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Saying goodbyes
In a weird Survivor-type game, now I stand alone, waiting to depart into the unknown.
At first a friend of mine, wanted to say goodbye, and we did. About a month ago. One person of the list, the first of many goodbyes to come.
One of the sites I managed, and I took a special liking too. One of my favorite place to help out at, they say goodbye to me when we thought would be our last time that I would be doing on site help. They gave me a small notebook that I’m taking with me to write my thoughts offline or for something more private. I liked that office.
Then my co-workers gave me a goodbye, it felt like a 1,000 goodbyes spread out over my last week at work. I’ve been so busy since I quit my job, that I haven’t even realized what is like to wake up in the mornings and not go to work. Only reason why I know I don’t work, is because it feels like there’s a virus in my bank account, all the money coming out, no more coming in. I’ll miss their jokes, and their banter. Specially when we picked on the “new” guy.
My Ultimate Frisbee friends also join in, in the goodbyes, they planned for a pot luck at one of the player’s house. It was a happy filled night among them. Every Sunday morning that I knew I would go play Frisbee, it was the best day of the week. My church. My weekly Christmas morning.
Afterwards came my Providence friends, my girlfriend planned on a surprise get-together at one of my favorite restaurants in the city. We reminisce, we talked, and we spend the night, like if we were going to meet again the week after. Afterwards we went to watch the latest Game of Thrones. No real fanfare, the way I like it.
Now we were down to Sarah and her family. The hardest goodbye without a doubt was her 4 year old niece. Since the moment we met, we basically got along, and I love to bother her. She became my sous chef, even allowing her near the stove to cook chicken and stir the foods.
I already asked her in the past, so I knew how hard it would be.
As I’m packing my stuff and ready to head out the door….
Her: “Uncle Roberto don’t go.”
Me, holding back tears: “I have to go, but I’ll be back.”
Not going to lie, I’m going to miss that little sweetheart. And without a doubt, I already want to go back just to see her.
Lastly, me and my girlfriend Sarah left to NYC to spend some quality time together before we said our goodbyes. All I have to say is I’m a lucky man to have met such a strong woman to allow me to do this trip. I love her for that and many other reasons. I’ll see you soon sweetheart. Is only a see you later.
The Plan (or lack there of)
Ever since I have my plans public to go to the other side of the world for an extended period of time, people have been asking me what’s my plan.
Well, the simplest answer is: I don’t have one. But let’s try to break it down in certain sections:
When do you leave United States: May 29th, 2015. From New York City.
Where are you going first: Bangkok, Thailand. Why Thailand? Well, because it was the cheapest flight to Asia. Simple as that. I thought maybe starting in Sydney, Australia would be better. They speak English, I have a friend living there right now. But the plane tickets where about $400-$500 more than going to Bangkok. I thought that maybe, might be cheaper to start in continental Asia and find a cheap flight to Sydney later on.
For how long: Unknown. I bought a ONE WAY ticket at the moment. I quit my job, for this trip. This is how important this is for me. I have given up my income, health insurance and safety of the known, for this trip. I have always thought that I would like to travel for about a year. So I have been saying to people anywhere from nine (9) to twelve (12) months. I also reserve my right to call it quits at any point in this journey. However unlikely, if I’m homesick, I can jump on the next plane back to the US. Also, however unlikely, if I want to stay a little bit longer, I also reserve that right. But I doubt either scenario will come to fruition. I have only so much money for this trip.
Budget: Hoping to spend about one thousand dollars ($1,000 USD) a month in this trip. So I have to survive on that, in order to make it happen. Base on what I’ve been reading, living in South East Asia cost about $30-$35 a day. Which puts the price point, right around my budget. So I’m hoping I’m doing good there. I also have a little extra money for emergencies, but is not much.
Languages: I speak English and my native Spanish. Unfortunately Spanish will help me zilch on my trip. I’m going to the most remote places for Spanish speaking people. So I will have my ears up for some kind of words in my language. I guess I could go to the Philippines to hear some mesh of Tagalog/Spanish. So I’m hoping my English and my phone translator help me the most in this journey.
