A Scared and Excited Beginning

"If you're brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello" (Paulo Coelho)


When I tell the people in my everyday life about what I am about to do I feel confident and awesome. When I can't sleep at night and am all alone I think I might be a lunatic. In exactly one week I will be leaving the country and participating in a volunteer program in Kathmandu, Nepal and afterwards traveling around South East Asia. I have been fortunate enough to have been accepted into an Israeli program by the name of Tevel B'Tzedek (which shall be referred to throughout this blog as TBT) in which volunteers go to Nepal for four months to help this incredibly poor and beautiful country (for full information visit http://www.tevelbtzedek.org). There are 22 people in my program in which 5 or 6 of us are from the States, the rest are from Israel excluding one person from Africa. I don't know any of these people. I don't speak Hebrew even close to fluently. Nepal has about an 11 hour time difference from where I live. I will be there for 4 whole months. This is when I start to think I'm a little nuts from getting into this.

However, this is what I want deep down. Despite the family and friends I am leaving, the crazy amounts of money I have paid for my medical bills (mostly check ups and shots) and traveling gear, and the fact that I have a high anxiety level, I know that this is a trip of a lifetime and one that will hopefully teach me a lot about myself and the world around me. As one of my friends reminded me, by not going corporate after college, I have potentially set myself back in finding a decent career when I get home. For some reason this does not bother me. I feel that if I don't do this, I will not only regret it, but that my spirit will be incomplete.

I leave in one week from today but as stressed as I am, I don't have too much more to do at this point. Although Nepal is a third world country, Kathmandu is the capital city which means it is a bit more developed and happens to be a major travelers hub. This means I can buy most of the things I will need while there....which results in me taking only two backpacks (a big travel sized one and a smaller one for day/weekend trips). That thought alone makes me laugh and shudder at the same time....2 backpacks for 6 months?! Obviously I will not be bringing a lot which is a very strange feeling. Plus even when I buy things there, once the program is over and I start back packing I will end up leaving stuff behind. This is an obvious and practical thought but one that seems so alien to me at the moment.

I will try to post as much as I can while I am away, even if they are short, but I just wanted to reflect a bit before I leave. I wonder how I will view this by February.

Signed,

Nervous Nelly/Excited Evy