Entry #050: Tuesday, December 31, 2013 (Queenstown, New Zealand)

Well, it's the last day of 2013, and, by complete coincidence, I have reached my 50th blog entry. To be perfectly honest, when I look back on my naming/numbering scheme for the blog, I'm not sure why I saw fit to put the "0" in my post numbers. The idea was, of course, that I would be covered in case I get up to 100 post and beyond, but that wouldn't have been very realistic; considering my trip is a year long (well, officially a year and ten days), I'd have to make an entry once every 3 to four days. Ad admirable goal, and maybe one I originally thought I could do, but a generally unattainable one. I guess, like everything else, it's a learning experience. But back to this entry itself. Were my last days of 2013 the most exciting ones ever? ...Nah, not really, but they were pretty good.

Entry #049: Friday, December 26, 2013 (Omarama, New Zealand)

Hey all, hope you had a wonderful Christmas, filled with good times and smiling friends and families. If you're hoping to here this smug guy say he felt homesick on that day, well I'm sorry, but I'm too smug for that. Actually, there's a couple reasons why I didn't really feel any homesickness on Christmas. First, despite knowing it was Christmas, I have never been able to really get into Christmas "mode", and so it never really registered in that way. Second, I was actually having a pretty good time. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Here's what the haps have been, not only on Christmas, but the days surrounding it as well. Wow, what a scoop!

Entry #048: Sunday, December 22, 2013 (Christchurch, New Zealand)

Coming to the end of Week One in New Zealand, and I still haven't caught any hobbits. They're tricky little buggers, I tell ya. But I have seen plenty of sheep, prompting me to maybe think that they're hobbits in disguise. In any case, I actually didn't think I'd be in Christchurch as of the posting time of this entry; I thought I'd be at my next locale, Lake Tekapo. But wait to you hear the wacky reason why (actually, it's just that I didn't pay attention to my own bookings). But what really happened in the past few days is I saw a lot of pretty views, walked a good 45 miles or so, had a hostel-induced crisis of faith, and had a really bad allergy flare-up. Hot dog! Let's go in for a closer look!

Entry 047: Tuesday, December 17, 2013 (Christchurch, New Zealand)

Well, I'm in my new home...for the next seven weeks, at least. Yes, I won't have to deal with boarding airplanes until sometime in February (at which point I'll have a 41-hour flight). Hurray! Instead, I'll just be getting on bus after bus after bus. But I haven't noted where I am yet, have I? ...I'm in New Zealand. There. No major adventures yet, but I should have the opportunities to see some cool things while I'm here. It's funny, my mom sent me a email saying how it's been my dream to visit New Zealand. At this point, I'm not sure if I really have any dreams or aspirations; not the way other people do, at least. I just do things. But brief psychological musings aside, I have always had an real interest in visiting New Zealand, even before it was Middle Earth. Now, allow me to take off my hipster glasses and let's talk about the last couple days.

Entry 046: Saturday, December 14, 2013 (Cairns, Australia)

Last day in Cairns, last day in Australia. It's difficult for me to believe it, but by this time tomorrow, I'll be leaving for New Zealand, and a whole other adventure. It really never ends, does it? I'll definitely miss Australia, but I'll touch on that at the end. First, we have to go over some of the stuff I've been doing, like going through the rainforest and swimming in the Great Barrier Reef. Make your bets as to which I enjoyed more........I'll wait........and.....go!