Places to visit: Also up in the air. Here’s a list of countries I would like to visit:
- Thailand (1st stop)
- Cambodia (probably second stop)
- Laos
- Vietnam
- Sydney, Australia
- Malaysia
- Singapore
- Myanmar (Burma)
- India (northeast corner)
- Nepal
- China & Tibet
- Mongolia
- Philippines
- South Korea
- Indonesia
I hope to hit all those countries, but depends on modes of transportation and budget that will limit my stops. The places I know for sure I’ll be hitting are Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Mongolia. Mongolia has been a dream of mine, probably since this idea came to me. It seems so remote and so isolated, it drives me to know what compels Mongolians to live in such area of the world.
Depending on the way the trip takes me, I would like to finish going through Europe, by taking the Trans-Siberian Railway from Beijing to Moscow and into Europe. This is not a concrete plan, but more of a loose strategy. I can also decide to travel to South America, and go up the Pacific Coast to go back into the United States.
Also, in the first iteration of my plan, I would go Thailand –> Myanmar –> India –> Nepal, but with the recent earthquake that affected Nepal, unless I can help as a volunteer, it might be better to wait before hitting India and Nepal.
Flexibility is my main weapon.
Equipment: I have purchased everything that needed to be order. I will make a post tomorrow (probably) as all the things I’ll be taking with me.
This is it for now, 5 days and counting now…
Exonoration
Today as my first official day as an unemployed guy, I had to do an American thing.
Jury Duty.
In the earliest versions of my draft on when to leave for my trip I chose May 15 as the target day. And I was pointing towards that day, untl I receive a letter from the state of Massachusetts telling me I have been summoned to be part of this glorious tradition of judging.
I show up today to the Bristol County Justice Center bright and early, only to be let out just a minute into it. Since I moved out of Bristol County and into the Norfolk County I no longer have to serve my summons. I’m now in the pool of jurors of the new county. What happens if they call me when I’m 8,500 miles away? Is a bridge I’ll have to cross when/if I get there.
Now without a proper job to do, and with less than 2 weeks from my departure, my posts should be happening daily Monday through Friday. There will also be pictures of my adventures when appropriate and I’ll be creating an Instagram account to post other pictures that don’t fit in the blogs.
Thanks for reading, and being my companions on this journey.
Income deficiency starts now….
For the first time since I was 17 years old, I am without a proper job. I will officially be unemployed. Thankfully I’m doing it under my own terms. But still scary. Today is my last day at my current job as a Systems Administrator. I hope I did a good job for the company and the time I put there. I love my co workers, and their ball busting ways. Even if work wasn’t entertaining, at least they were always good for a laugh or an interesting conversation about the different Terminator timelines or which Avenger is the least useful (Black Widow).
I got to say, that leaving the country and going into the unknown in 2 weeks doesn’t scare me. Its should, because I have so very little planned for what I’m about to embark, yet, I’m more at peace with that decision everyday.
What does scare me, is the fact that I no longer have a job. I always knew I had a paycheck coming my way. Now the idea of not having a paycheck scares me, there’s no safety net, no going back.
A while back I had a one-on-one meeting with my manager. I told him that in about 2 months I would be leaving the company. While my skill sets are not unique, I have been in this company for seven years. I have forgotten more about this place that I can ever document, so I thought it would be beneficial for him to know about my plans, so that they can plan on how to replace me. He said “I hope you have a good job opportunity coming.” As a way of wishing me good luck in my next job.
However I said “I don’t have anything lined up. I’m traveling the world.” And as those last 3 words were coming out of my mouth, my eyes watered. If you know me, you know I’m not much for touchy feely moments, so the fact that I got momentarily choked up was unexpected for me. But it really set in stone, the moment I’ve been planning for over 20 years.
I went to one of the sites I support(ed) yesterday, my last on-site visit. The fact that I’m leaving the company was brought up, and they start asking me questions about my plans and why I’m doing this. I don’t have great answers for those questions. But I did say that, there’s an imbalance in the way I run my life. This woman also agreed with that statement on her own life. I know there’s plenty of people with that same sentiment.
One of the reasons I like to travel is that you get to know a different sides of yourself. You meet people along the way, and you feel more at ease with these strangers. It forces you to open up. It took me a while to figure it out, but is the fact that when I’m traveling nobody asks me “What do you do for a living/work?”
It’s such a first world question.
I can’t express how much I detest that question. I don’t like to ask that question, but sometimes I can’t find a way to NOT ask it. And I don’t like when people ask me that either. In United States what you do for a job seems to define you as a whole person, it helps to label you into an expected box. Lawyer? Well you must make a lot of money and be an asshole. Dentist? You must be a sadist. lol.
