Itchy Feet

I just got an email from a friend of mine I met when I was traveling in Central America over a year ago. He's still there, backpacking through Central America, except he now has a job with an organization called GAP (no, not that one) leading tours all over the area. I couldn't help but envy him...

I know, I'm doing some fun stuff up here in the San Juans, and for many people these islands are an adventure in themselves. But I am feeling the need for a real trip, to somewhere I have never been. Tom and I are going to Idaho in August, and that will be cool - I've never been to the state at all. But I'm itching for something bigger and better and wilder. Something international and exotic. I won't be able to take any real time off for a couple years (by "real" I mean longer than a couple weeks) which is a bummer, because I think you need to spend at LEAST a month in a place to really explore.

This is, of course, the trade-off I agreed to when I enrolled in grad school. And even as I write, my wander lust is waning a bit. It's nice to be settled in for awhile. Living out of a backpack gets old, and if I was going to stay anywhere for any length of time, Washington is the place. This state is incredible, and there is still plenty around here that I have yet to explore. Plus, the AK trip will be a great adventure! But that's still a ways down the road...

I guess sometimes I miss carrying everything that's important on my back. I miss struggling through a sentence in Spanish and feeling delighted when someone actually understands what I was trying to say. I miss days where my biggest choice is which beach to visit. I miss seeing new places and new faces every day. Southeast Asia still holds so much appeal. Or the Greek Islands. Or Fiji. Or India. Or Nepal. Or Kenya. Or Egypt. Or anywhere new and unfamiliar! So much world, so little time.

-Jessi