Entry 045: Wednesday, December 11, 2013 (Cairns, Australia)

Well, I'm currently in Cairns, my last stop in Oz. You might think I came straight here from Sydney, but you'd be wrong. Dead wrong. In fact, I had a whole little adventure in the outback, based in the central city of Alice Springs. It's just as well I didn't post from Alice Springs proper, because that town is kinda dull. The things I did in the Red Center (aka the dry, arid parts of the outback), though, were quite exciting. I ate a live bug, for one thing. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Entry #044: Tuesday, December 3, 2013 (Sydney, Australia)

Ah, Sydney. It seems like just a week ago I arrived. In fact, it was eight days, and I'm just about ready to head on to new and different places...in Australia, still...but it's been quite eventful, has it not? And the time I spent in the Blue Mountains, don't you remember when...oh, wait, I haven't talked about that part yet, have I? Well, as it turns out, that just happened, so let's have a look. I'll give you a spoiler: I probably should have died! But before I go on, I will quickly note that today, for maybe the sixth time on this trip, I have been told (in various ways) that I have an almost quintessential American accent. So keep that in mind: my voice is representing you and everything your nation stands for. (Unless you're not from the US. In which case, um, ignore that last sentence.)

Entry #043: Friday, November 29, 2013 (Sydney, Australia)

G'day! My, has it been a week already since my last entry? Time sure does fly when you're also flying (and walking, and doing other stuff, I suppose). In case my shoehorned salutation didn't clue you in (or the title for the entry, for that matter) I have now reached my fifth continent, Oceania, beginning with Australia, aka "The Sunburned Country". I now have a better appreciation for that moniker, but let's not get ahead of ourselves! We still have some plenty to talk about in Vietnam and in the air before any talk of Vegemite is relevant. So let's get to it!

Entry #042: Thursday, November 21, 2013 (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

Today marks a big page turn in my trip. Well, "today" meaning "the last couple days and the next couple days in addition to today." There's the turn in that I'm now done with the three-week cycling tour, the turn that my mom is making her way back to the States, and the turn that I will soon be leaving Asia for a new continent. So, lots of stuff! In fact, it makes me somewhat glad that, economic center of the country aside, Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon is actually a fairly boring place, with few attractions, as it allows me plenty of decompression time. So let's use that time and take a look at what's been happenin'.

Entry #041: Thursday, November 14, 2013 (Takéo, Cambodia)

Well, it's my last night in Cambodia. What can I say? Well, plenty, apparently, as here's a full entry about the last couple days. And hey, ain't it kinda nifty that this only came out a few days after the last one? Maybe i should try that more often. *Cough* Anyway, it's been a wild swing of highs and lows these last couple days for Mother and Son Schnorr. So let's not waste any time in the preamble. I'll give you a spoiler though: there's going to be a lot of cycling mentioned. Shhh....

Entry #040: Saturday, November 9, 2013 (Sihanoukville, Cambodia)

So, I'm starting out a new planned trip, cycling through Southeast Asia with my mother. Well, I don't know if "starting" will be the appropriate word by the time this posts. I'll be honest, I've been putting off writing this entry - just haven't really been in the mood. If you remember my discussion earlier about "Plan to Do", "Do", and "Review What's Been Done", I have definitely been in the planning state of mind. So that's definitely part of it. Or maybe the last enormous entry has drained me a bit. Whatevs. The fact is, I started writing this on the first day of the cycling trip; you'll probably figure out when it was posted by the end of it. [EDIT: As of me posting this, it's now Day 12 of the trip, more than halfway through the entire thing, meaning that "starting" couldn't be less appropriate. In fact, I should have just changed this opening paragraph.]

I know, I know, I'm rambling. I'll get on with it.

Entry #039: Thursday, October 24, 2013 (Bangkok, Thailand)

Hey there! It's been a while. Not that I've been lazy! At least, no more than usual. No, it's because I was in the Himalayas without a PC. Yeah, I know I said I'd put up a "gone fishin'" interlude post but...that never happened. (*Cough.*) If you're wondering about my Everest Base Camp blog/podcast "spectacular" (and I don't use those quotation marks lightly), that'll be up shortly; the audio (all 7+[!] hours of it) is all uploaded online; I just need to get the post organized. And once it's up, this entire paragraph will be rendered obsolete!

