And I'm paying freaking $4/hr for internet here, so this blog post will be appropriately short. I just can't afford you guys anymore.
I'm having a good time, and feeling a little decadent because swimming in the Mediterranean is kind of cool (like it's warm but it's neato), and I should be helping the poor or praying in front of a crucifix or something. Seriously, I feel guilty about it, and it's weird. I will purchase an indulgence at my next convenience.
PSA: I'll be out of internet contact for the next four days or so while I'm on the coast. After that, it's off to Ephesus and two more churches of the revelation in Pergamom and Izmir. Should be fascinating. Then on to Greece, where there are some actual Christians and not just ruins. I'm pretty ruined out.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Look! Pictures!
Alright everybody. It's a picture update, and it's hugely exciting. Buckle up or something.
I'm going to go ahead and start with the most amazing picture of them all.
That's right - Sawyer is taking a break from badassing his way around a mystical island to sell a credit card. This isn't just any old credit card - it's a credit card with the logo of some kind of chocolate / candy / ice cream company. You thought your REI card was cool? Move to Turkey.
I have a ton of pictures, and unfortunately it's hard for me to tell which, if any, are good. I'm working with an old monitor that has a bunch of glare, so these are kind of a shot in the dark.
I mentioned Mt. Nemrud in a previous blog post, I think. This is the same King Nimrod who built the Tower of Babel. He was a little vain. He ruled over a small empire in southeastern Turkey, and is buried at the top of this mountain, or something. The mountain is covered with tombs and with some amazing rock sculptures, mostly Greek gods. Here's a couple of them.
It was a pretty amazing place. A group of us went up for sunrise, and it was quite spectacular. It actually made waking up at 2:30AM to get up there worth it. We also saw a 6th century Roman bridge:
From there I've moved on to Goreme, in central Turkey, where I've been for the last eight days or so. I mentioned earlier that the landscape here is very weird. The entire area was populated with Christians, with some churches dating back to the 2nd or 3rd centuries. Many of the caves in this area (there are tons...holes in the mountains wherever you look, and 25% of the local population still lives in caves) were turned into churches or monasteries. The cave below is one such church. The picture of the cross beside it was carved into the ceiling.
That's just one...I've been to maybe 10 different churches so far, maybe more. Around the 11th century, Italian artists came through and added frescoes to a lot of the churches. The one below was one of the better preserved ones, although in one church I saw some that looked brand new. They deteriorate with harsh light, and the collapse of caves in many places has exposed the frescoes.
You might notice that some of the eyes or faces are scratched out. This one was better off than many, but I've seen a lot of places where every eye in the church has been destroyed. When the Christians were booted out by Muslim populations, they were afraid that looking at the frescoes would cause people to lose their faith or convert. That, combined with the fact that Islam prohibits images of people or animals, means that a lot of these frescoes have been damaged over the years.
The place I'm staying is beautiful. I got up a couple of mornings to see the sunrise and to watch the hot air balloons take off. A lot of places around here offer morning tours in hot air balloons, though the price is a little steep for me. About $200 for an hour. After watching the balloons, I think I have a pretty good idea of what I would see anyway, so I don't feel like I'm missing out. Here's a picture from one of the sunrises:
Staying here has been great. The staff at the hostel I'm at are terrific. There's a guy from New Zealand working here while he's waiting for a replacement passport. His was stolen on a bus. They've been really helpful in finding things to do around town, make a great breakfast, and have been a lot of fun to hang out with. I'm a little sad to be leaving...it makes such a difference to have great company and to be in a place with things to go out and do.
I'm leaving for Olympos tonight via a night bus, where I'll be for a couple of days before a four day boat trip to Fethiye. Olympus is supposed to be beautiful - lots of beaches and such, so it'll be a mini vacation. Hope you all are doing well.
I'm going to go ahead and start with the most amazing picture of them all.
That's right - Sawyer is taking a break from badassing his way around a mystical island to sell a credit card. This isn't just any old credit card - it's a credit card with the logo of some kind of chocolate / candy / ice cream company. You thought your REI card was cool? Move to Turkey.
I have a ton of pictures, and unfortunately it's hard for me to tell which, if any, are good. I'm working with an old monitor that has a bunch of glare, so these are kind of a shot in the dark.
