So, it is now 2011 and I am 29 years old; damn has it been that long since I was a child? My hair is thinning and I can begin to see some gray poking through my once nice locks.
Due to the lack of funding for public education and my procrastinating ways, I have had a difficult time getting classes at Sacramento State. In the last four semesters, I have only taken six classes that are associated with my degree. The others were extraneous and only selected as a means to receive my financial aid.
If I was to stay with Sacramento State and continue at this pace, a pace that will most likely get worse before better, I would be 33 years of age upon graduation. Instead, I have decided to enrolled in a private institution that promises to help me earn my degree in eight months.
Although, I am very excited about this accelerated program, it is not the aspect of this school that excites me the most.
Since I can remember, I have dreamed of traveling the world and experiencing life as it exists outside these restricting boarders. My hippie friends say I am a free spirit; a statement that I would have to agree with wholeheartedly.
When I was 18 years old, I moved to San Diego, by myself, with no other reason than I just wanted to go. In 2003, I moved to South Lake Tahoe with a good friend. Then for a few months in 2008, I moved to Los Angeles to stay on my brother's couch (well my couch that he was using) before moving to Santa Cruz alone.
Every time I return to Sacramento, not because I get homesick, in fact I don't get home sick, but because of money issues. See, I hate the 9-5 schedule or working retail or in a restaurant. I feel that I have the ability and knowledge to contribute much more to the world than a cosmopolitan, a sweatshop t-shirt, or an automobile.
The aspect about my new school that excites me most is that instructions are done in an online format. That means I can finish my degree from any where in the world where there is internet access!
As I mentioned before, I am 29 years old; almost 30. If I am going to exit this mundane way of life, I feel that I must do so before I hit, what to me has always seemed like, that magical age; one where you must grow up or be a hobo. Knowing that I do not want California Redemption to provide me with my rent, I began applying to jobs abroad.
I have now received offers from Beijing and Hardin, China, Jakarta and Bogor, Indonesia, Istanbul, Turkey, Guayaquil, Ecuador, and Cancun, Mexico. They are all offering a free and private room, meals, and pay in exchange for teaching English or working in a hostel.
Thus far, I have not made my decision as to which place will be my first stop. Nor, do I have any set plans on where I will go next or when, and if I will ever return to the United States. Currently, I am leaning toward Cancun and then working my way through Latin America and the Caribbean.
Yes, I understand that Cancun is a tourist spot. However, I believe that it would be a smart idea to immerse myself in a place where there is still a degree of U.S. customs so I am not completely culture shocked. Although, I am not sure if my reasoning is logic, I feel that this method will help me adapt to living abroad the most efficiently and effectively. Then again, maybe I am just justifying my desire to party.
My departure date and the location I choose is all contingent upon a court case that I am currently involved in regarding a private student loan company. They are trying to screw me and, if it wasn't for my parents being involved, I would just leave. Oh well, I have waited 29 years. I guess I can wait a couple more months.
Along my travels, I will post on this blog a minimum of once per week. My postings will be about my daily life and will be used as an attempt to give America the temperature of whatever city/country I reside. My main focus will be the socioeconomic climate, but politics and environment will be of major concern as well.
There will also be a lot of extreme activities on this blog which, I must apologize about before hand. I am a thrill seeker and I just wouldn't feel right to not report on a 10 foot overhead day of surfing or jumping from a perfectly good plane over a rain forest.
My weekly posts will begin the week before I set off. I will also update you on my departure date and destination as soon as I purchase my first plane ticket.
I hope you all enjoy my blog. Please, leave comments and suggestions.