Speaking about obsolescence, how about me? Hey, remember that I was in Singapore? Of course not, because that just happened. I was planning on writing from Singapore (being, like Hong Kong, one of those places that just needs a single name, no "City, Country" format required), but as I'll explain in a bit more detail later, I have three options of things to do on this trip - planning to do things, doing things, and reviewing things I've done (either by writing or sorting through photos). My time in Singapore was mainly spent on the first two. But why take my word for it? Let's get into the haps for what happened since I left Kathmandu!

Entry #038: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 (Kathmandu, Nepal)

It's the Mount Everest Base Camp Podcast spectacular! Huzzah! As you may remember, back when I trekked to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, I made an multimedia entry which had a few photos and an epic two-hour-plus video, where you could see me and my disgusting hobo beard talk about and show the mountain. This is mainly because I didn't want to bring my laptop up, and it was too long and tiresome to write in a physical journal. And it worked fine - for a nine-day hike. Just about used up every free megabyte in my phone. No way I could make that stretch for an extra five days. So, I thought to eschew video. What does that leave us with? A podcast! Those are still a thing, right?

Entry #037: Monday, September 30, 2013 (Kathmandu, Nepal)

Well, barring a "I'm gonna be on a mountain, hold up" post that will be going up shortly, this is my final entry prior to my trek up Mount Everest...Base Camp. It...it really loses a lot of impact with those last two words, doesn't it? In any case, I've been prepping in Kathmandu the past few days, not just for this trek, but for lots of stuff that's...not really so far into the future anymore. So, what's Kathmandu like? Well, you'll have to read on. (But I'll give you a hint - there's hippies. Lots of hippies.)

Entry #036: Thursday, September 26, 2013 (Shenzhen, China)

Welp, it's now time to head out of China, and on to Nepal. I can't believe it's already been nearly two weeks here. It's definitely been a change in my normal way of how things have been - fancy hotels, fancy meals, and constant travel companions - and in some ways that's been more foreign that some of the foreign places I've been to. I'll have some brief reflections on that, but first, let's get to the goings-on!

Entry #035: Thursday, September 19, 2013 (Xi'an, China)

So, China! The most populated nation in the world, the third or fourth largest (depending on who you ask) and in many regards, one of the most paradoxical. On a side note: y'know, there really should have been two entries about this county at this point. Three, maybe. It's just that I have been quite lax at keeping up with consistent writing for one reason or another. I know I should do it (I would say "have to", but I really don't), but other things look so much more enticing, especially since the audience for this is so small compared to the work/time required. I even had a small crisis of faith regarding whether I should continue, though I think I'm over that now. But enough of that blathering. Let's talk China! 'Cause that's where I've been these last few days, y'know.

Entry #034: Friday, September 13, 2013 (Hong Kong)

Well, today's my last day in Hong Kong. What's that? You didn't realize I was in Hong Kong right now? Well...I am. I've been here for a few days, on accident really (if you've been keeping up, you know why). I'll be heading out early in the morning to meet my dad in Beijing, but there've been a few haps in the past week that I should probably talk about. And I need to give my wine reviews. Yes, you read that right.

Entry #033: Saturday, September 7, 2013 (Cape Town, South Africa)

Another week finished, and now I'm almost done with my time in Cape Town and, indeed, South Africa. Not quite there yet, so I'll hold off on my reflections about this leg of my trip, but man does it feel accomplished. They say you can do everything in Cape Town, and it feels like I have, many things in an impromptu fashion. It's been great, and hopefully will be capped off well. But let's get into what's been going on the last few days, shall we?

Entry #032: Monday, September 2, 2013 (Cape Town, South Africa)

I legitimately cannot believe it hasn't even been a full week since my last entry. With all that's happened, it seems like it's been such a long time...but we'll get into that. So yeah! Cape Town! I'm in it! And it's been one hell of an experience, for better and for worse. I'll say it upfront: Cape Town really is the amazing city that everyone builds it up to be. And my experiences here have been...interesting, to say the least.