I mentioned Mt. Nemrud in a previous blog post, I think. This is the same King Nimrod who built the Tower of Babel. He was a little vain. He ruled over a small empire in southeastern Turkey, and is buried at the top of this mountain, or something. The mountain is covered with tombs and with some amazing rock sculptures, mostly Greek gods. Here's a couple of them.
It was a pretty amazing place. A group of us went up for sunrise, and it was quite spectacular. It actually made waking up at 2:30AM to get up there worth it. We also saw a 6th century Roman bridge:
From there I've moved on to Goreme, in central Turkey, where I've been for the last eight days or so. I mentioned earlier that the landscape here is very weird. The entire area was populated with Christians, with some churches dating back to the 2nd or 3rd centuries. Many of the caves in this area (there are tons...holes in the mountains wherever you look, and 25% of the local population still lives in caves) were turned into churches or monasteries. The cave below is one such church. The picture of the cross beside it was carved into the ceiling.
That's just one...I've been to maybe 10 different churches so far, maybe more. Around the 11th century, Italian artists came through and added frescoes to a lot of the churches. The one below was one of the better preserved ones, although in one church I saw some that looked brand new. They deteriorate with harsh light, and the collapse of caves in many places has exposed the frescoes.
You might notice that some of the eyes or faces are scratched out. This one was better off than many, but I've seen a lot of places where every eye in the church has been destroyed. When the Christians were booted out by Muslim populations, they were afraid that looking at the frescoes would cause people to lose their faith or convert. That, combined with the fact that Islam prohibits images of people or animals, means that a lot of these frescoes have been damaged over the years.
The place I'm staying is beautiful. I got up a couple of mornings to see the sunrise and to watch the hot air balloons take off. A lot of places around here offer morning tours in hot air balloons, though the price is a little steep for me. About $200 for an hour. After watching the balloons, I think I have a pretty good idea of what I would see anyway, so I don't feel like I'm missing out. Here's a picture from one of the sunrises:
Staying here has been great. The staff at the hostel I'm at are terrific. There's a guy from New Zealand working here while he's waiting for a replacement passport. His was stolen on a bus. They've been really helpful in finding things to do around town, make a great breakfast, and have been a lot of fun to hang out with. I'm a little sad to be leaving...it makes such a difference to have great company and to be in a place with things to go out and do.
I'm leaving for Olympos tonight via a night bus, where I'll be for a couple of days before a four day boat trip to Fethiye. Olympus is supposed to be beautiful - lots of beaches and such, so it'll be a mini vacation. Hope you all are doing well.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Hello from Göreme
Hey folks.
Finally made it out of Urfa, and moved on to a place called Göreme via a tour of Mt. Nemrud. I'd put up some pictures, but right now I can't tell whether or not they turned out...it seems that I (or my camera) might've made some poor lighting decisions. I'll try to get some up some other time.
Things are going pretty well here - I feel like I'm settling into the traveling life a little more, aided by a number of people here who have done a lot of traveling and are rather experienced. The last couple of days have been pretty fun. I took some days off, then spent yesterday touring around a nearby valley. The rock formations here are incredible, and the landscape is pretty unreal. If you Google "Goreme" and go to the image search, you'll get some idea of what I'm talking about.
There are strange looking cones scattered everywhere, the result of large deposits of volcanic ash being unevenly eroded by rain and snow. People have hollowed them out for centuries and turned them into houses. This area used to be a sort of Christian holdout, and I saw a number of cave churches yesterday. I also toured an underground city, which is exactly what it sounds like - a place where around 5000 people used to live in times of emergency. The place is 8 levels deep and goes down about 300 feet. There was a small church in there, too, with a couple of crosses carved into the walls.
I'll be spending about two more weeks in Turkey, with five more days left in Göreme. From here I'll head out to Olympos. After Turkey I'll be going to Greece, and I'm hoping to be able to visit some cool places and possibly even stay in a monastery for a week or so. I'm looking forward to going to a place where Christianity hasn't been almost completely annhilated.
Further updates as events warrant, I suppose.
Finally made it out of Urfa, and moved on to a place called Göreme via a tour of Mt. Nemrud. I'd put up some pictures, but right now I can't tell whether or not they turned out...it seems that I (or my camera) might've made some poor lighting decisions. I'll try to get some up some other time.
