What am I doing?
Trip Start
Mar 22, 2005
1
26
Trip End
Sep 09, 2005
San Francisco,
California,
United States
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
This first post will give you an overview of where I'm going and when.... and answer the questions I get most frequently about this trip (ie, "Are you crazy?"). The next one lists all the travel info, health and insurance web sites that have been useful for me. After that, the next post will be from Guatemala.
So, what AM I doing?
On March 22, I'm leaving for Guatemala and plan on being in Central America until September 9. I'll spend the first couple months in Guatemala, taking Spanish classes, volunteering (with www.commonhope.org and other organizations) and being a tourist. From late May to June, I'll probably be in Honduras, on the Bay Islands. Late June and early July are up in the air, but may include Costa Rica or Nicaragua. By mid-July, I'll be in Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula. August 8-September 9, I'm volunteering with GVI in Mexico (www.gvi.co.uk).
Then, I'll be back in the US from September 9 to mid-October for four very important weddings (no funeral comments, please) then to Greece and Turkey for about a month (some close friends are moving to Greece with their baby daughter so that's a perfect excuse to go as you'll see below it doesn't otherwise fit with the "theme" of this trip). Then, I have a couple days in San Francisco to repack and have a ticket booked late November to Buenos Aires, returning on Christmas Eve (at least that's the plan now). After the New Year, I plan on returning to San Francisco and to work and to my apartment and to having access to more clothing than I can fit in a backpack.
Am I going alone? Yes, and no. I'm flying to Guatemala by myself, but then a few days later will meet up with a good friend for a week-long volunteer project. In mid-April, another friend is joining me for about a week. Another few are coming in late-May/early June, my sister is joining me for two weeks in Mexico, I'll be with friends in Greece, and many others are still negotiating work schedules.
Why am I doing this?
(Or, in my Dad's words, "Why would you leave a good, stable job that you like to go gallivant around the world....")
A few reasons: to learn to speak Spanish, to volunteer, and to travel.
Spanish is the primary goal and why I am going to the countries I am. I could ramble for paragraphs about the evolving demographics of the US, how learning Spanish is relevant to my profession and will open more opportunities, how I will eventually be at a disadvantage in any kind of marketing/communication career if I can't speak Spanish, etc. And, all of that would be true, but it's not my motivation wanting to learn Spanish and not the motivation for this trip. It is simply a huge personal annoyance and frustration for me that I can't speak another language-and, Spanish is certainly the most practical to learn. Close proximity to all kinds of interesting Spanish-speaking countries is a definite bonus. (And, yes, I've tried to learn Spanish in San Francisco, and, no, that was not so successful.)
The latter two goals-volunteering and travel-have been the most rewarding and educational activities I've engaged in. If I could, I would spend all of my time on them.
And, in between these pursuits, I'm also really looking forward to scuba diving (a lot), wandering around new cities and towns, eating strange food, not have anything on my "to-do" list, and enjoying other novel vacation-only luxuries (like not wearing a watch) that we rarely get to experience for more than a week or so at a time.
I get almost the same questions from everyone when I talk about this trip... Here are the answers:
Am I nervous? Excited? Both. I'm in an odd place-very anxious and excited about the big change that's ahead, but also very happy and content with my life as it is now. I'm not worried that I won't like traveling or my time spent away (I know it will be challenging at times, but also that I'll thrive on that) but I am a little reluctant to let go of my current life in San Francisco-knowing that even if I do return just 10 months from now, it will not be quite the same as it is now. And, I do love and appreciate my life in San Francisco-I'm surrounded by fantastic people, have a great job and am spoiled by living in what I'm certain is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. So, part of me questions why I'm risking something so new when things are as "good" as they are. I'm not sure I have an answer to that question. Maybe I will in a few months.
Can I speak any Spanish? Barely the basics. And, yes, I'm a little worried about being by myself in a country where I can't speak the language. But, that is very much by design-I know that will force me to learn faster than if I have the safety net of friends to start.
No, I've never done anything like this, but I have previously traveled in these developing countries: Cambodia, Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico. From details, like not brushing my teeth with tap water, to social issues like the extreme poverty in much of Central America, I think I have a good sense for what to expect.
I've been planning this for over a year and thinking about doing something like this for many years. I don't have a detailed itinerary mapped out at all. I know where I'm staying and what I'll be doing for about the first two weeks in Guatemala, and the last 5 weeks that I'm in Mexico. In between, I have a high-level calendar mapped out (like how much time in which country, when friends are scheduled to arrive/depart and from which airport) but it is all subject to change.
Am I worried about safety? I wouldn't say I'm worried, but I am very conscious of the safety concerns in these countries, especially traveling as a single woman. I know that will limit some of what I can do, which is fine. I have no interest in the adrenaline rush or whatever "thrill" goes along with being in dangerous places, so if anywhere is too sketchy, I'll go somewhere else. That said, I don't necessarily think Central America is as scary as it may sound. My guess is that if the State Department put out traveller warnings for the United States, a lot of places I'm very comfortable might start to sound as risky as Tegucigalpa.
What about my job? In theory, I will have my job back next year and I do plan on returning to it. My managers have been incredibly supportive and flexible and I'm actually quite excited about applying my experiences traveling and new language skills to my work.
Isn't this going to be expensive? Sort of. I'm able to afford this due to a few reasons: an incredibly low cost of living in most of the countries I'm visiting, a crazy number of frequent flier miles I've accumulated thanks in large part to business travel (I am not paying for any tickets to-from the US) and, obviously, being disciplined about not buying so many new shoes.
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Jen
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