Entry #031: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 (Johannesburg, South Africa)

I wish I had a scarf I could throw over my shoulder, because if there was ever an appropriate time to say "And that's the end of that chapter," this is it. Yes, after eight legitimately amazing weeks, I am no longer doing the Askari Wilderness Conservation Program. Final thoughts in the entry proper, but right now I'm back with Lynn, my Johannesburg CounchSurfing host, and tomorrow I'll be hopping on a train to go to Cape Town. Lemme tell ya, it never ends. Well, not until April.

Entry #030: Friday, August 23, 2013 (Pidwa Wilderness Reserve, South Africa)

Well, it sure has been a hot week here, in more ways than one! Actually, mainly just one...fire. And lots of it. My last week at the Pidwa Reserve has been a fairly eventful one overall, though, with the prescribed burning of a portion of the reserve being a major part of it. And as part of that, I had probably the single most exciting (and somewhat surreal) moment of the entire trip thus far. Also, there are nachos involved. So, going out with a bang and all that jazz! Let's get started, shall we?

Entry #029: Saturday,August 17 2013 (Pidwa Wilderness Reserve, South Africa)

So, I think I can safely say at this point that my whole "let's post a short blog every night" plan for my time at Askari has been a sound failure. Honestly, if we didn't have as much time as we do on weekends, I don't know if I'd be able to even give you the weekly updates. But that's good, because it means the days (and nights) are full. And Lord Almighty, was that true this week. In some ways, it seems like the week rushed by, and yet still managed to be really long. Lots of things happening, so let's get to it!

Entry #028: Saturday, August 10, 2013 (Pidwa Wilderness Reserve, South Africa)

I'm gonna level with ya, folks. I'm not much in the mood for doing much writing at the moment. I think it's been a combination of having multiple late nights waiting for a brown hyena to enter an enclosed are (which means long-hours, no talking or moving, and then coming back and needing to go to bed), uploading more of my travel pictures, and a general bit of lethargy. I guess you could say in some regards, I've just not been in the mood this week. So, apologies, but I'm going to cheat a little bit today by combining some quick what-we-do's with some metapost information. Yay!

Entry #027: Saturday, August 3, 2013 (Pidwa Wilderness Reserve, South Africa)

Wow, has it been nearly a week already? Time can seriously fly around here. Though to be honest, the main reason I haven't had any updates in all this time is because I've been doing updates in another way - posting pictures to my Facebook account. Now, this may seem like the worst excuse, but keep in mind, we're not talking a couple pictures - we're talking upwards of over a thousand when all is said and done. And then take into consideration that it's a slow upload speed here, and then take into consideration the fact that I need to (or at the very least, should) write captions for each of them, and then take into consideration the fact that sometimes Facebook messes up, forcing me to start over, and you have yourself a slow-going process. It ends up just exhausting me, making blogging seem less desirable.

But enough with excuses, let's cover some of the stuff that happened this week. (Oh, and I think I'll be posting links to all my photo albums up once I've gotten the first couple South Africa ones done. Though you could always just follow me on Facebook to keep up to date on it.)

Entry #026: Sunday, July 28, 2013 (Pidwa Wilderness Reserve, South Africa)

Well, the sleepout I mentioned before has come and gone, and I'm still here to write about it, so it's fairly safe, I'd say, to assume that it went off at least partially successfully (in the sense that we weren't eaten in our sleep). While that was the main crux of activity the last couple days, there has actually been quite a bit of interesting things going on, the kind of stuff you can only get at a place like this.

Entry #025: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 (Pidwa Wilderness Reserve, South Africa)

You want to know where the most annoying place to get a splinter is? Well, I don't know for sure, but I'd wager one of the top contender is just on the top knuckle of one of your index fingers. I would know, as I have one right now, and every slight movement with that finger is an annoyance, even after digging out most of the wood. I'm telling you this because...um...

