Planning Stages
OK. I've made the decision. A Most Excellent Exotic World Tour 2005-06. And my friends are already tired of hearing all the details, so here I'll write things down for myself.
Tentative plans: stay in Riverside until end of July (teaching ends), up to Oregon for a couple weeks to see friends and dog, fly out to Ghana to arrive August 15th. Volunteer teaching in a Liberian refugee camp. There for a month, then travel for a week or so - really, really want to go to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso because it's the coolest name of any capital in the world - plus, French practice is always good.
Then, on to Jordan. North of Amman, to Irbid, and Yarmouk University. Stay there until the end of December, focus on learning Arabic. (Shout out to Mahmoud for the heads-up about Yarmouk!) From there, maybe a month of travel in Egypt and Morocco, heading up to Spain? Back to the U.S. for a couple weeks in early February to do taxes, fill out FAFSA, and hopefully accept a spot at a prestigious law school ... or graduate school ... or return to the school where I am now. Many options possible.
Then, mid-February, I'm not as certain. Definitely strong possibilities include Uganda, India, South Korea, China, and others. Too many cool places to go, not enough time.
The logistics are overwhelming me and definitely taking my attention away from all my homework. Ah, who needs a PhD in Education anyway? Have made contact with Airtreks about airfaire and hopefully find very good deals there. The budget goal? To be cheaper than living here for a year, all things included.
OK, off to lunch with Tracey and shopping at REI and Big 5. Oy, the gear I need - and yet I can take soooo little. Am very excited about the big sale at REI and my purchase of REI Tour Bag. Now the big question is what to do about sleeping gear.
But my really big question is about electricity and all that. I wanted to not take ANY battery-operated/electrical devices. I'll be in places without electricity, and didn't want to worry about adapters and all that. I definitely need a flashlight, and wanted one of those cool shaking ones. But the reviews aren't great. So, do I take my headlight - with batteries? And then do I take a battery charger? And then I'll need adapters and converters? And then do I take my MP3 player? It's hard to imagine a whole year without any music ... Oy vey. Too many choices. And since I'll only have my carry-on bag and one check-in that I anticipate will be misplaced somewhere along the way, it makes these decisions hard to make.
I wish I knew people who'd done this kind of thing before! I could really use advice!!
Tentative plans: stay in Riverside until end of July (teaching ends), up to Oregon for a couple weeks to see friends and dog, fly out to Ghana to arrive August 15th. Volunteer teaching in a Liberian refugee camp. There for a month, then travel for a week or so - really, really want to go to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso because it's the coolest name of any capital in the world - plus, French practice is always good.
Then, on to Jordan. North of Amman, to Irbid, and Yarmouk University. Stay there until the end of December, focus on learning Arabic. (Shout out to Mahmoud for the heads-up about Yarmouk!) From there, maybe a month of travel in Egypt and Morocco, heading up to Spain? Back to the U.S. for a couple weeks in early February to do taxes, fill out FAFSA, and hopefully accept a spot at a prestigious law school ... or graduate school ... or return to the school where I am now. Many options possible.
Then, mid-February, I'm not as certain. Definitely strong possibilities include Uganda, India, South Korea, China, and others. Too many cool places to go, not enough time.
The logistics are overwhelming me and definitely taking my attention away from all my homework. Ah, who needs a PhD in Education anyway? Have made contact with Airtreks about airfaire and hopefully find very good deals there. The budget goal? To be cheaper than living here for a year, all things included.
OK, off to lunch with Tracey and shopping at REI and Big 5. Oy, the gear I need - and yet I can take soooo little. Am very excited about the big sale at REI and my purchase of REI Tour Bag. Now the big question is what to do about sleeping gear.
But my really big question is about electricity and all that. I wanted to not take ANY battery-operated/electrical devices. I'll be in places without electricity, and didn't want to worry about adapters and all that. I definitely need a flashlight, and wanted one of those cool shaking ones. But the reviews aren't great. So, do I take my headlight - with batteries? And then do I take a battery charger? And then I'll need adapters and converters? And then do I take my MP3 player? It's hard to imagine a whole year without any music ... Oy vey. Too many choices. And since I'll only have my carry-on bag and one check-in that I anticipate will be misplaced somewhere along the way, it makes these decisions hard to make.
I wish I knew people who'd done this kind of thing before! I could really use advice!!
posted by NOLA at 10:37 AM
1 Comments:
Hi Heidi!!! =)
I haven't even been able to see this until now (lazy with the computer)! Aghhh...so jealous!!! So AWESOME!!! I'm so excited, even if it's not me going on this worldwide extravaganza to save the world, piece by piece! =)
Yes, yes, YES, go to my country of ethnic origin! Eat dumplings and shiao mai and dan taats! =D
And of COURSE you need your mp3 player! Maybe you can even pick up new songs as you go from country to country! =)
I can't help you with the lighting thing...having a universal adaptor might be handy, but it does take up space (even if it's little, it's kinda bulky). A giant candle??? Heh heh...
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