It's the final countdown... tomorrow I'll be flying like an Eagle!

I originally wrote this post two days ago and the title was "Freaking Out." As you can see from the date/time of this post, and the fact that I haven't written since December 7th, I have been way too busy to write. Hence, there's no more time to freak out. Here it is! I'm leaving for Fiji in less than 24 hours! It's the final countdown! (Begin dramatic electric guitar solo...)

Sitting in my mom's computer room in San Dimas, CA at 4am in the morning, going over my final to-do list of everything I need to accomplish before I need to get to LAX tomorrow at 6pm for my 9:30pm Air Pacific flight, I can't believe it's actually here. My friends keep asking me if I'm excited, and all I can say is that I'm in utter disbelief and denial. Sure, I'm physically, mentally and spiritually prepared, more or less-- I've certainly been vaccinated for every disease known to man, packed and repacked my bag a million times, memorized my Vagabonding and Rough Guide travel books, and said all of my heartfelt goodbyes to friends, family, colleagues and loved ones. I thoroughly enjoyed my last few weeks of a week-long trip to snowy DC, to finish projects and bond with my now former colleagues (sniff sniff). I thank my lucky stars that I somehow arranged a 6-week internship with a coalition for population, health and environment issues in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. I'm so excited that I'll have concrete projects to work on, I'll have a wonderful place to stay for free, and that while I was in DC I was able to meet with colleagues and learn about the project so that I'll actually make a difference. And I had a rocking Christmas and New Years with my beautiful LA family and friends. Maybe it's because I'm feeling so very loved by the important people in my life right now, that it's so weird to be leaving everyone tomorrow for the next 4 months. For example, it wasn't until the clock struck midnight on New Years that I realized-- 2010 will always be defined for me as alone abroad. Crazy!

To be honest, I really don't think reality will hit me until I get off the plane in Fiji and feel from the humid atmosphere that I'm in another place and time. (That's right, I said time-- since I'm going counter-clockwise around the globe, I'm leaving January 4th and arriving January 6th, essentially losing January 5th, incidentally my older brother Jared's birthday. Guess he gets to be 30 for another year in my book. :) ) A few of my well-traveled friends warned me that I'd be freaking out right now in disbelief, so I'm just kind of rolling with it. Maybe it's reverse-culture shock? All I know is that although I'll get virtually no sleep tonight for being worried about a million things that could go wrong throughout the duration of my trip, when I'm actually on the plane with my Fiji book at this time tomorrow night, I'll be crazy excited for my adventure. :)

You'd think I should feel more grounded, given all that I've done over the past few months to prepare for this moment. I have my 30 pound backpack full to the brim with every polypropolene, nylon, and quick-dry fabric imaginable. The dudes at my local REI, Best Buy and the lovely Distant Lands travel store in Pasadena know me by name since I've been going so much lately to pick up goodies. In particular, I'm excited about these items:

-Action sandals, better known as Keens which you'll see in a lot of my photos next to my tattoo :)

-Green zip-up fleece jacket purchased with my mom and cousin Lisa back in September

-Olympus stylus tough shock-proof camera, which my brother Jared also has and swears by

-Quick-dry underwear (I just think it's really cool since it dries in 3 hours... sorry if that's TMI-- too much information ;) )

This whole process of "what to pack on a trip around the world" is just SO incredibly fascinating to me, since it's a letting go of all your "stuff" in life to really narrow it down to the bare essentials, and is a very freeing process. This is probably why I've obsessively packed and unpacked so much, and I'm sure will do so plenty of times before I leave tomorrow. In case anyone's interested, the most useful resources for my packing process have been my Rough Guide and this really great website for independent backpacking travelers. I particularly liked how the Rough Guide emphasizes that all you need for a trip-around-the-world are sandals, and how the independent traveler website breaks down the great debates like a sleeping bag vs. sleep sheet, shoes vs. sandals, and umbrella vs. rain jacket. For the record, I'm bringing both sandals and running shoes since I'm planning on doing a lot of hiking; just a silk sleep sheet since I won't be camping and will mostly be couchsurfing/staying in hostels; and a rain jacket for added protection against the cold. (See, isn't this just so fun to think about??) :)

Clearly, I think my issue of feeling unprepared has to do with my weird priorities in how I got ready for this trip. A month ago, my number one priority was getting my uber-symbolic tattoo so it would have time to heal; 3 weeks ago, it was going through separation anxiety with finishing all of my Sierra Club projects; 2 weeks ago, it was purchasing my big-expense items like a camera, clothes and sleep sheet; and for the past week, I've focused on spending quality time with my loved ones to say good bye. During all this time, I haven't done HARDLY ANY research on the places I'm going. Safety advisories, health notices, wiki-travel websites and blogs have remained virtually untouched on my computer's search engine.