Anyway, this weekend went...differently than I had anticipated. Not in a bad way necessarily, although I don't know if I'd call our activities adventures or misadventures. I'll tell you one thing, though - I've been involved with vehicle incidents three times in as many days. But we'll get to that.

Entry #024: Friday, July 19, 2013 (Pidwa Wilderness Reserve, South Africa)

Well, it's been an interestingweek. New people, new experiences, decapitation. I tell ya, you never know what's gonna happen. But I might as well start from the beginning. Or at least from Monday. That works too.

Entry #023: Sunday, July 14, 2013 (Pidwa Wilderness Reserve, South Africa)

Okay, Week 2 of Askari is done and dusted, and things are going...

Ah, who am I kidding? The big news of this entry is actually that of another entry. Specifically, the Kilimanjaro entry is finally, finally done. Most of the time was spent uploading the 2-hour video to YouTube, but that's all done now, and I've posted it in the past, so that future generations will never know that there was an issue.Check it out here!  But only if you have a lot of time/patience/tolerance for my voice. Otherwise, you, um, you may want to skip it.

Anyway, onto the last couple days!

Entry #022: Thursday, July 11, 2013 (Pidwa Wilderness Reserve, South Africa)

Cripes, has it been a week since I last made an entry? Sorry about that. I think the main reason for the delay is the fact that this place makes me really tired. Like, physically tired. Normally, I can stay up until 2am or so without issue, but here I'm lucky to get past 11pm without nodding off. The fact that we have to wake up at 6:30 every day (or 5:30 today for an early drive) doesn't really help the situation. In any case, I am not always in the mindset to make long entries when I'm done for the day, and then when I start, I tucker out. Like, a good part of this entry was started on Sunday, but then I just fell asleep at the keyboard. It's probably only going to be worse when I get roommates next week. So I'm going to plow through what I haven't already done, and then experiment for a while with shorter, more frequent entries. We'll see how that plays out.

Entry #021: Thursday, July 4, 2013 (Pidwa Wilderness Reserve, South Africa)

Well, we've come to the start of a new major chapter - that is to say, a new significant length of time where the location on the blog entries all reads the same thing. This time, it's going to be the Pidwa Wilderness Reserve. And lemme tell ya, it's been an interesting start. Let's just straight in.

Actually, no, first, let me give a big "Happy Independence Day!" to all my fellow Americans. Enjoy those barbecues and fireworks extra hard for me. Unless you're reading this after the Fourth, in which case...I dunno, light a few matches and eat a burger?

Entry #020: Sunday, June 30, 2013 (Johannesburg, South Africa)

Well, I'm currently in South Africa, aka my home for the longest portion of this trip. Assuming a straight-up 365-day journey, I'll be in this country for 20% of the entire trip, despite being only 5% of the total number of countries currently on my itinerary. So get used to me using the "South Africa" tag on this blog (that is, if you noticed I used tags here at all). By the by, you might have noticed that I've skipped a number on this entry. That brings me to a:

Kilimanjaro Entry Update: So, I'll delve into this shortly, but Internet in SA is frickin' expensive. In order to properly upload my video (and, with the little amount I had left, maybe some of my truant photos), I would have had to purchase a data plan totaling $175. And I wouldn't  cover it. Sorry, but I don't love you all that much. Luckily, I can purchase an unlimited plan in Askari, so I'm crossing my fingers that this will fit the bill. In any case, I'll make sure it gets to you one way or another.

Entry #019: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 (Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania)

It's the Kilimanjaro blog special! Hooray!

For those who don't know - I don't really know how that's possible, but bear with me - I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. And it was pretty cool! I'm not going to write much, because I don't want to, so this will mostly be a multimedia blog entry.

