Nervous? Yes.
Scared? Absolutely.
Willing to risk it all for a sense of adventure? You bet ya.
If I've learnt anything these past few years, it is that you really can't predict your own future, but you can make choices today to shape the kind of tomorrow you want. Granted, you can't paint the whole picture, but you don't have to. It's these details to your life which bring excitement and meaning to it.
When I was younger, I used to go into travel agents at shopping centres and ask for their old travel brochures. I think they thought I wanted them to cut them up and paste pictures, etc. but that's not what I did. I literally spent hours pouring over them, yearning to just pack up and go to these incredible places of my dreams which I knew actually existed. For as long as I can remember, My biggest dream was/is to travel the world. I really do want to see it all. And as I got older, my tastes matured, and now not only did I want to see New York and Paris, and other tourist-traps, I dreamt about far-off (both geographically and culturally) places such as Costa Rica, Nepal, Burkina Faso, Borneo, Tibet, Jordan, this list really does go on and on.
The problem was, I come from a family who had never done much travelling. My mother did the tourist-traps when she was in her twenties, but that was it. It always amazed me how she didn't catch the bug, for you see, I had caught it before I had even been anywhere. I would cry myself to sleep at night thinking I would never get real opportunities to travel. I honestly thought that. In hindsight I was delusional. And I think subconsciously it was then that I made the choice to seek any opportunity to explore. Explore the world, explore those around me, and explore myself. And within no time at all, I had discovered opportunities to travel to six countries other than my own (and always counting), and now - tomorrow, in fact, I will set about on what I believe will be the greatest yet.
If you don't know, I'm jetting off to Peru for a month, where I'm undertaking a volunteer program called Peru's Challenge which allows travellers to experience the beauty of Peru through tours while also volunteering in rural communities to assist the work of not-for-profit/charity organisations. More specifically, I'll be teaching in a school in the Huatata community, near the town of Urubamba, which is one hour outside of Cuzco.
As well as the volunteering, we'll be taking every opportunity to see the wonderful contrasts of Peru, from City tours of Lima and Cuzco, to a 2-day tour of the Sacred Valley, a 3-day tour to Lake Titicaca, a Horse-back ride to Inca ruins, and the climax of it all, the 4-day Inca Trail trek to Macchu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas. It is said, that at dawn on that 4th day of the trek, when you pass through the Sun-Gate, and you see the sun's first rays hit Machu Picchu, you weep. So much emotion is built up from the past 3 days, that the sheer beauty that confronts you brings you to tears. And even more wonderful is that this special moment will be on my 20th birthday.
I don't think I've ever been so nervous and so excited simultaneously. Peru (and all of South America, for that matter) has always allured me with its exotic culture and breathtaking landscapes. However, this will be the first time i've travelled for a reason other than holidaying, and I have no teaching experience, and I have very limited Spanish skills, so you see there are many reasons to be nervous. However, anybody who knows me would know that I am 110% up for this challenge. Yes, it will probably be tough to begin with, but I know for sure that by the time those 4 short weeks roll around, I won't want to leave.