Which is why I had a huge freak-out the evening of January 1st when I casually googled about visas and realized that I completely forgot about obtaining them for Ethiopia and Kenya, which are required for entry into the country and take a week minimum to process. (!!!) I called my friend Tim who works at STA Travel in Georgetown who booked my flights, terrified that he'd have to re-book my tickets for a week later than tomorrow. He helped calm me down, but really it was talking to my Dad that made me realize that I will get through this, it's just my cold feet looking for an excuse to freak out. As one of my friends told me, "I'll make it work while traveling, because I have no other choice than to make it work." :) Sure it's a bonehead thing to have forgotten, but I'm going to wake up in 2 hours and call the Ethiopian embassy in Washington DC at 9am their time Monday morning, and hopefully they'll tell me one of three things: 1) I can get a same-day visa tomorrow in their LA office; 2) I can pick up a visa while I'm in New Zealand; or 3) I can simply show up at the Ethiopian airport and hope they don't tell me to go home. Either way, I have faith it will all work out. And as my best friend/roommate Adriana reminded me, everything happens for a reason. ;)

Which brings me to why I chose these pictures for this, my last blog in the U.S. for at least 4 months. They're from when I went sky-diving with my Dad at age 18. In the first picture, I LOVE the look of terror on my face when I first jumped out of the plane. At that moment, I was in complete disbelief that I had just jumped out of a plane, and was actually hurtling toward the ground from 13,000 feet. But the second picture marks the moment when I realized, while free-falling, how much I felt completely alive like I never had before experienced. Right now I'm feeling the moment of total anticipation and fear before I jump out of the plane. I have been soaking it up ever since 2003 when I first dreamed up this crazy scheme. That day of skydiving, I bought a T-shirt which has one of my now favorite quotes, to commemorate the experience-- Take risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping. So that's what I'm doing! I may be terrified right now, but I truly can't wait to be soaring through the air... I can't wait to fly like an eagle and let my spirit carry me. Cassie Joy Round the World here I come! :)

A tattoo is worth a thousand words

I'm so happy that on Friday, December 4th 2009, I got my first tattoo! It symbolizes everything about who I am and where I am at this moment in life; yet it hasn't really sunk in for me that this is a permanent fixture on my body for the rest of time. I'm beyond elated. The whole process of getting it done was as beautifully meaningful for me as it was to plan and draw it. I knew I was an adrenaline junkie, with my sky-diving, bungee-jumping, roller coaster-loving ways... but it never occurred to me that getting a tattoo would be equally exhilarating.

During the whole 2 hours that I was getting it done, I lost all sense of time and was able to meditate myself into a Happy Gilmore-inspired "happy place": a New Zealand field full of orange flowers. I also somehow talked up a storm with my best friend Adriana who came with me, and my amazing tattoo artist named L about our world travel experiences. While I was intermittently cursing at McDonalds and Walmart, and lecturing them on how the brown in Africa's Sub-Saharan desert would unfortunately grow in our lifetime due to climate change, I venture to say it was a spiritual experience for me. I feel like I've finally branded myself as a hippie, which is why I surprised myself when the first thing I thought when it was done and I was admiring it in the mirror was, "I'm ready to learn how to ride a motorcycle!" :)

I'd been thinking about getting it done for exactly one year, which is the time someone told me to wait to make sure that I still really want it. I devoted the back page of my journal to writing out what the various elements of the flower design on my right ankle mean to me, and gradually added to it as the year went by... a classically Cassie thing to do, since I love planning and list-making. Here's a condensed and exceedingly corny list of why it's meaningful to me... enjoy!

1) Flowers symbolize consciousness, awareness and enlightenment. The beauty of God's creation. "I am." They're also feminine, which represents my passion for women's health and rights.

2) The center of the flower is a circle, a powerful and essential symbol which to me symbolizes social change through accepting our individuality, appreciating diversity in others, and embracing our equality as human beings. It's also the earth, which is kind of self-explanatory, but which for me symbolizes my desire to increase global consciousness.

3) On the side of the circle/earth, between the U.S. and Latin America, is a small bee flying clock-wise. This reminds me of my simplest life goal... "to be." :) Or, "Be(e) the change you wish to see in the world" -Gandhi

4) Leaves of the flower are an 8/ infinity sign, and there's 8 petals. In case you can't tell, that's my favorite number.