Interlude: Sit Tight

As you might be able to gather by the fact that this entry doesn't begin with "To Whom it May Concern," I was able to make it down Mount Kilimanjaro safely, soundly, and successfully. Additionally, through a refresh of my computer, (an admittedly painful process), I'm able to connect to the Internet, and thus to Blogger, correctly again. Now, I was intending on posting my very first multimedia entry regarding Kilimanjaro (because I took videos of myself, and I really didn't want to have to rewrite it all). The irony is, it seems the Internet in Tanzania, while existent, is too slow for such things. For example, using the WiFi in my hotel, I can download a 5MB file...in an hour. And my video, being two hours long, is in the gigabytes range. So it probably would still be going when my flight left. Instead of transcribing everything (because even making the video was time and effort), I'm just going to wait until I get some (hopefully) decent WiFi in South  Africa.

Not too much has happened in the meantime, so don't fret. I'll be back before you know it!

Entry #018: Friday, June 14, 2013 (Arusha, Tanzania)

So, I'm back at the Arusha Budget Hotel right now, I head out for my Kilimanjaro climb tomorrow (though that's just the meet-up day; we head to the mountain on Sunday), and my stint at the orphanage is now done. The last several days have found me in a wide flux of emotions, ranging from a very acute sense of "I'm over it" to genuine feelings that I'm going to miss the place and the people.

Entry #017: Saturday, June 8, 2013 (Arusha, Tanzania)

[NOTE: As you might have noticed from the last entry, entitled "Technical Difficulties", I've been experiencing technical difficulties connecting to the Blogger server from my PC. As I've also been getting a bunch of 400 Errors on other websites, I can only assume the issue is on my end. It may very well be that the poor signal quality has caught up with my browsers, and like Popeye, they've stood all they could; they can't stands no more. Unfortunately, I can't actually see if this is the issue (or if it is, worse, some issue with my actual hardware) until I am in a place with a respectable Wi-Fi signal. In the meantime, I'm forced to post this in the most roundabout way possible, using Notepad, Dropbox, a program that uses my laptop as a Wi-Fi hotspot, and the mobile Blogger app. Additionally, this entry was written in two parts. The first was written on my actual birthday back on June 5. My issues began that night, before I could write about the evening's activities. The second part was just written today. I'll be sure to note them, so that I don't have to rewrite the syntax of the birthday entry.]

Interlude: Technical Difficulties...

Hey all, this is just a quick note to let you know that Blogger is acting strangely, and not allowing me to access posts, or write new posts, from my computer. Which is annoying, not least because I had one almost-fully-written entry ready for my birthday on the 5th. I can still access everything from my phone, but as you might imagine, this is not the ideal way to be writing things that have the length I normally afford my entries. So stay tuned while I try to figure out some sort of solution to this issue (or, even better, let's hope it just works itself out). Thanks for your understanding!

Entry #016: Monday, June 3, 2013 (Arusha, Tanzania)

So, um, remember how I was saying that I didn't really enjoy writing the last entry? Well, I can probably chalk that up - in part, at least - to the fact that I was physically not in the best of states. In fact, when I posted it, I was running a pretty healthy fever. The first sign of anything going wrong was after my exercise for that day (Thursday), after which I became more tired and winded and headache-y than I felt I should have been. So, I figured my fever was a continuation of my body telling me that I've pushed it too far.

Nope. Malaria.

Entry #015: Thursday, May 30, 2013 (Arusha, Tanzania)

Things have kind of been settling into a rhythm here at the orphanage, which is a bit of a mixed blessing. On the one hand, I'm getting a good idea of what the daily life here is like, how things are run, and all that jazz. On the other hand, rhythm makes for boring blog entries. One person's "rhythm" is another person's "rut". That's not to say I'm in a rut. But then, there is a sense of familiarity to everyday. I get woken up by a knock on the door for breakfast, I do some stuff, I get lunch, I do some stuff, the kids come back, I help with homework and play with them, I have dinner, I read to them, I do some stuff, and I go to bed. Thrilling.

