2 weeks to go!!!!

Two weeks to go and my friends and I are definately on the countdown!  It can't come quick enough for us.  My friend, Tina, is a CPA and just coming off busy season, so she is ready for a vacation.  Jessica has been working hard and is ready for vacation as well.  Myself, well, I am definately ready for vacation as life has been crazy around here as usual.  I should be studying right now as we speak, as tomorrow I am sitting for the first part of my State Lincesure Test for Social Work.  I have cut it off for the evening though because at this point, all the facts that are gonna stay in my mind are already jammed in there and I am prepared as I am gonna be for now.  Whether I pass or fail, it is onto a month off for vacation. 

Last time I posted, the plan was to book things the following week such as hostels, rental cars and such.  I still have done nothing.  There has been too much going on, so we are two weeks exactly from departure and still have nothing other than plane tickets.  Oh well.  Once my test is done tomorrow, my homework for the next few days is booking us places to stay and a car.  We could just really try and wing it, but we are cramming way too much stuff in to be able to do that, so we have to be very organized. 

About the only progress I have made so far toward getting things ready is I did purchase a Kindle with some gift cards that I had.  With the rate I read, this will be much easier for me than last time I went 5 years ago and was hauling around books, exchanging them when I could, and trading with fellow travelers.  I am exicted about this new purchase. 

I am very excited to take off and see some more of God's beautiful creation.  I did not discover the world until I was 20 and left for Costa Rica to study abroad for 4 months.  I had the opportunity to see all of Costa Rica, a huge part of Nicaragua, and part of Panama.  From there I was hooked!  God's creation is such an amazing thing to be able to see and experience.  I have continued to travel over the years and have seen more of the world in my short little life than most see in an entire life time.  How blessed am I?  I've seen some of the oldest structures around, beautiful sun rises and sunsets all over, tasted delicious food, and done so much more.  Words can't even describe the feeling that I have when I am traveling.  It is as though I don't have to worry about anything other than what I am going to see today.  It is a way to be carefree and relax while enjoying life.  I get to meet new people, try new things, have experiences that I never thought possible.  It is hard for me to comprehend when people do not share this type of enthusiasm for travel because it is such a passion of mine.  A friend of mine in college was joking around and said that our motto should be "have no money, will travel" and that pretty much has become my motto.  I'm a Social Worker, so I am definately not rolling in the dough.  But I can support myself and have some extra money to spare for the travel.

I have been told before that I am very independent and have an adventerous spirit.  I've never really thought of it that way, but sure I suppose that's a good way to put it.  I look at it as not wanting to put my plans on hold waiting for someone else to accompany me somewhere, hence the times I have travelled by myself and have loved every minute of it.  I think if my family and some friends had their way, I would never go off on my own anywhere, but there is something to be said about being an independent traveller.  I have learned more about myself over the years in doing this and gotten to do things that I would not have if I was with a group of friends.  I have shared meals with locals in their homes, found myself completely changing plans at the last minute on a whim to see a different country, been challenged to be more outgoing with others, and just generally tried new things.  My dad always tells me that I am causing him to age prematurely, he's not a "young spring chicken anymore and he has a heart condition."  I hear this all the time fom him.  I tell him that he is fine and my parents get to live vicariously through me.  I'd rather live life to the fullest instead of reaching the end and think "man I wish I would have taken the opportunity to do that."