Off To A Foreign Land

Tomorrow morning I leave for San Salvador. This is always an anxious time as the excitement and fear of the unknown come closer to reality. As the checklist gets smaller and smaller, so too does my patience for deciding what clothes I should bring, whether I have all of the right medications, or if I've taken care of everything at home. They say cut your clothes in half and double your money before you do any travel. If I did that I'd be naked in the middle of Panama with no money begging for an empanada. Here's to hoping they take kindly to naked foreigners speaking mediocre Spanglish.

It's also in this moment that I realize what an opportunity I have to do this. The ability to do long-term travel, let alone any international travel, is something that isn't accessible to everyone. I have to thank my parents for the opportunities I've been given in life, my grandparents for the hopes of a fulfilled life, my brother for the pursuit of dreams, and my friends for insight into all facets of life. They have all realized my life goals aren't the same as others and thus, have fully supported me in my sometimes capricious escapades.

The plan is two months in Central America followed by two months in South America, all by bus (minus the initial flight to San Salvador to skip over Mexico). The last time I traveled I realized what an illusion plane flights are. I flew from Bangkok to Istanbul in about 12 hours to awake in a completely different landscape with completely different cultures. This isn't a true representation of the world; It's a time-warp. You walk in a door, read and sleep, walk back out of the door, and you're in a new world. I want to see the change in land, people, food, music, even accents. This leads to slower, yet richer travel. Plus I help out the environment: bonus!

So in this moment I must relax and realize what this is all about - exploiting countries where the dollar actually has more buying power. What, like I want to go to Europe and travel for one week just to find myself broke and naked in Paris? No way, I've seen Taken. In all seriousness, this is about the adventure and experience of travel. It's about the two-way street I'll take when interacting with cultures. It's about the chance I have and the sacrifices I've made to have it. It's about learning the world and my place in it. Travel is the ultimate catalyst to find what was already there - you.