Preparing for a trip around the world

Nearly three years ago, a professor walked into my classroom at the University of Tennessee and spoke about a study abroad program to Sydney, Australia. Though he immediately had my full attention, I was not sure if I would ever make it to the and down under.

It gives me great pleasure to report that I am writing to you from the very city I dreamed of seeing that day three years ago. It was no easy task getting to where I am today, and I must admit being here is not at all what I expected. After all, how do you prepare for a trip around the world?

After I was accepted to the program a year ago, a wave of great enthusiasm and joy washed over me, quickly followed by a wave of slight nausea. Trying to wrap my mind around spending three and a half months on a continent I had little knowledge of was overwhelming to say the least. The best advice I gave myself until my departure was to take things one step at a time. Which is exactly what I did.

First step was the accept my role in the program. Second step was, well, a lot of paperwork, meetings, interviews, planning, and saving. It was in that middle phase, the serious phase of preparation, that I found my philosophy of 'one step at a time' to be most handy. I followed the directions given to me for a year, and as my departure day grew nearer, I once again felt that wave of nausea creeping back.

As I packed I grew increasingly concerned about how much I was taking with me. In all, I packed, unpacked, and repacked about three times to take inventory and get rid of unnecessary items. Being a person who holds great sentiment in things, I found it most difficult to cast out the material items that were only weighing me down. I consulted a lot of blog posts from experience travelers and like most girls, I consulted my mother.

Besides keeping to my one step mantra, I found organization to be at the top of required skills to travel for such an extended amount of time. I made too many check lists to count during my preparations both for packing, to do's before I left the states, and to do's once I landed in Sydney.

On the day of my departure, I felt had a renewed sense of bravery, and I knew I was ready. I kept my mantra in mind, boarded my flight, and settled in for the next 25 hours of travel. Due to a high amount of day dreaming what Sydney would be like, I was in Australia before I knew it.

Now, after being here for a week, I am thoroughly thankful I found a way to keep myself from being overwhelmed. Even though I am here, half way across the world, I still have to remind myself to take things day by day, step by step. It is easy to miss friends and family and feel like you are missing out back home. What I have found more difficult than I expected is the practice it takes to breathe, remind myself where I am, and live it up while I am here. After all, I never know when, or if, I will be back.

For anyone planning a trip requiring a great length of time, I encourage you to stay organized and keep your head about you. There were many times I felt like I was drowning in paperwork and had to meet unrealistic deadlines for my trip to pan out. Find a support group, get organized, and take some deep breaths. Then go.