Preparing to go on a two year journey is harder than I ever could have imagined. All my friends want to see me before I go, my room is a mess, and there are so many things to think about! As we get closer to our departure, I realize how much I知 going to miss my friends and family and the kids I worked with at Trips for Kids--not to mention sleeping in my own bed, riding my bike, and going to my refridgerator for a late night snack.

At the same time, I知 really excited as I get to know this Odyssey team well. I had never even met Jamila, Klaus, or Monica before last week. Planning for our trip makes it all real and exciting. Everyone seems to get along well, and I think we値l be a tight team. I知 sure glad that Monica and Shawn know a lot about computers, because I知 a little worried about whether or not I知 going to be able to make these things work in other countries.

I致e been thinking a lot about how amazing it is that this trek is even possible. Up until about 40 or 50 years ago, almost everyone was born, lived, and died in about the same place. They knew everyone in their towns or villages and ate locally grown food. They only knew about distant places from books and newspapers.

When I was growing up, my parents moved around a lot. I致e already lost touch with my childhood friends and neighbors. My travels have already taken me to many exciting places, I致e eaten all kinds of different foods, struggled to be understood in many languages, hiked through rainforests, up volcanos, into deep canyons, and across deserts. So, on the one hand, I知 sad about the loss of that sense of community, on the other hand, I知 excited by the choices and opportunities that I have. The world seems to be getting smaller all the time!