It’s an easy way to tag people for sure, but the times I have been to other countries, I don’t think I have ever been asked that question. They don’t care. That’s not what completes them. Their jobs are just the vehicle to put food on their tables, not what drives them to be fulfilled (or not). Their families and friends do that.
In United States a get together is as much a celebration as is in other countries, but in other countries it seems they do it daily. We are lucky if it happens weekly here. When I was in Peru, my aunt’s house was the hub of the family. Her daughters, sister(s), brother, would come by almost every day, they would laugh and talk, and be a united front. They knew what was going on in each other lifes. It took me a while to realize I didn’t know what most of them did for a job.
Work was such an afterthought in their lives. The way it should be. I shouldn’t be so scared. I won’t be.
A list of things I need (or think I need).
When you are preparing yourself to travel into the unknown there’s a lot of research that needs to be done. As of this writing I’m way behind it. Out of sheer amount of information that you find from other travelers, it almost cripples you as to what the f**k are you doing. You don’t know what you need, you read other blogs, and other peoples experience and you come out with just more questions. It’s daunting. I’m going to start this list of things I think i need. And will be making changes/addendum to it as I go along. I only have 30 days to do this anyway.
| Things I need | Reason for what I need it/Concerns | Own it | |
| 1 | Backpack | Need a place to carry things in* | Maybe |
| 2 | MP3 Player | Distract my mind in quiet times or long trips. | No |
| 3 | Cellphone | Will be used mostly as a day camera, no cell plan. | ✔ |
| 4 | SLR Camera | Big item, bought 2 years ago with this trip in mind. | ✔ |
| 5 | Tablet | Main communication device | ✔ |
| 6 | Tablet Charger | Same for cellphone and Tablet | ✔ |
| 7 | SLR Camera Charger | Must if I am to take pictures | ✔ |
| 8 | Spare SLR Battery | In between destinations in case of no charge available | No |
| 9 | MicroSD Memory | For Tablet and phone, hold picture | No |
| 10 | Spare SD Memory | For Camera | No |
| 11 | Passport | Need to enter countries. Kind of important | ✔ |
| 12 | Shirts | 3 Pairs of non-cotton wear | Maybe |
| 13 | Shorts | 2 Pairs of nylon fabric shorts for quick dry | ✔ |
| 14 | Wool socks | 3 pairs | No |
| 15 | Trail/Hiking shoes | Merrell Trail runners, light and easy to dry | ✔ |
| 16 | Flip Flops | Down time wear, bathroom use | ✔ |
| 17 | Universal plug | No | |
| 18 | Hat/Visor/Head Gear | Have to protect my head from heat | ✔ |
| 19 | Inflatable head pillow | Rest head in long bus/air/water trips | No |
| 20 | Water Bottle with purifier | Cheaper than buying bottle water, filtered dubious water | No |
| 21 | Book(s) | Knowledge expand, downtime use | ✔ |
| 22 | Towel | Quick drying kind | No |
| 23 | Bar Soap for clothes | Wash clothes on the go | No |
| 24 | Journal | Capture what I can in words, instead of tablet | ✔ |
| 25 | Frisbee | Odd item, used to break ice, a food plate, practice forehand | ✔ |
| 26 | Deodorant | Keep as fresh as possible, hopefully | ✔ |
| 27 | Nail Clipper | Need to keep clean | ✔ |
| 28 | Day Bag | Messenger bag, smaller bag to carry when backpack is safe | No |
| 29 | Ear plugs | Noisy environment and sleep is required | No |
| 30 | Tootbrush | ✔ | |
| 31 | Toothpaste | No |
Another list:
| Things I might need | Why I might need it | Own it | |
| 1 | Sleeping Bag | Not sure of where I’ll be sleeping every night, long hiking trips | No |
| 2 | 1 person tent | Not sure of where I’ll be sleeping every night, long hiking trips | No |
| 3 | Long Pants | Not sure if needed, or how often will be used in tropical areas | No |
| 4 | Jacket/Sweater | Same as pants, not sure how often used in tropical ares | ✔ |
| 5 | First aid kit | Some kind of protection | No |
| 6 | Compass | Directions in the wild | No |
Don't Follow My Lead 