Sat Sept 3, 2001 - t-minus abt. 2 days
I leave in one day, 11 hours, and 47 minutes...
Am I excited? Actually, no! I don't have time to be excited because I am far too nervous, sweaty, and nauseous. One once wrote that for someone traveling a great distance at a great personal expense, the image of a path coiling into a labyrinth as the destination appears is a powerful one. I can whole-heartedly agree.
However, out of all the emotions I am feeling as my departure nears, fear is not one of them. I look forward to the Great Unknown. Visiting reaches of this planet I could only picture in a book or on a screen. I look forward to using all of my senses. To not only see the sites, but to feel, taste, smell and hear them.
But before I can do any of that, I need to get through the hellish ordeal of
packing. Right now, the floor is covered with what I want to bring with me.
I even took a picture.
I am studying each piece and asking myself "do I really NEED this?" In most
cases, I do need it - but I am slowly lightening my load with every small
piece I hesitantly remove. The good news is that it all fits into my
backpack and is not extremely heavy to me. I am lucky I hiked more than 60
miles this summer or I would kill myself carrying something so big and
bulky....
Talk to you all over in Paris. I'll be there in the morning on Tuesday and will email you all sometime next week!
~Kolby
