As this is my first post, I would like to tell you a little bit about myself, and what the months ahead will hold. I am from Courtenay, British Columbia, a medium sized town on the east of Vancouver Island. I live a ways out of town, and growing up here with my parents, and my sister was amazing.
When I was in Grade 7, and 9, my family went of two separate month long adventures to the great country of Mexico. We traveled around by bus and often ended up so far off the beaten path, we were literally on a beaten path. I returned to Mexico in Grade 11 for another month, and stayed with a family friend to study Spanish.
Once I finished high school, I knew I had to get away for a while, and experience some life in the big city. I chose to attend the University of Victoria, a great choice as it turned out. I started out studying Geomatics, a contemporary fusion between computer science and geography, but soon remembered how much I dislike computer science, and like geography by itself, so I switched to a more geographical diet of courses for second semester.
When I was home for Christmas, plans were hatched, thought about, discussed and finalized with the purchase of a backpack. I would, after working for the summer and fall, travel to "The Continent" for several months instead of returning right away to do second year. Just following exams, I started working. I have had long running employment with a landscaping and lawn maintenance company, with a great boss who doubles as a neighbor. I have worked full time since the beginning of May, and will continue to do so for the next few weeks.
Here is where it gets interesting. The day I am talking about in the title is the day that makes it all real, and not just a wonderful idea. Today I am going to buy my ticket. After some confusion with travel agents, and much searching online, original plans have been scrapped, new ones hatched, only to be scrapped again with the finding of an even cheaper fair, but finally the winning plan has emerged.
On November 7th, I am going to be flying out of Vancouver International Airport, bound for Minneapolis-Saint Paul. One change of planes and two hours later I will be airborne once again, and headed for the the world city of London. Once out of Heathrow, and into downtown, I am going to find a nice horizontal surface, preferably in a hostel, and sleep for the night. The next morning I will awake for the first time on a new continent.
The next step is leaving the great island nation of the United Kingdom, and I will do so under the English Channel, on the Eurostar. Then to Paris, a visit to the host families of my sister in Rouen, back to Paris, and a train to Verona. My arrival in Verona will be on about the 18th of November if all goes according to plan, and a few days later I will start learning Italian.
There is more to the trip than that. In fact that is just the beginning, my return to the true north strong and free should be in mid April. As the ghosts of plans I have right now solidify into more real things, I will post them, but for now, good day.
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