MAY 14, SUNDAY

I am leaving in less than three months and have done some preparation for my trip. Most of my energy has been used to create this web page!! I have looked at many other travel web pages and they are amazing. Check out the Ongoing Travelogues listed in Yahoo Recreational. I wish I could just add that here as a link but I cannot figure out how to do that using Homepage. Since I do not have experience with creating a web page or HTML, I decided to use www.homepage.com. They offer free web hosting with 10,000 kb of free space. Originally, I wanted to include pictures using a digital camera. However, this seems to be way too involved and time-consuming. Last year I bought a brand new SLR camera (Canon EOS 2000-which I love) and telephoto lens for my trip to Africa and it was not cheap. Therefore, I do not want to buy a digital camera (one that takes pictures with the same quality of an SLR). I could buy a cheaper digital camera just for the web page with low resolution but there is no way I want to carry them both!! Every travel web page that I read was written by a couple traveling together so they are able to share the weight of added baggage. So, sorry... but I do not think I will include pictures. They also take up too much room on the web page. Maybe I will add some when I return.

I also will not be carrying a computer - not a chance. I will (hopefully) be able to update this page at an internet cafe. They have become increasingly popular around the world and I have found them everywhere - especially in the bigger cities. My assistant principal could not understand why I could not carry a laptop and digital camera. Perhaps if I had him carry my backpack around the track three or four times in the heat at the end of June he might understand!

I do have three definites: my flight, my enrollment in a Spanish language course, and my travel insurance. I booked my flight with Exito Travel (800 655-4053) because their prices were far cheaper than any other place I called. The low airfare supports their claim which is to be the "Latin American Specialists". I also found them helpful and expedient. I am flying into Quito, Ecuador in August and out of Rio, Brazil in June. My flight cost $862.00 plus a $75.00 fee to change the date of my flight home. They could not book that far in advance and my ticket now says January, but it is not a problem to change; something I will have to wait and experience, of course. Nothing involving paperwork is ever easy in a foreign country.

During the month of August, I will be taking Spanish classes and staying with an Ecuadorian family. I booked this through Spanish Abroad, Inc. (888 722-7623). Again, they were friendly and helpful. Four weeks of Spanish class and the homestay cost $980.00. Three meals a day are included and I do have a private room. This is still a bit steep for Ecuador where you can travel for probably $10.00 a day. The program got good reviews from Lonely Planet and Footprints (2 of the best guide books for South America). I desperately need to learn Spanish and this will be a good push.

The last piece that I actually have planned is my insurance. Since I am taking an unpaid leave of absence, I will not have any medical insurance. I got the name of this travel insurance company from a travel catalogue, Walkabout (800 852-7085) They have really good travel 'stuff' at decent prices. The insurance company is called Champion and my roommate (an insurance person) thought the policy looked good. Coverage for 12 months is about $1,000.00. Very expensive!! But that includes adventure activities and home insurance, in case you have to come home during your trip. Without the adventure clause, you can basically just walk through a country - no riding on motorcycles, snorkeling, mountain climbing, or horsebackriding. He explained it this way: why should people who only want to go and take pictures have to pay for the nuts who want to jump off a bridge with a rubber band around their ankles... good point.

That is all so far. I do still have a million things to do, like eventually sell my car and move out of my apartment. My housemate, Loren, found a friend to move into my room and she wants to use my bedroom furniture. All I have to move out is my clothes, books, and the other thousand things I have in my room. But not having to move my furniture is a huge bonus!

There are four more weeks of class and then final exams. Once school is over, I will finally feel like I am going. Friends and co-workers keep asking, "Are you excited?" I don't really have an answer to that since I am not sure really what I am heading into. This is new territory: not having a place to come home to and leaving for a year. I know it will be unbelievable but I just want to be finished with all the thinking about what I have to do......

JUNE 26, MONDAY

NEW YORK School is over... this is my first Monday off and Mondays will now be like any other day for the next fourteen months!!! Sorry about that for any of you that have to work. That is one of the beautiful things about travelling... the days of the week are all the same. Sometimes, when I am travelling, I do not even know what day of the week it is. When that happens, I know I have completely immersed myself in my trip. But right now, I am still in New York for one more month. But, school is finished which is a big relief.

The last two weeks of school were filled with finals (all my students passed the English Regents and I am very proud of them!!), goodbyes, and tons of questions. The two most frequently asked questions:

1. "When are you leaving?"

2. "Are you excited, nervous, scared, panicked, happy, etc.?"

The words August 5th no longer have any meaning to me because I have said them so many times. And yes, I have experienced all of those emotions depending on the day. The last week of school was an emotional rollercoaster. One day I would think, "What am I doing? Am I nuts? South America, why did I choose to go there? I cannot do this. I will miss all my friends and family. My students need me..." The next day I would think, "Let it all go. Nothing will change. What changes in a year? NOTHING...! It will be the most amazing trip I have ever taken. I will learn and see more than I can imagine." Luckily, I am now in the second frame of mind and am hopeful that it is permanent. At least until I have to say goodbye to my family and closest friends. I was very sad to leave school and all the people I care about. But they will be there when I return.

