Travel bug

I have a sickness. I have been experienced it my whole life, but it really started to manifest itself about 9 years ago, when, for reasons still unknown to me, I decided I needed to travel out of the country, I somehow decided that Russia would be the best place to be. This thought, although logical at the time, continues to be one of the most perplexing things I've thought/done. Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad I went, and there are many things it taught me, but this was also the first manifestation of my sickness. I have the travel bug. At this point I think my parents are just glad I haven't decided to go to any war-torn nations. Although I've often thought that their youngest daughter (me) would have had a difficult time choosing two countries that could evoke more anxiety than Russia (which for most of their lives was the "enemy" of the cold war) and South Africa (which also during this time had horrible violence and constant torture/murders of those apposed to the government).  Its a good thing they got to practice on my siblings before me.  I think I would have been too much to handle if they hadn't gotten to build up to it.  So I went to Russia for 4 months (with short trips across Scandinavia and the Baltic States):

Me, at Red Square in Moscow (even though I lived in St. Petersburg).

Then I took a trip to England and France for a couple of weeks:

Then I went to South Africa on a Field Study:

At this point, I thought I was done. At least for a while, because, you know, I was graduating and had to be a grown up. But then I learned that grown-ups can travel, they just find conferences to do so... That is how I ended up going to Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Vancouver:

Portoroz, Slovenia

Outside of Rembrant's house in Amsterdam

(I don't really have any good pictures of Vancouver, oops.). And if you can't find a conference, you just convince a professor that taking you and another grad student abroad is a good idea. This is how I find myself going to Thailand. My professor, Dr. Cathy Soliem, has taken undergrad students for several weeks each year for a few years now. She also speaks the language fluently, has lived there for several years, and her husband and in-laws are all from Thailand. Perfect tour guide, right? Right! We started talking about a year ago about the potential of going on the undergrad trip, and through a series of conversations we all decided that the experience would be more meaningful to go as a small group of graduate students. (Smaller group = greater flexibility, better conversations, and more autonomy).

My bags are packed (okay not really, but they will be), and I'm ready to go (similar to the other parenthetical explanation). I do have my vaccinations, malaria meds, and CRAZY bug repellant (both a cream for my skin and a spray for the OUTSIDE of my clothes with warnings on it multiple times to NOT let it touch my skin). This seems like all I really need to plan for, the important things. Anyway, stay tuned for the next adventure: Thailand 2012.