It is 6:30 PM and I am 35,000 feet in the air, suspended somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. The cabin is dark and I am on 2 hours of sleep over the last 36 hours. The light from my laptop and the pattering of typing are the only signs of life. This should be the perfect opportunity to finally close my eyes, but it's just not going to happen.
Among the advice gathered prior to this trip was the suggestion that photos would inadequately capture the experience. Sure, there will be plenty of photo opportunities, but the reality is that they are only capable of capturing the visual moments of significance. So much of this journey is beyond the aesthetic; it is about the emotional, professional, and personal challenges that are coming. Perhaps a skilled photographer could capture that with a camera, but not me. And so, the idea to blog was born. My goal is to craft a brutally honest picture that pays equal mind to the lows as the highs of being out in a foreign land and being expected to thrive under extenuating circumstances. I will likely fail in this endeavor, but hey, can't hurt to try right?
It dawns on me that this very moment, this is the event horizon of the journey. At this moment, the traveler is at his most vulnerable. His bags, that have been so carefully planned and packed, are hidden from him. He trusts that they will magically make the same journey and appear at the end. He assumes that his arrangements with people he has never met will go through without issues. It's something that is always taken for granted when the journey starts, but the doubts that there is something he forgot always start to creep. Did I give the right dates? Did I not find the most recent information about getting a visa? What if the cabby doesn't understand the address I give him? Sadly, the question that always weighs heaviest on my mind is, when can I take my next shower?
Fast forward, these fears were for naught, and I am safely in my dorm. It is a humid 80 degrees out, and we have already had a flash thunderstorm. I have taken at least a half dozen accidental naps, mostly failed at making an edible dinner, and have fully unpacked. I have made a new friend in Andrew, the neuroscience PhD who wanted to show me videos of seizing mice; I have made a new enemy, in the cashier at the local grocer who had to walk me through their archaic ways of buying fruit. The picture to the right is my bedroom; note that it should be shared by 4 people, but fortunately is just occupied by me. Not pictured: 30+ ants and a few cockroaches.
Of course, I am painting things a little bit more grim than they actually are. So far, things are as billed, and I am fitting in as well as I could have hoped so far. So I leave with a happier picture, which is the view from the living room of my dorm. The sun is shining, the flora exotic, and a giraffe is tantalizingly foreshadowing. Tomorrow the work actually begins, and I actually get the impression I'll be pretty tied up. Unfortunately, Skype does not work on this computer, but I will be able to chat on Google in the future.
Looking forward to giving y'all something worth reading!
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