It's been a whirlwind, wonderful two weeks back in the States. I've always been a very adaptable person, and this time at home proved it's more true than ever--it felt strangely not strange to be home, and as I walked around New York City the past few days I was aware of how easily I could just slip back into my old world.

But it's not quite time for that yet, as I have six more months of traveling ahead of me! I'm feeling frazzled and frantic about getting ready for my flight to India tomorrow, but I'm sure it will all be fine. It is hard to switch back into travel-mode, but I think I'll hit my stride pretty easily once I'm on the road. India promises to be a very challenging way to start out, though!

Thanks for all the questions and concern about this leg of my trip, but the earthquake and tsunami probably won't change my plans all that much. I may have a harder time finding a bungalow on the beach in Southern Thailand since most of them were demolished, but the upside is that this may provide exactly the sort of volunteer opportunities I was hoping for--instead of relaxing on the beach, I may be able to help build houses or something.

So, the first bit of this leg of the trip is six weeks in Northern India. I fly into Mumbai (Bombay) and after three days there will fly to Delhi and probably travel all directions from Delhi, starting out meeting friends from college in Rajasthan. I then have three months in Southeast Asia, which is hardly planned at all except that I know I'll be meeting up with my parents to go to Angkor Wat and Vietnam in mid-March. Then I fly to London in mid-May, hopefully with something figured out by then about where in Africa to spend about a month. My flight back to the States from London is June 30.

Hard to know what the next six months have in store for me, but I'm excited and anxious and nervous...it's like starting out on a brand new trip! I promise to keep updating my site and posting lots of pictures, and I hope you'll all come along for the ride.