Post #1: The Journey Begins

Just a heads up about how I plan to do my blog posts.  Basically the title is going to describe what country I am in and what cities I visited over the time frame.  This way, I will have a new blog entry each time I move onto another country.  This will be good for summarizing each country and give you a good idea as to how much time I spent there and exactly where I went.  Therefore, I won't be posting new blog entries every day but rather at random intervals.  So, if you wish to be notified when I have posted a new entry I suggest you subscribe to my blog by entering your email address on the right hand column where it says "subscribe via email". 

 
The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

Today is the first day of a solo journey—end date undetermined. I have provided a breakdown of my current agenda with explanations as to why I am going and what I wish to accomplish. I should forewarn that this first post is lengthy and I anticipate that they will be shorter and more concise in the future.  Let’s face it-- we know some people just want the JIST of it (lol).  I should also mention that I graduated from Engineering, not English.  So please forgive me if I make obvious grammatical errors that make my blog relatable to a grade 10 English essay (lol).   One last point, I have pictures but I am having troubles uploading them right now.  I hope to have this straightened out by my next post so you aren’t bombarded with the notorious “Wall of Text”. 

I always knew that once I finished University that I wanted to travel--I was just unsure as to where.  To really get me to seriously think about traveling all it took was a 10 day trip in May 2010 to Vancouver; a time to reflect and get away from the everyday life that had consumed me and preoccupied my thoughts.  After getting home I had decided-- it was time to go.  At the ripe age of 25 do little people find themselves in a position with no commitments, no significant other, and no job with money to spare. I felt that it was an obligation to not waste this opportunity that few people have the luxury of being in.  However, the question still dawned on me--where do I go? 

When I got back from Vancouver in May I spent the next 3 months researching where to start my pilgrimage.  I bought the books "The Rough Guide to First-Time Around the World" and "Lonely Planet: The Big Trip: Your Ultimate Guide to Gap Years and Overseas Adventures".  After reading these books, along with other material on the internet, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to travel to Southeast Asia, South America, Africa, Europe, Australia, United States and Canada.  As you can see, I couldn't pick just one.  Every place was attractive in its own unique way.  I was no longer better off than when I started my research. I still wasn't sure as to where I wanted to go.  

At this point, I approached my journey from a different angle; pick one destination with a 1-way flight and then book flights as I go.  If I decide I don't want to spend any more time in one place then I can pack up and move on to a different destination.  If I decide that I really like a place, then I can stay indefinitely (until my visas were to run out of course—or my money lol).  If a good opportunity opens up while I am on the road I can act on it and take advantage of it.  Now that I understood the way I was going to approach my journey, it was now time to decide what I wanted to get out of my trip--which would naturally influence my starting point.  

If I were to say I know exactly what I want to get out of my trip I would be lying.  However, I do have a general idea as to what I HOPE to get out of my trip and how I plan on accomplishing that.  I hope to get a better understanding of myself, my strengths and my weaknesses. I hope that as a result, I am able to refine my inherent abilities while develop my lack thereof.  I hope to see different cultures, meet interesting people, learn from them and learn how people live throughout the world so different from our own.  I hope to give something back to society and grasp some of the principles that make the world function in the way that it does.  I hope to get a better understanding as to how I can use my attributes in a way that will have a positive impact on humanity.  Now the question arose—how to accomplish these goals.

 To accomplish these goals, I have decided to work/volunteer with a couple of non-government organizations. However, selecting where to work and who to work with was a challenge.  To do this, I had to look at my interests and what I viewed as being important.

Over the course of the last four months I became really interested in the energy sector.  Reason being is because of the vital role it plays in everyone’s daily lives and the fact that we are so reliant on finite resources that are eventually going to run dry.  There is a lot of speculation as to when the oil reserves will run out; some people think it will be in the 21^st century and others think it will be much later.  However, one thing for certain is that they will definitely run out and it is our responsibility to ensure that we plan for it and move towards a more sustainable society.  The way to do this is to incorporate renewable and sustainable energy systems into our world.  It is a lot easier than it sounds and to move developed regions towards a sustainable system is a slow and tedious process.  It is hard when these regions have been built upon fossil fuels and they are so accustomed to the lifestyle that they incur.  However, it is a lot easier to implement renewable/sustainable decentralized energy systems into rural underdeveloped regions as a starting point towards this world wide reformation.  Recognizing my interests and how they pertained to international travel, I was able to research and approach organizations that were involved in the exact work that I want to be involved in while on the road. 

The first organization that I came across was a non-profit organization called “blueenergy”.  It involves implementing wind and solar energy systems (renewable energy systems) into rural underdeveloped regions in the country of Nicaragua in Central America.  I applied for a placement with them starting February 2011 and had a couple of interviews with the human resource recruiter over Skype.  I am currently waiting to hear back from them as their office is currently on vacation. 

