Getting ready to leave on an adventure takes a lot more than I initially thought. There are so many loose ends to tie up that I keep thinking up new ones every day. There is only so much I can plan ahead, and when it comes down to it, how much can you plan ahead for something like this? Can over-planning take the fun out of things? I try and get the important stuff like money, antibiotics, and passports out of the way but new little things keep hitting me. Like, should I bring a water filter, or a sleeping bag? The answer seems easy, but packing light is the ultimate challenge. Sometimes I have thoughts wash over me like "What the hell are you doing?! You're going to end up dead or worse!" (in the words of my great-grandmother) and sometimes I am so excited to go I can't wait to be engrossed into a completely new situation. Either way, it's going to be exciting.
Both in Chile and Peru I will be living with host families. I think that this will improve my Spanish immensely because if I want to communicate, it will have to be in Spanish.
For those of you who don't know yet, here is my loose itinerary:
January 23- Leave for Santiago, Chile
January -February- Language School in Santiago and Bariloche, Argentina
March- Travel in Patagonia and maybe Bolivia
End of March - End of May- Dental Volunteering in Cuzco, Peru in a Children's clinic
June- Travel??
This is my first Blog, and I'm not big on keeping a journal so bear with me. Hopefully my posts will keep getting better...
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Sweet blog Lindsay! I think you should definitely take a sleeping bag and water filter. In my experience the real enemy is too many clothes. If you're traveling to a new place every week or so, it doesn't really make sense to take more than two sets of layers. But it depends on how long you're going to stay places, maybe if you could have two bags. A big one for language school and a small one for traveling. Then just leave the big one behind, or send it home when you're done in Santiago.
ReplyDeleteI second Dan. Buy your cloths there, and leave them behind as you travel to warmer climates.
ReplyDeleteRe: keeping a blog, you may find that the blog provides a unique forum for public personal reflection and I found when travel-blogging, the success and personal satisfaction the travel blog provides you is often related to your readers' attentiveness and feedback. That being said, let's pack light, eat well, and fumble in Spanish often, b/c I may not be in S.America w/u but you can be sure I'd love to be. Bon voyage!
ReplyDeleteBon Voyage to the world traveler! May you have wonderful sites to see, meet interesting people, accumulate extraordinary memories and have safe travels all the way! We all look forward to hearing of your adventures on this blog. Love, Mama Fox
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