Pre-Trip Musings

Thoughts for the day:

Apparently when we fly to Japan, we’re going to lose a day. In two weeks, when our airplane is soaring somewhere over Kiribati, we’ll cross the International Date Line and bam, just like that we’ll be twenty-four hours into the “future.” Normally people who fly west to Japan eventually turn around and come back, thus getting their day back. Not so for us. It will be gone, I guess I’ll technically be older, but no regrets here.

Now that my facebook clock tells me that I have approximately 13 days, 13 hours, and 14 minutes until I leave, the reality of what we are about to do has begun to set in. I’m reminded of the big reasons for undertaking such a trip: the chance to learn about and explore the world on my own terms, to become familiar with the rhythms of new places, meet local people and try to gain a level of understanding about their lives, gather stories to take home and share, and to finally have time for needed personal introspection and to write for myself. I find that it is easiest to live in the present and appreciate what is around me when I am traveling (a challenge: to do the same while at home). I realize that all will not be a picnic on this venture, I imagine I’ll feel the whole range of my emotions quite fully: finding beauty in small things, despair at what I cannot change, rage at what I perceive as injustices, and hope in the people I meet. I will be alive, humbled, and in awe.

On the whole, these are the big thoughts. There is also the endless stream of little inane ponderings that flow through my head, such as not knowing where I will be sleeping for the next six months. Nor having any clue about what sort of toilets I will soon be encountering. Minor paranoia about unknown bugs carrying unpleasant diseases, and trying to memorize the names of foods that I must try.

Now I’m ready to be done writing this entry, but am having some difficulty finding a good end, so in your mind please insert a <nice, witty one-liner to end with that captures the gist of all the ideas I just wrote about> here.

-Julie

a time after the farm

so today marks an interesting day as i can stay up late and not have to worry about being at the farm in the morn. it also marks a time when i need to crack down and realize i am leaving madison so soon. which makes me think about this amazing city and all the great things going on here at the moment. sure i don’t mind escaping the winter, but i will miss all the great people that have stumbled into my life lately and, of course, those that have been around all along. the co-op is great. my jobs have been great. the atmosphere of the city in the crisp late-november air is great. and life is pretty damn good.

as i ponder packing and think of the times to come, i can barely handle it. so many amazing sights and hikes and friends and farms ahead! the three of us are so lucky to have the connections we have and the lives we do!

i’m excited for these last weeks and all the warm family and friends that will be a part of it. it will make me excited to return in june.

with a tinge of nostalgia, anne

Wishing for a Magic Closet

Packing for six months of travel is quite a task.  It seems that every time I think that I have my pack list figured out, I read or think about one more item I should probably bring, be it a sink stopper or a spare pair of glasses.  Most recently, I read that you can actually rig up your own makeshift seat belt to hook around your seat for those harrowing bus rides on roads of questionable quality.  Who knew?  Seeing as driving (well, riding really) will probably be the most dangerous thing we do on this trip, I think I will give it a try . . .  

While I admittedly can be a gear head, I find myself hoping I don’t get too burdened down by all the stuff I have to carry with me.  Burdened in both a physical sense and the mental worry that I don’t lose anything important.  Lots of die hard travellers on the Thorn Tree and Boots ‘n All travel forums swear by traveling with only a school-sized backpack (for excellent packing advice for long-term travel, this is a good site).  While I don’t think my bag will be that small, I do know it will be a lot better than the 85L, 50+lb bag I drug around Europe for a month while studying abroad.  This one I will definitely be able to lift over my head and it won’t cause back problems. 

I found myself thinking at lunch today that it would be great if I could travel with a magic hidden closet.  An invisible space that followed me wherever I went, that I could always access and in which I could safely store my documents, money, medicine, and other gear.  Of course, part of travel the process of leaving behind the familiar and finding freedom in being away from the material items you are tied to at home.  But with this pack list continually growing, I wonder just how free I’ll feel.  In any case, I’ll definitely be learning as I go about what I need and what I can do without. 

-Julie

Ready to Leave…

40 hours a week at DoIT- this job sometimes makes me even more ready to leave:

1) Last week:
Customer: This is my girlfriend’s computer and last week I downloaded porn on it. I started getting all sorts of pop-ups and virus notifications, but the computer still worked. Then I downloaded more porn and now the computer doesn’t work at all. What should I do?
**At this point I spent about 20 minutes removing various programs that had been downloaded onto his (girlfriend’s) computer, installing a legitimate anti-virus program onto the computer, and showing him how to run a virus scan. Then as he is leaving:
Customer: So where should I download porn so that I don’t get viruses?

!!!!!

2) This week:
Customer brought his computer in because he couldn’t stay connected to wireless networks. I turned on the machine and was waiting for it to boot up when he grabbed it away from me suddenly, turned bright red, and mumbled about having to change the background. After a while, I was able to convince him that I have seen my share of X-Rated backgrounds and he gave the computer back to me. Sure enough, a mostly-naked woman on a pink and silver background. If only the shy, very embarrassed, red-faced guy knew just how common this background was…

-Luthien