T-Minus 4 days...

Havin to back-track a bit to MN on the first leg but then its one adventure after another

The countdown begins.  I just recently finalized my travel schedule AND received my tourist visa to enter Vietnam… meaning that my departure is all but under way and I will be outta here in no time. For me to say I’m excited would be a huge understatement, just getting through the last few days of work have been torturous. I’m flying via a Delta “Buddy Pass” which was given to me by a friend’s dad (Paul and Mark Kastler, I cannot thank you guys enough for all of your help), which essentially means I don’t have a structured set of connections over to Vietnam because I’ll be flying standby. So I may not make it over on back to back to back flights and may have to wait at airports at times until a free seat opens up, but its going to be well worth it (and its all part of the adventure). The tentative flight schedule that I have set up is….

DENVER à MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL

Departs Jan 22, 2012 @ 9:12 AM

Arrives Jan 22, 2012 @ 12:17 PM

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL à TOKYO

Departs Jan 22, 2012 @ 1:20 PM

Arrives Jan 23, 2012 @ 5:15 PM

TOKYO à BANGKOK

Departs Jan 26, 2012 @ 6:20 PM

Arrives Jan 26, 2012 @ 11:55 PM

BANGKOK à TOKYO

Departs Mar 6, 2012 @ 5:50 AM

Arrives Mar 6, 2012 @ 1:45 PM

TOKYO à MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL

Departs Mar 6, 2012 @ 3:25 PM

Arrives Mar 6, 2012 @ 11:25 AM

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL à DENVER

Departs Mar 6, 2012 @ 2:15 PM

Arrives Mar 6, 2012 @ 3:25 PM

Originally I was hoping to stay a night in Minneapolis with my big sis but one of the rules of “Buddy Passes” is that you can only have one stop-over per set of connections… And I decided that spending some time in the world’s most densely populated city was a must. PLUS I’ll get a chance to see just how little Japanese I can actually regurgitate from sitting in foreign language class for 4 years in high school… For all who don’t know- yes, I took Japanese for 4 years in high school. Why? I still don’t know. And yes I have spoken exactly 0 words of that language in the last 5 ½ years (hey speaking Japanese is embarrassing). So I’m ready to test out my vocab. And after that it’s on to Bankok for a few days…

Once the February 1^st date and my official start with the volunteer program through IVHQ approaches, I will be travelling by ground to Ho Chi Minh city for some fun with the kids... 

Double D

Beginning of the Beginning

First trial packing run under my belt, definitely going to have to cut some stuff. Good thing i have a big pack and a strong back.

Hey errbody,

For all who don't know... or more accurately, are just finding out, I'm preping for an excursion to the far east. Vietnam to be exact. On the 25th of January i'll begin a 6 week journey to Southeast Asia where I'll be participating in a volunteer program, some backpacking, and the trip of a lifetime. I will be traveling alone, BUT with some internet access here and there and a blog to share my experiences, I'm looking forward to bringing you all with me...

So why Vietnam? Glad you asked. For quite some time now I've wanted to take a trip abroad... Between my baby big sister spending a half year in London, and some of my closest friends returning from their worldly travels with great stories, I have wanted to make something like this happen but never have. I had plenty of desire but always ended up putting it off. Semester at sea? Too expensive. Study abroad? I don't want to give up rugby. Graduation trip? I need to start working... Life always got in the way. But recently I decided that thats probably the worst excuse anyone can have. Life should never get in the way, it should be lived.

So I pulled the trigger. When else am I going to be able to pull something like this off with such ease? I'm young, I have very little commitment, and I want to challenge myself in a way I never have before. Originally I thought that backpacking with some friends- stretching my dollar and truly experiencing "travel"- was the route I would go, but when that began to fall through I decided I had to find another way (can't let anything stop me again right?) It was at this point that my mom mentioned volunteer work. An idea that I have to say, everyday am more and more glad I'm pursuing. I think we all have a large capacity to make a difference and I decided to tap into mine. So, among hours upon hours of research and correspondence with various organizations, I signed on with International Volunteer Headquarters. IVHQ is based out of New Zealand and have placed thousands of volunteers just like me in different programs all over the world. Just talking to some of the directors persuaded me to sign on more than anything. They were easy to communicate with, told me exactly where my money was going, and extremely enthusiastic about what I could do.

Now, without avoiding the question any longer, the reason I chose Vietnam was because of all the great things I have heard. I haven't met anyone who didn't fall in love with the people, the culture, the food, the landscape... what more could you ask for right? The more insight I sought out from people I knew had traveled that region, the more apparent to me it became that Vietnam was where I wanted to go. And the rest as they say: is not yet history but is coming up really fast and I cant wait for it to happen. Stay tuned for updates, I am accimating to 'getting my blog on', but I will do my best to get some good stuff up here. Questions? Good, get em up! With this as my only communication with the western world for the duration of my trip, I hope to hear from every one of you.

Double D