Entry #014: Thursday, May 23, 2013 (Arusha, Tanzania)

Well, today is the third day that I have been working at the Samaritan Village orphanage in Arusha, Tanzania. Yep, my first volunteering gig, and it's at an orphanage. I don't remember why I chose to do an orphanage specifically. Perhaps I figured it's such an obvious choice for volunteering. Or maybe it's because my mother did something similar, and I figured "maybe me too!" If that were the case, I forgot one important fact, which is that my mother is a mother. With motherly instincts and abilities and all that. I most assuredly do not fall in that category, but screw it all, here I am! I'm still not totally sure about the whole thing; but even in the short time I've been here, I've learned a few things about myself.

Entry #013: Saturday, May 18, 2013 (Mombasa, Kenya)

So, today is the last day of the Kenyan leg of my journey, a bus ride tomorrow notwithstanding. On the whole, has this second half of my trip made up for the first half which got me so agitated? Um...kind of? It's definitely been the better of the two weeks, but it hasn't gotten me to a point where I can actually recommend traveling through the country with anything less than a baked-out plan. But let's not delve straight into my musings - it's too early to get too deep, and there's plenty to discuss regardless.

Entry #012: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 (Mombasa, Kenya)

So, you may have been unable to tell, considering my last blog post was strictly about Italy, but I've actually been in Kenya for a bit now. And so far, Kenya has been...welllllll...based on my experiences thus far, I would say if you plan to visit Kenya, you should do so as a super-rich tourist. Or at the very least, have your plans set from the moment you get there to when you depart. I've tried going as a traveler (as that's been my platonic motto: "I'm a traveler, not a tourist", though who knows how true that will hold out) with the intention of winging it, and it hasn't quite worked out thus far. Let's take a look.

Entry #011: Wednesday, May 8, 2013 (Nairobi, Kenya)

Wow, hi, it's been a bit. Sorry for the lack of posts the last little while. To be honest, I did say upfront that I don't have a set posting schedule, and there could be long breaks between posts, due to activities, Internet connectivity, etc. Well, this time, it was more because I was staying with family, and the time that I could be spent type-typing away, I preferred to spend with my family. But now I'm super behind schedule, so let's try to fix that.

So, Italy! I have to say, my time in Italy, compared to, well, select days in Morocco, was been a cakewalk. Not just because I had the opportunity to relax, but more people speak English, things seem a bit more normal, and it's more expensive (hey, cakes are expensive, so the analogy fits). Not as much really crazy stuff going on, but to be honest, I needed a little decompression after Morocco. (And that's going to be something I learn to build into my schedule from here on out.) I guess that would be pretty much expected from a Western nation, but it was nice regardless.

Entry #010: Monday, April 29, 2013 (Florence, Italy)

Well, just about three weeks since I shipped out of the United States, and now I am done with Morocco. And it's not just because I'm literally no longer in the country; at this point, I think I've hit all the big points Morocco has to offer. Interestingly enough, I wouldn't say "I'm over it." I would say I'm past that point (so...back on it?). I realized this the other night, when...well, I'll get to that. Brew a fresh pot of coffee; it's gonna be a long one.

Entry #009: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 (Gorges du Dadès, Morocco)

[Housekeeping Note: I had to back-date this because I didn't have Wi-Fi available when I completed it, but still want to keep it true to the time that it's supposed to represent.]

Wow, the last few days have been a bit of a blur. Chalk that up partially to my lack of sleep, partially to my questionable nutrition during the period, partially to my lack of hygiene, and partially to…well, let's get down to it.

Entry #008: Sunday, April 21, 2013 (Marrakech, Morocco)

What a weird couple of days it’s been. Not super eventful on a large scale, more like bunch of little things that weren't according to plan. (Also, a couple thoughts on where things are with my overall Moroccan trip...at the end of all this.)

