Another blog?

As I embark on yet another travel, I opted to jump on the blogspot train. This way more people(including family friends and relatives) can access it and comment, and it gives me something new to focus on!

I am traveling to South East Asia to be a volunteer English teacher. March 3rd I will go to Nongkhai, Thailand for four weeks. March 31st, I will then travel to Nha Trang. Finally(and tentatively), I will spend about 5 days in Camobida. With the exception of Cambodia, I am going on my trip through Travel-to-Teach. More about the details in later blogs.

The title of my blog is not sad, but a play on the book The Lonlieness of a Long Distance Runner, as I assume most of you put together without me having to spell it out for you. I just wanted to reinforce that it is not meant to mean that I am a refugee or friendless. I am choosing to fly solo(literally) to South East Asia for a few months for many reasons. First, I love to travel and learn about new cultures and traditions. I think its interesting that we(as groups) squabble over enthnicities, races, religions, property etc. yet, when you live among a culture you find that the core to every person, place or culture is very similar, if only everyone would take the time to discover it. However, if I were to travel with someone else, I would not be able to fully experience the native culture, as I would be constantly thrust into the culture I share with that person. Second, I would like to strengthen my content knowledge. While its not terribly strong to begin with, I do have a good handle on "westernized cultures" such as the U.S., Europe, and Australia. I do not have a strong understanding of the rest of the world, so I would like to change that. What better way to learn about a culture then to live within it? While this is an exciting endeavor for me, I'm sure most of my friends save some Social Studies folk would care to look at a trip to a "paradise" location quite like me. Third, I have been working towards a goal my entire life, to finish school. After high school came college, and then right onto grad school. While I did make the most of my time I still never did anything just for me. Well, this is for me. I also do not have any relationship, house, or further education tying me anywhere, so this is the ideal time to go. While I liked being in a relationship, I often felt trapped, especially knowing my boyfriend was not interested in traveling. I promised myself that if we ever broke up I would travel as much as I can, so when I enter a new relationship, I can feel like I did what I wanted and went where I wanted. Fourth, and finally, although I hate to admit it, most things I do are out of convenience or to stifle anxiety/fear. Yes, I went bymyself to Disney, but that was to avoid a terrible living situation. Yes, I studied abroad in Australia but I went with my bestfriend by my side. I have done things that others would say took courage, but if you looked at my reasonings for going, I fear that it wasn't as couragous as it seemed. Going to South East Asia for a few months scares the crap out of me, it really does. Yet, I need to overcome that anxiety, and face it head on. I do wanna go. I'm excited to go. I am enjoying doing research. I really am looking forward to going to a tropical location, with a purpose, and not having to worry about making plans, and doing work I don't want to. I can do what I want, when I want it. I'm looking forward to the solace and the lonlieness of my travels.