I’m excited to begin writing a blog, and sharing my thoughts with those that care to read it. Of course, this is beginning as I start an extended period of travel, so this will largely be a chronicle of my trip, but perhaps interspersed as well with thoughts or essays on topics I find interesting.

Since I first travelled abroad the summer before my senior year of high school to New Zealand on a three week exchange trip, I’ve wanted to take a long term trip around the world. But finding the time to do that can be difficult with all the demands that come with a career, family, and day to day life. Further, to travel for months at a time, it is often necessary to travel alone, since aligning a time where friends can take off from work or school for that long is difficult. Now, I would strongly encourage anyone to travel solo – it is good for the soul and challenges you in ways that are enlightening and healthy, but I still prefer a travel companion. Fortunately, an old roommate of mine during my time in the Air Force has had a similar urge for long term travel, and so we were able to coordinate a trip together. He departed a month earlier than me to explore a region in the southern tip of South America called Patagonia, and then met me at my first stop: Delhi, India.

The day after I started my terminal leave with the military, I packed all my belongings into my truck, and drove up to visit my family in Virginia for a couple of days. Cramming only the essentials for the next few months into a large backpack, I boarded a plane from Dulles to Delhi, with a 6 hour layover in Abu Dhabi. Sitting in Abu Dhabi, it finally hit me – the surreal feeling of actually going through the motions for a trip I've planned for so long started to wash away and I was confronted with what I had embarked upon. It would be a lie if I said I didn’t feel a little scared. I sacrificed a lot to do this trip, and it definitely wasn’t easy, so I hope this trip is worth it. It began to sink in how long I will be away from my culture, my comfort zone, and those I care about. It’s a little terrifying, but I’m excited.

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