Things are going pretty well here - I feel like I'm settling into the traveling life a little more, aided by a number of people here who have done a lot of traveling and are rather experienced. The last couple of days have been pretty fun. I took some days off, then spent yesterday touring around a nearby valley. The rock formations here are incredible, and the landscape is pretty unreal. If you Google "Goreme" and go to the image search, you'll get some idea of what I'm talking about.
There are strange looking cones scattered everywhere, the result of large deposits of volcanic ash being unevenly eroded by rain and snow. People have hollowed them out for centuries and turned them into houses. This area used to be a sort of Christian holdout, and I saw a number of cave churches yesterday. I also toured an underground city, which is exactly what it sounds like - a place where around 5000 people used to live in times of emergency. The place is 8 levels deep and goes down about 300 feet. There was a small church in there, too, with a couple of crosses carved into the walls.
I'll be spending about two more weeks in Turkey, with five more days left in Göreme. From here I'll head out to Olympos. After Turkey I'll be going to Greece, and I'm hoping to be able to visit some cool places and possibly even stay in a monastery for a week or so. I'm looking forward to going to a place where Christianity hasn't been almost completely annhilated.
Further updates as events warrant, I suppose.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Still in Urfa
I'm still in Urfa. It turns out that there's not much to do here, but travel arrangements I made for next week have sort of kept me pinned down.
I've met a couple of interesting people passing through the guest house, but most seem to want to see the sights for a day or two and then move quickly on. I've run out of books to read, and everyone at the guest house was off on tours today, so there wasn't a whole lot to do. It's actually getting a little lonely.
The evenings are beautiful, and I sort of wait all day for it. My bed is up on the roof, and as the sun goes down the air cools off and a breeze starts to move. All the lights in the city come on, and Urfa becomes a much more attractive place than it is during the hot and dusty afternoon.
On the 18th I'll be moving on to Kahta, a town a little ways north of here, for a tour of Mt. Nemrud. Again, thanks to all of you for continuing to pray. If you want something specific, you could pray for me to figure out some idea of what, really, I'm supposed to be doing. :) For now, I just feel like a poorly informed tourist.
I'll try to get some pictures up here again. Feel free to shoot me an email to keep me updated on your lives. I really enjoy hearing from people.
I've met a couple of interesting people passing through the guest house, but most seem to want to see the sights for a day or two and then move quickly on. I've run out of books to read, and everyone at the guest house was off on tours today, so there wasn't a whole lot to do. It's actually getting a little lonely.
The evenings are beautiful, and I sort of wait all day for it. My bed is up on the roof, and as the sun goes down the air cools off and a breeze starts to move. All the lights in the city come on, and Urfa becomes a much more attractive place than it is during the hot and dusty afternoon.
On the 18th I'll be moving on to Kahta, a town a little ways north of here, for a tour of Mt. Nemrud. Again, thanks to all of you for continuing to pray. If you want something specific, you could pray for me to figure out some idea of what, really, I'm supposed to be doing. :) For now, I just feel like a poorly informed tourist.
I'll try to get some pictures up here again. Feel free to shoot me an email to keep me updated on your lives. I really enjoy hearing from people.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Urfa
So I met this guy named Yousef yesterday, and he invited me over for dinner tonight. I would go, but the people I'm staying with have told me that he'll probably drug my food, steal all of my money, rack up huge credit card debts, take me outside of the city, steal my clothes (I think), rape me (this part was also unclear), and then when I stumble back to the guesthouse my bank will call me and tell me that I owe them 2000 and 1000 dollars.
But it's my choice - I can go or not go, but I shouldn't go. If I go, there is nothing they can do. I have been warned. But, you know, if I really want to go, well...they won't stop me. But I can tell Yousef that I'm sick and can't go. That would be the best.
But it's my choice - I can go or not go, but I shouldn't go. If I go, there is nothing they can do. I have been warned. But, you know, if I really want to go, well...they won't stop me. But I can tell Yousef that I'm sick and can't go. That would be the best.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
A real update: Istanbul
Ok - a real update! I spent about four days in Istanbul before getting bored and feeling compelled to leave by swarms of tourists. I probably should've stayed longer and taken things more slowly, but...I felt like it was time to go. I did get to see a lot of the cool things Istanbul is known for, and I even took some pictures. So...here's the Hagia Sophia (pronounced Ayasofya if you don't want to sound like an idiot):
And a mosaic above the entryway:
The inside is huge - birds flying around near the roof. The place is a little at odds with itself, too. It was converted into a mosque before becoming a museum, and the mosaics were plastered over, which probably didn't help much in preserving them. There's a nook that points towards Mecca and Muslim frescoes (mostly just patterns) mixed in among ruined mosaics and such. A very interesting place. I also saw the Blue Mosque:
A very beautiful place, if a little sterile. It's across the street from the Hagia Sophia, and was built in an attempt to compete, so it's similarly impressive. Strict Islam, however, prohibits images of living things, and it doesn't have the rich imagery of the Christian mosaics and frescoes - just patterns. Beautiful nonetheless, but in a clean way.
