Road trip!!!

So I'm on day 2 of my first-ever solo cross-country road trip! :) I'm currently in lovely Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Seems they call it ABQ here...) I drove up to Flagstaff, Arizona last night (from Phoenix) and today said goodbye to some dear friends of mine. Tonight, I meet up with 2 new friends in ABQ, then tomorrow it's off to Oklahoma!! Crazy times...

Well, that's it for now. Greetings from the road! :)

Getting my ducks in a row...

So here's a non-exhaustive list of what I've been doing (and have yet to do) to prepare for my upcoming journey:

-change address
-move out of current apartment
-put important belongings in storage
-say goodbyes to local friends
-religiously update my facebook status
-read books/articles in Spanish (both aloud and to myself)
-learn local Costa Rican slang (e.g., "chunche" = knicknack, thing; "tuanis" = awesome, cool, all is great)
-get travel immunizations (expensive!!)
-decide what my luggage philosophy is ("travel light" or "be prepared"??)
-get a Skype account
-practice converting between the English and metric systems
-read about the political and economic climates of Costa Rica
-search craigslist... for Costa Rican job postings!
-open a bank account that can be accessed nationally (for my family), as i have a local credit union account currently
-sell my car (you ROCK, mom & dad!!!)
-sell all furniture and whatever books i can
-drive cross-country to drop off my car and see my family/friends
-continue paperwork, classwork preparation, and payments for Costa Rican program


...so, yeah, that's about it for now!! More updates will follow as I have more news. I'll be sure to upload photos when I'm in beautiful Central America!

Here we go!!

Greetings from Flagstaff, Arizona!! It is optimistically (though not without slight apprehension) that I begin this account of my newest adventures.

Briefly, so as not to bore myself (and any stray readers I may have along the way), here's been my life in the past few months:

-Moved to Central Phoenix in January 2010
-After a year-long debate, I decided in March not return to teaching middle school math the following school year.
-Panic ensued, as I was uncertain of my next step in life...
-In May, I knew I wanted to leave the U.S. for a while.
-In June, I talked with a friend who is in Spain taking a class. She's getting certified to teach English anywhere in the world.
-The above conversation prompted me to think that it'd be a sweet deal to travel, take classes, and perhaps pursue an international career for a while.
-I looked at a few programs online, chose one, and registered for a 4 week, 120-hour certification course. (It's TEFL: Teaching English as a Foreign Language.) The course starts at the end of July in beautiful San Jose, Costa Rica. :)

Crazy!! So that's my newest adventure...

Right now, I'm most preoccupied with logistics... How much do I pack? *What* do I pack? How do I get through customs & traveling on my own?? (This is my first international trip completely alone... I'll literally be flying solo.)

I think, though, that this will also help improve my philosophical growth. This will be a chance to see how others in the world live, what their views on life are, what dominant cultures are like abroad, etc.

Okee... it's late, and I have to start saying my goodbyes in Arizona... Good night!