In the air

I'm leaving in about 24 hours for Jaipur, India. Well, more accurately, I'm flying to Chicago, then to Delhi, then after a day or two there, driving 6 hours to Jaipur. The plane ride is about 20-ish hours, though I don't really know for sure and would rather NOT know at this point, since anything beyond 3 hours is kinda painful on a plane (Mt. Hood in Oregon in pic). We've been told we'll have about 5 days of no communication once we arrive, so I'll start taking pictures and posting as soon as I can after that.

First month in India: Intensive Hindi program in Jaipur. I'm super psyched! I love learning new languages. I'll be staying with a host family and going on weekend excursions.

Second month in India: Internship at a watershed restoration NGO in Pune, and staying with a good friend's mother.

End of September: Fly to Bhutan, if all goes well!

Traveling and restless

I cannot wait to get to Bhutan -- and that's a solid two months from now, with India sandwiched in between. It's not so much the incredible landscape, the radically different culture, or the incredible food that I'm most excited about. Although I am, intensely so.

What I'm most excited about is a place to call home, even if it is just for nine months.

Being base-less didn't used to not bother me so much -- by the time I'd graduated high school, I'd gone to 7 different schools and lived in 7 different homes, so a certain amount of wanderlust was bred into my nature pretty young. And let me say that I am INCREDIBLY lucky to have been able to travel like this throughout this summer. I am so thankful to have been able to do this, and spend so much time with family and friends. But at the same time, days before I fly to India and nearly 3 months into constant traveling, I have to confess that I'm ready to live out of something other than my suitcase for a while.

Or at least a part of the world, for now

If I were to start a travel agency, one of the many careers I've contemplated, it would be a writing-themed one. I'd take you, aspiring, burned-out, or needing-inspiration writer to places I've found to be jaw-droppingly gorgeous, thrilling, and different from your everyday life. And PenTravels would be the name.

I leave for India in one week from today and every time I cross something off my to-do list, I remember two more to add on. I finally received info on my host family for my month in Jaipur: I will be staying with Ms. Rama. I believe this is auspicious, since Rama means branch in Spanish, and I have been very lucky with the Branches in my life.

This summer, we traveled to Portland and then pretty much covered Wisconsin and Minnesota (the bi-state area as a Portland friend smartly named it). Up to Lake of the Woods in Northern MN (bottom pic) and to a beautiful cabin on the Wolf River in WI (top two pics).