Claire takes on the world….

I stole this off someone else’s page. I did ask him for permission but he never got back to me. I guess that means he doesn’t mind…..

So how did you save up the money for this trip?
Lets just say my aunt helped me out. And I’ve done a bit of saving too. I don’t drink too much or buy a lot of clothes, that helps a lot.

Are you scared?
Absolutely not. I’m only scared of the fact I’ve put my plans on the internet for everyone to see and I’d feel a bit stupid if I was home after a week! I think to do this kind of thing you have to trust the planet. And I do. I see it as my playground. That’s not to say I won’t be taking extra caution. I won’t arrive anywhere at night or go anywhere at night alone. I’ll try stay off alcohol as much as I can and never accept a drink or food from a stranger. I may also shave my head. Oooo

What part of your trip are you most excited about?
The working. I’m volunteering for two months in Lima and that’s the most important part. I’m only going to really think about the trip afterwards. I learned from India that the best way to get to know a culture and the language is through knowing the local people. So I can’t wait to work with the people of Peru.
After that, I’m excited about Bolivia, the country sounds unreal. And I know I’m a loser, but I really want to see Ramsay St. in Australia, the street where Neighbours is filmed. I’ve watched it for as long as I can remember.

What part of your trip are you the most nervous about?
The part where Micheal goes home and I’ll be in Peru alone. That will be the make or break moment. If I can survive in South America without him I’m sure I’ll be fine for the rest of it.

Yea, seriously… aren’t you worried about being labeled an American and treated poorly as you travel?
Ehh….no. Guess this one doesn’t entirely apply to me. I’ve had someone give out to me about my country invading theirs. But that’s only when they thought I was English. Seems the Irish haven’t done enough to annoy anyone.

Do you speak any other languages?
Yup! Irish. What a help! I’ve been learning Spanish for about 6 months now. I plan on learning as much as I can before I go and then maybe doing an intensive Spanish course after my work is over in August. I was learning a bit of Khasi during the summer, but that will only be uselful when I get back to India. I did German in school but don’t intend on hitting Germany just yet. I also want to learn a bit of Hindi.

What are you going to do when you get back?
Whoah! Hopefully either get a job or go back to college. If I find a place abroad in which I’d like to study then hopefully I’ll be able to get a job when I come home. If I don’t, my plan is to teach English in Asia until I’ve saved up enough to do a masters in Dublin.

Ok, ok, so you don’t know what you are going to do when you get back, but surely you have other places that you want to go?
Yea definitely. Because I’m on a student budget here I’m trying to avoid expensive countries, America, Australia etc. When I’m big and have a real job I intend on going and exploring them. I haven’t seen much of Eastern Europe, it was never top of my list and I went to America when my friends went inter-railing. Also Africa, I’ve wanted to go there for years but realistically I don’t know if I’ll be able to get there this time.

Ok, and why aren’t you going to Africa?
I got one of those ‘Round the World’ tickets. That meant I have to travel continuously round the world. As I’m starting in Ireland and heading to Peru I can’t double back and go to Africa. I plan on staying in Asia for a long time so who knows when I’ll get there!

And finally, why travel? Why not start a family? A career? Why not save for a house or retirement?
Because I’m 21!! I’ve no interest in a career or a family yet. I think my folks would be a bit freaked out if I settled down so fast. And if I travel the world I can make an informed decision on where I would like to raise Claire Junior.
K the guy I nicked this FAQ off had the best answer for this question so I’m going to leave it in. It’s from a book called Vagabonding by Ralph Potts.
In the tale, a couple of monks named Theodore and Lucious shared the acute desire to go out and see the world. Since they’d made vows of contemplation, however, this was not something they were allowed to do. So, to satiate their wanderlust, Theodore and Lucious learned to “mock their temptations” by relegating their travels to the future. When the summertime came, they said to each other, “We will leave in the winter.” When the winter came, they said, “We will leave in the summer.” They went on like this for over fity years, never once leaving the monasetery or breaking their vows.
Most of us, of course, have never taken such vows– but we chose to live like monks anyway, rooting ourselves to a home or a career and using the future as a kind of phony ritual that justifies the present. In this way, we end up spending (as Thoureau put it) “the best part of one’s life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of it.” We’d love to drop all and explore the world outside, we tell ourselves, but the time never seems right. Thurs, given an unlimited amount of choices, we make none. Settling into our lives, we get so obsessed with holding on to our domestice certainties that we forget why we deseired them in the first place.