Boy, is travel a whirl of excitement, then panic, then utter breakdowns of stress, then excitement again! The last few days have been spent in either sheer panic and complete despair that nothing will be ready and blissful, relaxed forgetfulness. At one moment I'm checking and double-checking everything, and another I'm browsing my favorite websites and watching television. What's wrong with me? I can't seem to balance these extremes.
It happens every time I travel, but this time, it's even worse. Why? Instead of a flight to Houston or a trip to Wisconsin, I've landed myself on two consecutive trips overseas--one over the Pacific, and the other over the Atlantic.
Okay, so technically they're the same landmass--let's not get picky. It's a big deal for me--I've been out of the country (thank God I have some experience with non-American culture), but never this far, and never this long. This spring, I'm going to East-Southeastern Asia for a month, and then to jolly ol' England for four more months. I get sixteen hours of being home in between flights. I also have no idea what time to set my clocks. Trust me, there's a reason for my sheer panic during this next week.
In Asia, I am touring Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Manila with one of my college's top choral ensembles: Capella. In the group of about 40 strong, I am a second soprano, and we (as a choir) have an intimidating repertoire. This experience is one of a lifetime to debut us internationally as a talented non-professional choir.
Immediately following this trip (that is to say, sixteen hours after my return from Asia), I head out to Britain for the rest of the semester, pursuing numerous traveling opportunities and saving up for our Spring Break, when we are let loose in London to find our ways back to York in three weeks' time. Of course, there's classes as well (that's what I'm there for, really!). I am currently enrolled for Phonetics, Creative Writing, and a sociology and history course both involving a study of the Olympics and Britain and sports. We have, rather unfortunately, arranged this trip under the Kinesiology department, due to the preparations for the Olympics in England for 2012, but thankfully, only a few of our class excursions are very sports-oriented. We do have several previously planned excursions to historic English sites such as Alnwyk Castle, a Manchester United match, and Edinburgh. Needless to say, I am tremendously excited.
I have prepared this blog (rather obviously) in an attempt to keep my friends and family updated--I will be posting photos, and as many descriptions of my journeys as possible. Unfortunately, I will not have my laptop in Asia, which means I will not be able to post very much very often, but I will do my best to keep in touch.
I based the name of this blog on a particular quote by Mark Twain. It's a rather popular one, so I'm sure you'll have heard it before, but it goes something like this: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." I decided it's about time I catch the trade winds in my sails.
I'm young, I'm versatile, I'm ready to explore this incredible world, achieve and revise my dreams, and discover things about myself, others, and this fascinating universe.
It's my time for catching the trade winds.
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