I also saw an ancient Roman cistern - the 6th century Basilica Cistern, complete with pillars supported by the head of Medusa...I think they got the Medusa head from somewhere else.
I was very glad of my camera's manual mode for the cistern pictures. It was very dark, so I had to take 10-15 second exposures to get it to turn out right. The pictures actually ended up looking better than it did it real life. More light, I guess. :)
Now I've moved on to the other side of Turkey, courtesy of a 20+ hour bus ride (no one spoke a word of English) from Istanbul. I'm in Urfa (or Shaliurfa) which seems to be the Ur mentioned in the Bible. Abraham was born here, so yesterday I went to the cave where they say he was born. Muslims come here on pilgrimages, but there are otherwise very few tourists. It's also fairly close to Mt. Nemrud, which sounds suspiciously similar to Nimrod - the guy who built the tower of Babel. The mountain is covered with huge stone images and ruins. So...there's history here. The start of it all, really; Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all point to Abraham as a sort of beginning. I'll be here for about six days, I think, staying at a guesthouse with a very kind Kurdish couple. I'll get some time to relax and read, though I managed to finish East of Eden in about three days, dooming myself to boredom...I might read it again.
From here I'll move on to central Turkey, then southwestern, then the west near the ruins of Ephesus where they say Mary the mother of Jesus died. From there back to Istanbul, making a big loop around Turkey. I'll leave for Greece, I think, on about the 10th of September. I'll spend a couple of days there, then start to move through the Balkans for a month.
I've met some very nice people. A Canadian from Vancouver helped me with travel arrangements in Istanbul, and I met several Aussies. Three Spanish girls are here for the next day, and two Italians stayed last night here in Urfa. Met four Basque ladies on a train. Not many Americans. Apparently Turkey is a vacation hotspot for Europe, so the prices are European to match.
There's a lot to see, but for some reason I feel unsettled...maybe it'll pass. As for now, it seems I'll feel better when I'm out of Turkey and moving again. I very much appreciate those of you who are praying.
And a mosaic above the entryway:
The inside is huge - birds flying around near the roof. The place is a little at odds with itself, too. It was converted into a mosque before becoming a museum, and the mosaics were plastered over, which probably didn't help much in preserving them. There's a nook that points towards Mecca and Muslim frescoes (mostly just patterns) mixed in among ruined mosaics and such. A very interesting place. I also saw the Blue Mosque:
A very beautiful place, if a little sterile. It's across the street from the Hagia Sophia, and was built in an attempt to compete, so it's similarly impressive. Strict Islam, however, prohibits images of living things, and it doesn't have the rich imagery of the Christian mosaics and frescoes - just patterns. Beautiful nonetheless, but in a clean way.
I also saw an ancient Roman cistern - the 6th century Basilica Cistern, complete with pillars supported by the head of Medusa...I think they got the Medusa head from somewhere else.
I was very glad of my camera's manual mode for the cistern pictures. It was very dark, so I had to take 10-15 second exposures to get it to turn out right. The pictures actually ended up looking better than it did it real life. More light, I guess. :)
Now I've moved on to the other side of Turkey, courtesy of a 20+ hour bus ride (no one spoke a word of English) from Istanbul. I'm in Urfa (or Shaliurfa) which seems to be the Ur mentioned in the Bible. Abraham was born here, so yesterday I went to the cave where they say he was born. Muslims come here on pilgrimages, but there are otherwise very few tourists. It's also fairly close to Mt. Nemrud, which sounds suspiciously similar to Nimrod - the guy who built the tower of Babel. The mountain is covered with huge stone images and ruins. So...there's history here. The start of it all, really; Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all point to Abraham as a sort of beginning. I'll be here for about six days, I think, staying at a guesthouse with a very kind Kurdish couple. I'll get some time to relax and read, though I managed to finish East of Eden in about three days, dooming myself to boredom...I might read it again.
