and the adventure begins...

tomorrow, something AM, the trip begins. woohOo! and at the same time, shiT. ehehe. i have nothing packed rite now, no rooms reserved after the first third of the trip, no itinerary, in fact, and my spanish still ends at "si." on the flip side, i do have a HUGE backpack [i'll make sure to take some pix on the trip of me falling over trying to carry the thing], hiking boots, three vaccines, and some craZy travel buddies. bring it.

i'm not sure what to expect. only that i want to truly observe the culture and people there, and experience the abundant natural wonders (waterfalls, citadels, rainforest, lakes...) it would've been so tite if we could've fit the galapagos islands in, but the boat trip costs a whopping 600 bucks. definitely not a trip for the starving student.

i've got a little over 200 toothbrush and toothpaste sets to donate to the kids in the shantytowns outside of Lima, Peru. they have nutrition deficiencies, high infant and child mortality rates, and high infection rates. i'm not sure how much help toothbrushes will be, but i'm hoping once i'm amongst them, i can figure out what they need and help them in the future. their parents move to Lima, the big city of Peru, in hopes of finding jobs. the slums surround the city, full of these hopeful workers. i wonder how many break free...

machu picchu is on our first week's itinerary, then a detour to argentina's buenos aires, "the paris of south america," and hopefully, a stop in chile--the closest point to the antarctic.

29 days. i have this strange feeling that i'll fall so in love with the country that i'll want to move there. there's something about grandiose expanses of nature and earthy subsistences that's so magnetic. i always had this small desire in the back of my mind to live among the tibetan monks. tibetan monks, rural aztecs...what's the allure?

without a doubt, i'll miss norcal. knowing i'll be back for a bit helps with the separation. but these past six months felt... so right. truly, there is no place like home. rediscovering norcal has been mind-expanding and life-altering in the way that chance situations can be, micro move by micro move. who knows how the experiences of the past few months will affect my future... whatever it holds. i only know, i'm a few good friends richer, a few hard lessons wiser, and that much more rooted in norcal.