5) Petals of the flower are mango-colored, my hands-down favorite fruit as anyone who's traveled with me in a tropical country will undoubtedly confirm. I loved that my tattoo artist had a mango for lunch that day and actually used "mango-colored ink."

6) Stem of the flower is blue/green-colored, which I've been told is the color of my aura and represents creativity. I loved that we spent a good hour talking about our auras, how my tattoo artist's aura is purple, and the fact that we were all wearing purple sweaters.

7) Roots serve to ground me, since I tend to be really idealistic and need gentle reminders to stay connected to reality.

8) Placement is on my right foot, for my "right foot forward," goal-oriented personality. And since it's behind my ankle, it grows when I flex my muscle... just like we all grow in life when we exert ourselves. :)

Why travel? Why these countries? Why now?

As I've begun sharing my travel plans with friends, family and colleagues, I'm pleasantly intrigued to see the diverse range of reactions and questions I get. While fellow activists tend to be excited, sharing their own world travel stories and asking tons of questions, many others express a different response of concern. I don't mean to simplistically pit optimists vs. pessimists, for of course I'm grateful that everyone seems supportive and hopes that my trip will be a positive experience for me in terms of safety, health and personal growth. What's interesting to me is how in hearing about my trip, others internalize the very idea of backpacking around the world on one's own as a fun vs. a scary challenge. It's as if through already "living vicariously" through planning my trip, they subconsciously decide whether it's something they could ever or would ever want to do. This is so interesting to me, and brings up all sorts of sociological and cultural questions about how we view life and the rest of the world... which maybe I'll address in another blog post. :) For now, I wanted to try and address the main question I get, keeping in mind that I'm fascinated in the processes by which it even comes up as the central question in the first place. WHY?

Why travel?

For me, the question isn't so much why travel as why not travel. It seems that everything in my life is geared toward that lifestyle, from my comfortable shoes and minimalist shopping preferences to my outdoorsy/adventurous hobbies and a steady acquisition of Facebook friends who have the "where I've been" feature. I love learning about diverse cultures and places, trying new foods, and listening to music with words I don't understand. I'd prefer to talk with a cab driver about his home country than a good-looking guy I meet in a bar about his marketing degree ANY day of the week.

The fact is, I'm proud to belong to a generation where world travel is the norm and not the exception. I believe that many young people, including myself, see ourselves as global citizens who want to experience everything worthwhile in life, and with some luck and planning, we set out to make it happen. That's why I've always saved money and acquired habits/skills/experiences to fuel not only this round-the-world trip, but a round-the-world life. I've even thought so far ahead as to set my sights on being a professor at a community college some day, so that I will always have the summers to travel.

St. Augustine said "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." Call it an idealistic dream, but that's what I'm about, and I hope that many of my peers can relate. :)

Why these countries?

Okay, here is a far less philosophical question, but nonetheless also doesn't have a straightforward answer. :) Basically, when I started planning my trip 2+ years ago, I looked at the world map on my wall and made a list. Rather than list out everywhere I wanted to go (which is everywhere), I limited it to a few goals at the top of my list, as well as general areas where I'm interested in visiting for several weeks or months. I narrowed it down to:

1) Hiking Machuu Picchu in Peru and El Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain;

2) Volunteering for one-two years on women's health and education, environmental sustainability and community development (i.e. with the Peace Corps); and

3) Vagabonding for one year in Latin and Central America (especially Mexico, Peru and Argentina), Eastern Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Africa (especially Kenya, South Africa and Egypt), and Asia (Especially India, Thailand, China and Japan).

I reasoned that I would have about 8 months from ending my job in December, and traveling from January-September prior to graduate school. Over a few weeks as I read my "First time around the world" guide book, did online research about times of year and climates for different places I wanted to visit, and used the handy airtreks website to price and map out my flights, I decided upon a counter-clockwise trip around the world that started in New Zealand in January, hit up Africa in March/April, and ended with Machu Picchu in Peru in May. I liked starting in New Zealand and Southeast Asia because they seem relatively "easy" for a single woman starting out, and ending in Africa/South America because they seem more challenging. Gradually I decided to add things like the slowly melting glaciers of Mt. Kilimanjaro, and subtract things like El Camino de Santiago in Spain (where I've been before), considering my time constraints and budget vs. when I can return. That's the "birds-eye" view for why I planned my trip in this way... I'll save the details as to why I selected these specific countries for later (when I'm actually there!) :)

Why now?

