Preflight - Zero hour, 4pm

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Trip Start Feb 13, 2008 Trip End Jun 17, 2008 Next
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  Cherry Hill, New Jersey, United States
Wednesday, February 13, 2008

It's midnight, and I have no qualms about staying up because I'm newly unemployed.  I've gone through a world of thoughts and emotions regarding my upcoming trip, including sometimes intense anxiety at the idea of not having steady income anymore and general anxiety about I-don't-know-what.  I guess it's all part of the experience of learning to let go of one's comforts.  I hope to chronicle my life and times throughout this trip, and I invite you to join me as I explore the joys and frustrations of independent travel.  Aside from financial concerns, I've had to deal with the thought of being by myself for a while.  Normally, I feel fairly independent and self-sufficient, but this upcoming test of true independence has me feeling uncertain of myself at times and missing the family and home that I haven't even left yet.  I don't think I've felt quite this way before, probably because I've never been put into such an undefined situation.  No one in any of these countries is expecting me, and obviously most people there won't even know of my existence.  I'm sure the anxiety and feeling of uncertainty will wear off pretty quickly, but until I land at my first destination I may get occasional mild freak-outs.  I think it's a symptom that precedes that incurable disease known as wanderlust, which has afflicted me for some time now.

I probably wouldn't have had the audacity to pull a stunt like this, i.e. dropping everything to pursue a long-term independent travel experience (did I use it correctly, Sasso?), if it weren't for my travel experience in Costa Rica.  Not only did I learn practical skills like efficient packing and living modestly, but also such things as genuine hospitality and the importance of slowing life down once in a while.  I haven't reflected on Costa Rica in a while but as I consider what kinds of stories I'll have when I come back, I'm starting to conjure up some good, forgotten memories in my head.  For example:

-Singing "I Will Survive" repeatedly on a karaoke machine in front of an adoring family who just loves to hear songs sung in English.
-Meeting a group of 3-6 year olds who love having pictures taken of them.  The 4-year old girl has probably never seen a camera before but already knows how to pose for it.
-Having my host mom ask my six year-old host sister if she's gonna miss having me around.  She says yes, but only because she'll miss playing with my digital camera. 
-Trying to translate the following pickup line into Spanish: "Is there a mirror in your pants?  Because I can see myself in them."  They didn't get it.
-Being asked if all Americans don't like to shower.  This happened because I was told in orientation that water was considered a precious commodity so we shouldn't use too much of it. 
-Seeing how appreciative people can be when you give them little things like clothes.  One guy was pretty much mute and couldn't say thanks, but the look in his eyes said it all.
-Hearing people yell "Gooooooooooal" with such fervor after scoring in soccer.
-Watching a fellow teammate play defense by diving into a mud puddle in front of the soccer goal and rolling around in it so that the other team couldn't kick the ball into the goal.

Maybe I've gotten a little off-track.  I've gotten mostly positive responses but some interesting opinions regarding this trip from people, most notably my parents.  They weren't sure why I would give up a good-paying job with great partner leadership to be somewhere by myself where I don't know anyone.  My mother even went so far as to ask me if I was going because I had met someone on the Internet.  I almost fell off my chair laughing at that one.  I should've expected this type of response from my parents - they acted in a similar fashion when I told them about Costa Rica. 
 
Partly, I think it was several well-known advertisements that have led me to want a more exciting and exotic lifestyle for a long time.  One of them is the Navy commercial that begins: "If someone were to write a book about your life, would anyone want to read it?"  That commercial almost made me want to join the military.  The other one is the American Express print advertisement that I see in magazines which involves celebrities writing down their wildest dream, biggest challenge, and proudest moment, among other things.  It got me thinking about what I would write in those blanks regarding my life, and my answers weren't very exciting. 
 
Another reason was seeing how great the backpacker lifestyle can be.  There are probably as many Brits, Aussies, and Israelis in their twenties roaming the world as there are Brits, Aussies, and Israelis in their home countries.  In their cultures, they see the value of traveling and it's a must-do; in ours, many of us don't and those who do travel are often considered anomalies. 
 
I've consulted several resources to prepare for this trip.  If anyone is interested in the backpacker/traveler lifestyle, you may want to look into the following:
 
www.travelindependent.info           For good independent travel advice
www.onebag.com      For light packing advice
Delaying the Real World by Colleen Kinder
Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts
 
Anyway, I'm hoping to provide an informative, comical, and generally enjoyable narrative to document this experience so let me know how you like it by rating this travel blog.  Before I ramble on too long, I'll end this post here with the hope of coming back a wiser, happier, and in general, better person by living life the way I think it should be lived.  With that said, on to my first stop: Pape'ete, Tahiti. 

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