Excitement and procrastination

Being the master of procrastination that I am, I've decided to write a pre-trip entry instead of working on the Big Essay I have to hand in in less than a week. But this is so much more exciting and will only take a little while. I think.

There's almost 3.5 months left until I leave so it might seem like I'm a little ahead of myself, writing on (in?) my travel blog already. However, I have actually been reining myself in for months. Not necessarily when it comes to writing a blog, but definitely when it comes to my obsession with this trip. I've been trying hard not to explode, and have spaced out my preparations a bit. I think it was in early January that the decision to go was made and there hasn't been a day since then that I haven't thought about it. Early on, I made a list of things I need to buy or get ready for the trip and started looking for ways that would allow me to stay on the continent for a little longer than the travelling will last. I read loads of travel blogs and reviews and watched videos; anything to do with South America and travel. At present, I've got my tickets to Ecuador (Copenhagen-Paris-Atlanta-Mexico City-San Jose-Quito - I know, I complicate things), South America on a Shoestring (thanks to Inti for finding me a really cheap copy) and an internship in Montevideo, Uruguay (www.choike.org)... I hope. They said yes, but they haven't replied to the two other emails I sent them over a month ago... I've also been studying Spanish for the past 5 months and it seems like I already have a place to stay in Quito (thanks, Natasha!). As you see, constant excitement.

So what is it about this trip that's so exhilarating to me? There are so many reasons. I'll be travelling with Alex, one of my best friends (but I'm sad that our other best friend, Nadja, couldn't come with us). It's a continent that I've never been to before. It's also a HUGE continent that seems to have so much to offer in terms of culture, people and environment. I have a lot of preconceived notions about the place and am curious to see which of them will be affirmed and which will be shattered. I want to find similarities and differences between South America and Europe and Asia. I'm excited to see the festivals, like Carnival and... well, whatever other festivals they'll be having while I'm down there. Football; I want to play random pick up games on streets and beaches, play with a group of indigenous women in Boliva that play in their traditional gear (or so I've read) and watch the beautiful game in stadiums across the continent. I'm excited to try the fruit and the food, especially the Argentinian steaks that everyone speaks so highly of. I can't wait to see the amalgam of people that live there. I'm nervous and excited about trying out my Spanish and will be sorely disappointed in myself if I can't speak it fluently by the time I leave.

I can't wait. I know not everything will be brilliant and fun during the whole time, but I'm looking forward to the bad aspects too because they'll be a part of it.

What I'm not so excited about, however, is not being able to see my parents and my grandma, cousins and aunts in Hanoi. At least I don't think I'll be able to. There's a bit of guilt that stems from this, but I hope that this blog will somehow bring you closer to me until the next time we see each other.

Well, that's all the procrastination I will allow myself for now. At least this specific form of it, anyway. I think I'll write another entry just before I leave in September. Hopefully I won't have had a heart attack from all the excitement at that point.

Hasta luego.