You know, reader(s) [assuming more than just our immediate family ever get to read this blog], it has been said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. It so happens that this was said sometime between 604 and 531 BC (about when my parents were born. Kidding, Mum and Dad), before they had Dodge Ram conversion campers and the like. So for us, the single step was a metaphorical one. Unfortunately, the metaphorical first step is far more arduous than the literal.
The Single Step
Oh, deceptive simplicity! The first step involved:
1. A four-hour application process, involving an unnavigable government website and having to take new photos, because my passport photos did not reveal my shoulders (treacherous infidels as they are).
2. Arriving at the US Consulate for an appointment, where I was stripped of everything but the clothing on my back (and legs. And arms. And feet.) and the application itself. I stood in line for two hours, nervously anticipating the gruelling interview to follow, fearing rejection! The other detainees and I bonded, laughed (quietly, nervous about awakening the wrath of the department officials. Especially when they'd taken digital copies of our prints. Twice.). We speculated as to what this intense and difficult process would lead up to. Then we attended the two-minute interview, received the stamp of approval, and were shooed out the door. Just like that! Ye gods.
And so the voyage begins. I know, we're still in the country, and we don't leave until February, but it's a beginning! And if Lao-tzu is anyone to go by, we gotta start somewhere, n'est-ce pas?
"Only the curious will learn and only the resolute overcome the obstacles to learning. The quest quotient has always excited me more than the intelligence quotient."
-Eugene S. Wilson
Steff:
On account of my lack of visa issues (being a US citizen), my trip preparation thus far has consisted of feverish researching, daydreaming, and imagining, which is proving to be a lovely antidote to my 9 to 5 minimum-wage job.
Escapist voyages include:
-Contacting WWOOF farms
-Obsessively studying permaculture
-Travelling virtually to our planned destinations
-Loitering in camping stores between the cookers and the hiking boots
-Writing lists (things to bring, people to see, things to see, people to bring, stuff to learn, inspiring ideas, not to forget underwear)
How the hell I'll manage to clean our room and pack my life into a backpack remains to be seen...
Peace!
The Quest Quotient by Nancy Howie and Steff Werman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at thequestquotient2011.blogspot.com.
