The time has finally come for me to leave the United States again. I have not done any international traveling since my study abroad experience with Semester At Sea, and this trip already feels a bit surreal. After weeks of playing tug-o-war with my insurance company and CVS, I finally have 6 months worth of medications to sustain me throughout my travels. After countless unreturned emails and phone calls to various graduate programs to which I have applied (so far unsuccessfully), I have tied up all of the loose ends and instructed them to contact me only via email. My Peace Corps interview has wrapped up, and I have said a great many goodbyes to family and friends.
After all of that, my journey is poised to begin.
This is the first blog that I have ever kept. Typically, I keep personal journals (both during my travels and at home in America) and communicate with people via email. However, after much persuasion from various people, I’ve decided to give blogging a shot. I’m sure it’s easier for everyone else, and I don’t want to flood anyone’s inbox with unwanted update emails. If you do want to have more personal communication, which I would certainly welcome and appreciate, you can all email me at bjlinder@umail.iu.edu. Other than that, this blog should be a place where anyone interested can periodically check up on the basics of my journey—what I’m doing, who I’m with, where I am, etc etc.
So where to begin?
As I wrote in the introduction, this trip already feels a bit surreal. I think a big part of that is the fact that I am not returning to school with the majority of my friends. I still do not really feel like I have graduated from college, so I feel more like a dropout than an opportunistic graduate taking advantage of a convenient window in “real world” time. Being in Bloomington as a non-student and attending classes started to make this reality sink in a bit, but I still feel like I have something more important, more goal-oriented, more “real” to be doing than traipsing off to Southeast Asia. Luckily, I’m wrong about this for the most part. My applications are sent, my real life is on hold, and all of my loose ends are tied.
In addition to all of that, though, it’s hard for me to conceptualize what it will be like to be dropped off in the bustle of Asian cities once again. It’s such a different reality from the one I’m currently experiencing in Carmel, Indiana. I feel as though I am attempting to prepare for a long dream, the content of which I can’t possibly foresee. A lame analogy, but pretty accurate, I think.
It’s currently 4:30 AM. In a little over an hour, my mom will drive me to the airport, where I will board a United flight to (drum roll)… Chicago. Less than an hour later, I will touch down.
Barring any snow-related complications in Chicago, I will board a Korean Airlines flight to Seoul, South Korea at about 11 AM. This is the longest leg of my travel itinerary, weighing in at a whopping 14 hours. That’s definitely the most grueling single flight I’ve ever taken, so we’ll see how that goes.
After a brief layover in Seoul, I will board one last flight that will ultimately drop me off in Bangkok, Thailand, where my journey can really begin.
Again, I’m not sure what to expect once I arrive in Thailand. Grant, Mike, and Josh seem to be having a great time there, and I am terribly eager to join them in their adventures around Bangkok. Obviously, I’ll have more details once I’m actually there… so feel free to check back at this blog every once in awhile.
Without knowing any specifics, I can comfortably say one thing: I am VERY excited. If you’re reading this post, then you probably know me well enough to know that traveling is absolutely my favorite thing to do in the entire world. It’s not even dependant on a particular destination. I could go anywhere in the world and feel largely the same high. Too often, people don’t seem to understand what attracts me to traveling. Mostly, it’s my fault because I have such a tough time explaining it. There is something so incredible and empowering and reaffirming about the whole endeavor. From drinking with Europeans in Asian bars to visiting NGOs along the way, traveling really is about seeing new corners of the world and feeling a sense of connectedness with wherever you are.
OK, this is already getting too cliché and way too preachy. I mean it sincerely, though. I really love traveling, and I appreciate the support and encouragement everyone has offered, even when they don’t exactly understand why. I look so forward to this journey, as I will surely never undertake one like it again in my life. If you enjoy reading about it, all the better.
I will truly miss you all while I’m gone, and I cannot wait to catch up when I get back.
As Garrison Keillor always signs off, “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”
(Yes. I am shamelessly ripping off Garrison Keillor. Deal with it.)
