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Archive for March, 2005

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The end of the daily grind

Monday, March 21st, 2005

I’ve started my last week of work! It should be pretty easy because the girl I’m training knows most of the stuff already and all I have to do is sit back and answer any questions that come up.

I’ve also got a million errands to run! All sorts of things keep coming to mind: bills to change into my roommate’s name, prescriptions to fill, entry Visa photos to take…nothing I can’t handle, just time consuming. Small price to pay, really.

My goodness! Only 4 more full days! Which also means 4 more days till my going away party! Can’t wait! (Gosh, I’m exclaimation point happy!!! 😉 ) And only 10 days till I’m on a plane!

Nothing truly important to write…just getting in the habit of blogging. Guess we can call this my boring post…

Posted in Pre-trip | 1 Comment »

You got questions?

Tuesday, March 8th, 2005

I’ve got answers.
Here are answers to some of the more popular that have come up.

As my title says, and I honestly believe, if you follow your heart you’ll end up where you need to be. I can think of no better way to learn life’s lessons then to live to the fullest. Life is about more then making a living. It’s each new day, each new experience. I’m ready to experience the world, what it has to offer and what it can teach me. No, I am not trying to find myself. I already know that I’m doing what I need to do

Where are you going?
Well, I surely have thought a lot about it! I made a plan, a detailed itinerary, and when I had it all figured out I knew I was free to throw it away. Though quite detailed, I now consider this to be my idea where I’m going, because you never do know where the road will take you.
The idea is this:
First, I fly to Barcelona to attend Spanish classes for a month. Then explore more of Spain on my way to Morocco circling back north to Madrid.
I’ll take a plane to Scotland and from there I’ll amble down to London, hopefully walking some of the daily legs in entirety.
A flight will deposit me in Oslo where I start an overland leg that takes me through Norway, Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria on my way to Istanbul.
Back on a plane, this time headed to Bangkok, then Malaysia and Singapore before island hoping in the Philippines.
Another jet will get me to Australia and from there I’ll visit Tasmania and New Zealand.
One super long flight to Buenos Aires will kick off my South American leg. My path leads me through Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.
Finally, Mexico will be my last stop, before heading back to New York.

When are you leaving? When do you get back?
Departure date: March 31, 2005.
Return to New York: Mid November, 2005.
Approximately 8 months on the road, and I’ll be home for the holidays. I’m thinking my plan might be a bit ambitious, so there’s always the option of ‘finishing’ after the holidays.
In April it’s off to Italy, and possibly other places, with my mom…her first trip out of the country. (I guess the travel bug is a communicable!)

How much is this going to cost?!
It’s a sizeable chunk of money, but quite a lot less then I’d spend for the same amount of time in New York. In total the trip will cost around $15,000. That covers everything: Flights and local transportation, hostels/hotels, food and drink, travel/medical insurance, inoculations, gear, film, souvenirs, activities like paragliding (which I can’t wait to try!)and even some charity/donations along the way.

Are you really going by yourself?
Indeed, I am. But I’ve got some contacts along the way and I’ll be staying in hostels, so I’m sure to meet tons of people.
I’ll also be using sites like Hospitality Club, Couch Surfers and Global Freeloaders to meet locals to show me around and maybe give me a couch to crash on.

How can I get in touch with you?
I’ll be checking email when I can. Send email to lizgiles@gmail.com. (If you have another email address of mine, please forget it, gmail is where to find me from now on.)
Or, ask me for my ISIC number, which has voicemail where you can leave me phone messages(which I can conveniently check online too!).

What’s this I hear about a book?
I am going to be working on a book based on interviews I’ll be conducting on the road. You’ll all be able to read portions of the interviews on this blog. Click on the World of Wisdom heading (when I add it) for the details.

Posted in FAQs | 2 Comments »

New Banner!

Tuesday, March 8th, 2005
My spiffy new banner is up. Yay! How much do I love the bootsnall crew?! To everyone at boots: You guys rock! Special thanks to Chris for helping me get my blog up and running, and always ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Pre-trip | Comments Off on New Banner!

Yip..yip..yippeeeee!

Thursday, March 3rd, 2005
It's official! Got my tickets, registered for class, told the boss...I'm on my way! I feel so good knowing it's 100% now. I told my boss 2 weeks ago...I gave him 3 weeks notice and he had a small ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Pre-trip | 1 Comment »