Entry #007: Thursday, April 18, 2013 (Meknes, Morocco)

I think at this point, I officially don't know what day it is at any point. I have to keep checking my phone to make sure I haven't stayed where I am a day longer than I was supposed to, or if I should have started taking my anti-malaria medication yet (that's not until Saturday). It's weird, because in some ways, I'm more beholden to the calendar than I was when I was working a 9-5 (well, 9-8) job, but it's hard to know when anything is.

Anyhoo, I m going to start with a bit of a minor rant section. Don't worry, this isn't the kind of bad attitude I was talking about in my first entry when I was visiting Mozambique as a spoiled teen, but there are a couple of things...I think I'll just say, "I'm over it" for the moment.

Entry #006: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 (Meknes, Morocco)

[Note: This is really a continuation of Post #005. If you haven't read that one yet, and want to know how well I integrate back into college society, I highly suggest doing so. (Spoiler: Not well.)]

After I parted ways with Anass, I got back to the Tetouan bus station, and found myself back in the lovely, discomforting position of not knowing what the hell was going on. I was planning on taking a bus to Fes, to meet up with my next host, Jamal. So I look around at every sign at the ticket office, and not one has the word "Fes" on it.

Entry #005: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 (Meknes, Morocco)

[Note, this was really running too long, so I split it into two posts, #5 and 6. For some reason, what's written here, which I wrote offline in a Word doc, disappeared, so advance apologies if I sound rushed at points. Maybe it's for the best, so you won't have to read as much.]

While I was on a bus ride yesterday, it hit me - it's only been a week since I took off from the United States. I was wondering at first how I could only be at my fifth post. But yeah, it genuinely seems like I've been gone a long time; well longer than a week, at least.

Anyhoo, I'm currently with my fourth Couchsurfing host. My third one was...a mixed bag. Not because of any problem on his end - I'm giving him a positive reference - but more because of myself and my personality. But I'll get to that in a second.

Entry #004: Saturday, April 13, 2012 (Tetouan, Morocco)

So, I had a bit of a hiccup in programming, and it's been an interesting couple days as a result.

Shortly after my last blog post, I was contacting my Couchsurfing host in Martil, Morocco (it's a beach town), and jut confirming our meet-up. My host then wrote back to me saying that he wasn't going to be in town until the 14th. In fact, he had told me about this earlier, but I misunderstood. Add to that the fact that it was because his father was sick, and I couldn't be angry. I could, however, be a bit concerned.

Entry #003: Thursday, April 11, 2013 (Algeciras, Spain)

Brew a fresh pot of coffee, you’re going to be here a while.

I wrote the majority of this from my southbound Spanish train. Unfortunately, the train did not have Wi-Fi, so I had to wait to post it until I was cozily with my host in Algeciras.  I have the distinct feeling that asynchronous writing/posting schedule will be a common occurrence on my travels, but hey, it’s not like I need to be timely. In any case, I have a number of items I’d like to touch on, so let’s hop to it

Entry #002: Tuesday, April 9, 2013 (Moscow, Russia)

When I was in high school, I was planned to be the star in a play called The Foreigner. ("Planned" because the play never actually opened, as there wasn't enough interest by the other actors, but that's beside the point.) It's a play about an Englishman who pretends to be a foreigner from some unspecified and ultimately made-up Slavic nation. He does this so that nobody will want to talk to him (because he didn't want to talk to people?...I forget the exact details). As the play progresses, stuff happens and hilarity ensues (I do remember it being pretty funny).

I bring this up because I just got off the first leg of my flight to Madrid, and I was reminded of it in two different ways.

Entry #001: Friday, April 5, 2013 (Los Angeles)

About a month ago, I was lucky enough to find a journal in some of my old storage. I used to keep a lot of physical journals, like a set I wrote in everyday for my first year of college. But this one goes back to when I was sixteen years old, and I specifically wanted to find it before leaving on this walkabout. It was from a 2-3 week period when I was visiting my sister in Mozambique (she was working in the Peace Corps). I particularly enjoyed the first entry.

I Tried to Find the Lamest Countdown Clock Possible

This one comes close.