken the man to realise and thus actualise his desires, however, this is not my plan. Although the idea of disconnecting from civilisation, what we as a world society have created through technology, is appealing, it is not practical. Being the pragmatist that i am, i can not afford to do this.

Although considering Chris and those like him, those who are able to take that step, i will make this trip about more than the average summer break from university. I will take this time to truly think as to what i am doing with my life. Do i want to be a teacher? Or would i rather follow in my brother and father's footsteps and take on what is left of the development market?

Okay, now that the theoretical and ideological planning and reasoning are out of the way, here comes the planning.

Vancouver

Vancouver, Canada. I have never been to Canada. Frequent trips to the U.S. have forced me in to the assumption that it is a Western country much like every other i have been. I am questioning what i will do there. A friend told me to go to the 'New Amsterdam Cafe.' Apparently this cafe is one of those zones where police don't look twice at the university student have a deep and meaningful with a joint in his mouth. Not surprising considering it is called 'Vanamsterdam'. Other than here i am not sure where i would like to visit or how long i would like to stay. I considered going to the shopping centre that has it's own hotel and theme park in Alberta but am not sure whether it is worth a $400 return ticket around Christmas. Also, to my dismay my birthday does not fall until a few days after new years therefore once again i will not be a law abiding citizen when it comes to my consumption of alcohol on New Years Eve.

That is all i can think of at the moment....

Good Night All, It is time for me to watch some Survivor Nicaragua. Watching the animalistic instincts of humans come out through reality television. My apologies to my grade 11 English teacher - I was wrong, i would purposely use literary techniques in describing something other than poetry or your class.

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