When I was 21 living in Spain, I made a goal to travel to 25 countries by the time I was 25. So far I've been to 17-- Mexico, Canada, Guatemala, Spain, Portugal, England, Italy, the Vatican, Austria, France, Germany, Andorra, Greece, Morocco, the Philippines, and Belize. By the time I turn 26, I'll have been to 25 countries-- Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Call it what you will, but at this point in my life, I'm ready to move on to graduate school, and am excited to take 8 months to travel and experience the world while I can! :)

"A lot of us first aspired to far-ranging travel and exotic adventure early in our teens; these ambitions are, in fact, adolescent in nature, which I find an inspiring idea... Thus, when we allow ourselves to imagine as we once did, we know, with a sudden jarring clarity, that if we don't go right now, we're never going to do it. And we'll be haunted by our unrealized dreams and know that we have sinned against ourselves gravely." --Tim Cahill, "Exotic Places Made me do it"

Cassie’s 2010 Round the World Trip Itinerary

1. Fiji
• Travel Jan 4- Jan 11

2. New Zealand
• Volunteer with Willing Workers on Organic Farms Jan 11- Feb 8

3. Sydney, Australia
• Travel Feb 8- Feb 15

4. Southeast Asia
• Travel through Thailand and Cambodia, Feb 15- Feb 28

5. Ethiopia
• Volunteer with the Consortium for Integration of Population, Health and the Environment (CIPHE), Feb 28- Apr 9

6. Kenya
• Volunteer, Hike Mt. Kilimanjaro Mar 21- Apr 24

BREAK in LA, CA Apr 25- May 2

7. Peru
• Volunteer in Lima, Peru, Hike Machu Picchu May 2- May 23

8. Mexico
• Volunteer in Quintana Roo, Mexico with GoJoven!, Travel to Los Angeles, CA Jun 27- Sep 12

JOIN me on my round-the-world trip!

Hi!

I'm really excited to share my 2010 Round the World Trip itinerary with you. I've been dreaming about this trip ever since I volunteered for a month in Guatemala during the Summer of 2003 and lived in Spain from 2004-2005. Those travel experiences gave me the opportunity to connect with diverse people, understand myself and U.S. culture through a critical lens, and realize my desire to empower women toward increasing global consciousness. As a result, I see myself not as a tourist or even a traveler, but a global citizen-- a "vagabond." I learned of this term through the wonderful book Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel, by Rolf Potts. It's a lifestyle that encourages simple living, creativity, discovery, and personal/spiritual growth. It's like my favorite Yogi tea quote: Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light. Haha I just totally revealed my true hippie nature. :)

So after graduating from UC Davis in 2006, I was ready to hit the road and travel-- I even bought my First-Time Around the World Rough Guide Book and started to assemble my dream list of places to visit. However, an incredible opportunity presented itself to work on international women's health and rights and environmental issues as a National Organizer with the Sierra Club's Global Population and Environment Program. As a newly minted college grad, how could I refuse? Three and a half years later, I've given over 100 "Sex and Environment" presentations to audiences throughout the U.S. and internationally, and spoken with thousands of people about working together to create a more just, equitable and sustainable world. Most importantly, I've met amazing colleagues and activists who I now consider friends. I've learned a ton, and know my heart will always be with the Sierra Club, since it launched my activist and women's rights career. However, I've decided to apply to Masters in Public Health Graduate Programs for September of 2010, to gain more tangible skills around implementing community health programs locally and globally.

In the meantime, I've decided to make my "round-the-world" trip a reality, from January-September 2010. In Sierra Club style, I hope to utilize the amazing contacts I have through the sexual and reproductive health and rights and environmental movements I've worked with, to visit different community health projects around the world. I aim to meet with people from different organizations, interview young leaders, perhaps give several presentations to U.S. audiences like students abroad and Peace Corps volunteers, and report back to the U.S. as much as possible to continue to support population, justice and environment issues.

On a separate post is my itinerary of destinations and activities, encompassing 10 countries throughout 5 world regions. I would love to hear your thoughts/opinions/feedback in the comments section! Please let me know if you have contacts in the areas I'm traveling to, or if you would like to join me for part of my trip! There will be much to follow, in terms of many cool photos, videos and stories. I hope this is an interactive blog, and that you see it as a space to share your experiences about life and global citizenship and world travel as much as I'll be sharing mine. Thanks also to my friends, family, colleagues and activists, without whom this wouldn't be possible!

With much love and gratitude,
-Cassie

"From this hour I ordain myself loos'd of limits and imaginary lines,
Going where I list, my own master total and absolute,
Listening to others, considering well what they say,
Pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating,
Gently, but with undeniable will divesting myself of
The holds that would hold me."
-Walt Whitman, "Song of the Open Road"
(Found in one of my favorite books, "Vagabonding" by Rolf Potts, 2003)