From here I'll move on to central Turkey, then southwestern, then the west near the ruins of Ephesus where they say Mary the mother of Jesus died. From there back to Istanbul, making a big loop around Turkey. I'll leave for Greece, I think, on about the 10th of September. I'll spend a couple of days there, then start to move through the Balkans for a month.
I've met some very nice people. A Canadian from Vancouver helped me with travel arrangements in Istanbul, and I met several Aussies. Three Spanish girls are here for the next day, and two Italians stayed last night here in Urfa. Met four Basque ladies on a train. Not many Americans. Apparently Turkey is a vacation hotspot for Europe, so the prices are European to match.
There's a lot to see, but for some reason I feel unsettled...maybe it'll pass. As for now, it seems I'll feel better when I'm out of Turkey and moving again. I very much appreciate those of you who are praying.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
I'm starting. It's starting. We're starting. The trip and me.
I'm leaving tomorrow morning, so expect some 'real' updates relatively soon, like in the next handful of days or so. I should be arriving in Istanbul at about 5:00 PM (local time) on the 7th, although my first priority might not be updating my blog. Sorry.
In other news, this is the first time in a very long time when I haven't had a personal computer. The desktop is sitting alone in my room, and my laptop is being used by my mother. Sounds a little weird, but we definitely take these things for granted...especially us computer science / electrical engineer types. This'll be a little different, I think.
In other news, this is the first time in a very long time when I haven't had a personal computer. The desktop is sitting alone in my room, and my laptop is being used by my mother. Sounds a little weird, but we definitely take these things for granted...especially us computer science / electrical engineer types. This'll be a little different, I think.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Update
Having a blog means that someone might read it, so I should probably generate some 'content'.
Um...I'm not up to much. It's looking like I'll be leaving for Istanbul on the 6th of August, and the travel agent I'm working with is very good at things. I'll have a railpass that will allow me a month of traveling anywhere in Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Macedonia, and Serbia, so I might add Greece to the list, even if it's only for a couple of days.
I drove from Spokane to Seattle today to pick up the last of my stuff from the house I've been living in this past year. I took my time along the way, taking pictures and making a couple of fishing stops. It's been a long time since I've had a camera, and I don't think I've ever had a digital camera, so this is new and exciting. Here's some of the very few I thought were ok. I don't know who Dwayne James is, but he seems like a real stand-up guy.
Um...I'm not up to much. It's looking like I'll be leaving for Istanbul on the 6th of August, and the travel agent I'm working with is very good at things. I'll have a railpass that will allow me a month of traveling anywhere in Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Macedonia, and Serbia, so I might add Greece to the list, even if it's only for a couple of days.
I drove from Spokane to Seattle today to pick up the last of my stuff from the house I've been living in this past year. I took my time along the way, taking pictures and making a couple of fishing stops. It's been a long time since I've had a camera, and I don't think I've ever had a digital camera, so this is new and exciting. Here's some of the very few I thought were ok. I don't know who Dwayne James is, but he seems like a real stand-up guy.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
This went up as a Facebook note a while back - I'm just repeating it here.
I got the Bonderman! Woot! A lot of people are wondering what that means, so I thought I would utilize Facebook's handy note feature to give you all a little description. This is my first foray into the emo blog world, so hold on to your pants.
No, seriously, are you holding on? Ok, great.
The Bonderman Travel Fellowship is a...well...travel fellowship awarded by David Bonderman through the UW Honors program. Recipients go on a trip that lasts at least 8 months and covers six or more countries in two or more major regions of the world. You have to travel solo, and the fellowship covers costs up to $20,000.
The entire process is specifically non-academic, which means that I can't attend a foreign university, use it as part of a research project, or really earn credits in any way. Instead, applicants provide an essay describing a sort of overarching proposal for their trip that describes where they want to go, why they want to go there, and what they hope to accomplish. One also provides an itinerary of the places they want to go, approximate dates and costs, and that jazz. There are a lot of cool proposals out there - you can read them here:
http://depts.washington.edu/uwhonors/news/04aut/bonderman.htm
It may seem a little touchy feely, but that's sort of the point, and I think it's what makes this fellowship so unique. It's not so much study abroad as a self-defined trip for the purpose of personal growth. That turns out to be a very good thing, because my proposal has a decidedly 'spiritual' bent. More like a 'Jesus' bent.