Since my placement with “blueenergy” wouldn’t be until February 2011--if I were to get accepted-- I felt that I needed something to fill the gap until then.  So, I applied to work for a non-government organization (NGO) called Mlup Baitong working in Cambodia.  Their mandate is to increase environmental awareness and conservation through education, training and advocacy.  They are currently seeking solutions for sustainable and equitable use of natural resources through community-based natural resource management activities. 

 I felt that this would be a good starting point to get an idea of the troubles people are facing who are living in underdeveloped regions and how long term sustainability is detrimental to their livelihood.  It will act as an analogy—in a sustainability sense--to the macro problems that the developed world is going to face  as the world population increases and the energy supply decreases.  At the same time, it is a starting point to work towards a more sustainable world and is a place where people can become aware of the importance of sustainable choices as a group.  If one is able to instill a sustainable system from the beginning, it will become inherently ingrained and apart of their life. This will result in people living within their means--on an energy scale--and they will never be able to use what they can’t sustain.  I heard back from Mlup Baitong and was notified that I had been accepted and would started my placement November 1^st, 2010-Janurary, 2011; it was then time to decide what to do until then.  It was early august and I still had a couple of months to fill until my first placement—what to do?

My first thought was to head to Southeast Asia and spend these two months traveling around Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia to get a good idea of the diversity that the region holds. I felt at the time that this would be beneficial because it would provide me with a little background before jumping into my volunteer placement.  However, after some due diligence I came to realize that this was monsoon season in Southeast Asia.  Not wanting to trek around the territory in rain half the time, I decided to look at other options. 

The second thought that came to my mind was the one that I would ultimately decide upon; buy a Eurail pass and travel around Europe for 8 weeks from September 1^st, 2010 to last week in October, 2010.  I felt that this would really supplement my agenda and help me accomplish my traveling goals.  The major ones being to see different cultures, meet interesting people, learn from them and learn how people live in a world different from our own. Sure, I am going to see this when I am in Southeast Asia as well, but not in the same way as I will in Europe.  Europe is a more developed region and will help me form opinions that aren’t biased--based on Canadian culture--before entering my volunteer placements.  Now that I had decided my first destination, it was now time to book my first 1-way ticket.  Within days I had booked my flight and would be departing in just over one week on September 3^rd, 2010.  The next question that struck me—where do I go in Europe and what do I do?  I had a little over a week to plan a 2 month excursion to Europe where I have never been nor researched.  All I knew was the geographic layout—which I can attribute to having Europe as the desktop on my computer for a couple months during my time in school.  Instead of paying attention during class, I would test myself to see if I could remember the countries/cities and their relevant layout to one another (something that could potentially benefit my sister lol).  So, not having any idea where to go I purchased a Europe guide book called “Lonely Planet: Europe on a shoestring”.  It gives a rundown on festivals, prices, accommodations, museums, etc.  My plan as of right now is to use this guide, talk to people and just wing it.  I have my hostel booked for the first 2 nights in Manchester, but after this the road is undefined.  Part of the excitement is the fact that I am very analytical and this trip to Europe is the exact opposite.  Hopefully as a result, I will refine my intuitive sense and learn to make decisions with little, or no, information. 

So, as of right now I am sitting in Calgary airport waiting for my departing flight to Manchester, UK. The summary of my itinerary looks something like this.  Depart Calgary September 3^rd, 2010 and arrive in Manchester, UK.  Spend about 8 weeks in Europe depart from London, UK airport around October 26^th, 2010 for Bangkok, Thailand.  Get onto a connecting flight from Bangkok, Thailand to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  I will be met at the airport in Phnom Penh by one of the project coordinators.  From here, I will head to my place of accommodation, which as right now isn’t exactly known.  I may be staying in a guest house with other volunteers or I may be staying with a host family in the region where I am working.  This is something I will find out closer to the start date as project placements can change.  I will spend my time in Cambodia from November 1^st, 2010 to mid January, 2011.  At this point, I will either travel around Southeast Asia on my own for 2 months or fly to Nicaragua to start my placement there working with blueenergy.  If I go to Nicaragua I am unsure how long I would stay there for. 

So, as you can see, there are some questions that are still unanswered.  How long will I be in Southeast Asia for? I am unsure. Where will I head afterward? I am unsure. Where will I travel in Europe? I am unsure. Will I go do the placement in Nicaragua starting February 2011 if accepted? I am unsure.  I am at a point where my itinerary is unknown and my future is ambiguous.  All I know is that I am excited to see where the road leads!