This week I will move out of my apartment (sob....) and move into my sister's house for the next five weeks. Three reasons: I want to spend time with my family; it will save me rent money for the month of July; it is 104 degrees in my apartment (110 degrees in my third floor bedroom) on an average day in the summer.

So, the next weeks will be filled with final planning, tons of goodbye parties, and trying to fit all my junk into my backpack. No matter what I think I will need, I always end up throwing stuff out the first day because my backpack is too heavy. I actually want to bring a smaller backpack that I won on-line from Escape magazine because it has lots of little pockets to keep everything organized. It remains to be seen if I can actually get everything in there. My hiking shoes(not even boots) take up about a third of the space, but are a necessity. My sleeping bag seems disproportionately huge compared to my backpack but will be tied onto the outside. Again, it is a necessity. Anyway, see the packing list for exactly what I will bring. It always amazes people that someone can live out of a backpack for an extended period of time. But how many changes of clothes do you need when you don't see the same people every day?!!! Exactly.... Well, my first official day off and I have many errands to run and friends to call...

JULY 1, SATURDAY

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Well, my first step is today; I am getting ready to pack up my car and move out of my apartment. It's very sad; I have lived here five years. I know I am coming back here after I return but it is just so weird.... The whole week was spent running a million errands and packing up my room. I only had to pack my clothes, books, and other stuff but it took me all week. I cannot imagine if I had to move a whole house. Yuck!

Went to the Met game on Thursday to see them play Atlanta and the infamous John Rocker. It was New York at its best! Fans screaming obscenities and bonding over their hate of a man who dared to badmouth New York, only people who live here are allowed to do that. It's like saying negative things about a family member; it's okay if you do it but god forbid anyone else said the same thing. However, that is what makes New York a great place to live - the opinionated people!

Well, I am off to the beach and then to my sister's to move into a room with my seven year old niece, Christi, who is very excited. 5 weeks till departure!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AUGUST 1

Leaving in 5 days! Cannot believe it. The last five weeks have been filled with emotional highs and falling to pieces... Saying goodbye is such a difficult thing to do.

Last night was my final night of work at the restaurant. I will definitely miss everyone there. Leaving for a year has certainly made me understand that I could never move away because I have so many awesome friends and I would miss my family desperately.

Top ten things that I think I will miss: (of course, family and friends is #1- that goes without saying)

1. Chatting on the phone with friends and family

2. Everything bagels with vegetable cream cheese

3. 90.7 WFUV -- the best radio station

4. Driving in my car with the radio blasting and the sunroof open

5. Clean towels and long hot showers

6. My bed, my comforter, and the stars on my ceiling

7. Overlook Beach

8. Going out in Manhattan

9. Frosted Mini-Wheats for dinner

10. Having my friends and family to support me

Top ten things I will not miss:

1. Long Island traffic

2. Cleaning the bathroom

3. Worrying about what to wear

4. Stress

5. Working two jobs

6. Explaining why I want to go away for a year

7. Answering the question-"Are you excited?"

8. Running errands

9. Mondays

10. Getting up early

AUGUST 3

Recent conversations with various people

Me: I'm leaving Saturday to go to South America for a year.

Person: A year? I assume you will be working down there?

Me: No, just travelling around.

Person: (with a dumbfound look on their face because they cannot understand why someone would not want to work for a whole year and why I wouldn't use my money for something sensible like buying a house) Travelling around? Who are you going with?

Me: I'm going alone.

Person: Alone? My God, you are brave.

Me: Well, it is something I have always wanted to do.

Person: Are you taking a boat around South America?

Me: (Cannot answer as question is just too dumb)

Person: Are you going to that surf place, um Costa Rica?

Me: No, that is in Central America

Person: How about Mexico?

Me: (getting frustrated with Americans lack of foreign map skills) No, that is Central America

Person: I guess you have booked up all your hotels for the year.

Me: um, no, I'll just find places to stay when I get there.

Person: (Cannot answer or fathom why anyone would want to leave their home and travel around a foreign continent for a year all alone) Well, have a good trip I guess.

So, that is the jist of my conversations for the last month or two. Leaving in two days. Psyched and nervous --

Ok, my nephews just got here and I want to go in the pool with them......

Two days.

AUGUST 4, FRIDAY 12:00AM

Give them roots and give them wings. My mother gave me both and I will be using them tomorrow when I get on that plane. I cannot believe that tomorrow I will be in Quito, Ecuador living with a host family and not waking up in a room with my niece, Christiana sleeping in the bed next to me. The day was filled with too many emotional moments to count. I actually cannot cry anymore. I am waiting to read my goodbye cards until I am on the plane and then of course I will probably be bawling my eyes out. Goodbye New York until June 2001! To my friends and family: I love you and cannot express how much I will miss you. Thank you for all your support and all the goodbye parties. A favorite quote: Don't be dismayed at goodbyes. Farewells are necessary before we can meet again and meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.

"Go now. I think you are ready."

"It's hard to believe people talk about nothing, really, when they don't know how to say goodbye."

Ginger Rogers