Sometimes I think deep thoughts (like once a month) and the theme that's been rolling around in my head for the past year or two (or three, or more) is what it means to follow Jesus when one strips away all of the restrictions and peculiarities of culture. Growing up in the U.S., one can often get the sense that we hold a monopoly on what it means to be a Christian, and we forget that there are a number of Christian traditions all around the world that have been around for a much longer time than ours.
I proposed to travel around to a number of these foundations of Christianity, including orthodox traditions in Istanbul, Ukraine, Russia, and Ethiopia. I'll also be spending some time among the Mar Thoma church in India, a church begun by the apostle Thomas around 52 AD. In addition to these foundational churches, I also plan to look at developing churches in tribal southwestern Ethiopia, India, and Nepal, as well as the registered Three Self church in China. I plan to leave during the last week of this July and return about 10 months later. I'll be packing what I can carry on my back, and won't have a computer or anything like that. I will try to update the world on where I am so that everyone knows I'm alive, probably through a blog or Facebook notes or something.
I've tagged all of the places I plan to visit as 'places that I want to go to' on my Where I've Been Map. Check that out.
I woke up this morning and realized that I like my bed a lot, and that I'm going to be spending 10 months sleeping in a whole lot of random places. That drove it home a little bit, but I'm still trying to figure out what this is going to be like. A lot of people have asked if I'm excited; I am, but that's one feeling among many. My mom is worried, which in my experience means it's going to be super fun.
Thanks to all of you who are excited for me - I definitely appreciate it.
I got the Bonderman! Woot! A lot of people are wondering what that means, so I thought I would utilize Facebook's handy note feature to give you all a little description. This is my first foray into the emo blog world, so hold on to your pants.
No, seriously, are you holding on? Ok, great.
The Bonderman Travel Fellowship is a...well...travel fellowship awarded by David Bonderman through the UW Honors program. Recipients go on a trip that lasts at least 8 months and covers six or more countries in two or more major regions of the world. You have to travel solo, and the fellowship covers costs up to $20,000.
The entire process is specifically non-academic, which means that I can't attend a foreign university, use it as part of a research project, or really earn credits in any way. Instead, applicants provide an essay describing a sort of overarching proposal for their trip that describes where they want to go, why they want to go there, and what they hope to accomplish. One also provides an itinerary of the places they want to go, approximate dates and costs, and that jazz. There are a lot of cool proposals out there - you can read them here:
http://depts.washington.ed
It may seem a little touchy feely, but that's sort of the point, and I think it's what makes this fellowship so unique. It's not so much study abroad as a self-defined trip for the purpose of personal growth. That turns out to be a very good thing, because my proposal has a decidedly 'spiritual' bent. More like a 'Jesus' bent.
Sometimes I think deep thoughts (like once a month) and the theme that's been rolling around in my head for the past year or two (or three, or more) is what it means to follow Jesus when one strips away all of the restrictions and peculiarities of culture. Growing up in the U.S., one can often get the sense that we hold a monopoly on what it means to be a Christian, and we forget that there are a number of Christian traditions all around the world that have been around for a much longer time than ours.
I proposed to travel around to a number of these foundations of Christianity, including orthodox traditions in Istanbul, Ukraine, Russia, and Ethiopia. I'll also be spending some time among the Mar Thoma church in India, a church begun by the apostle Thomas around 52 AD. In addition to these foundational churches, I also plan to look at developing churches in tribal southwestern Ethiopia, India, and Nepal, as well as the registered Three Self church in China. I plan to leave during the last week of this July and return about 10 months later. I'll be packing what I can carry on my back, and won't have a computer or anything like that. I will try to update the world on where I am so that everyone knows I'm alive, probably through a blog or Facebook notes or something.
I've tagged all of the places I plan to visit as 'places that I want to go to' on my Where I've Been Map. Check that out.
I woke up this morning and realized that I like my bed a lot, and that I'm going to be spending 10 months sleeping in a whole lot of random places. That drove it home a little bit, but I'm still trying to figure out what this is going to be like. A lot of people have asked if I'm excited; I am, but that's one feeling among many. My mom is worried, which in my experience means it's going to be super fun.
Thanks to all of you who are excited for me - I definitely appreciate it.
Friday, May 23, 2008
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