The Grand Plan (or something like that)

In case I didn't make it very clear, the teaching program was suspended. In reality, recently, they sent me an email saying that the program had resumed, but it was going to be on your feet type of program, lots of details were unclear, and I would need to go with the flow. So I said no thanks and asked for my refund. I don't really think that was actually huge problem for me, but, I just got the travel bug from going around in February & March, and thought that there were so many places I wanted to go and now have both the time and ability to...who knows if/when I'll be able to go to so many places again. Maybe I'll regret not teaching, but who knows, at this point, I'm doing what I think I want to do.

So, that's that. I just booked a week of Spanish classes in Bariloche, Argentina, starting March 29th. After that, I'll head even farther south, to Punta Arenas, in Patagonia. Then, I'll make my way up the eastern coast of Argentina, eventually returning to Buenos Aires. There, I'll try to get a visa to Paraguay. I have a friend in Paraguay in the Peace Corps I'd like to visit and can stay with, and it should be a cool experience to check out some rural area in Paraguay for a week or so.

So, that will probably carry me to the end of April at least....Then I'll probably make my way to Bolivia by bus, or boat through the Chaco, go to the Salt Flats in the west, La Paz, & some other to be determined places. Then head through Lake Titicaca into Peru. There are a LOT of places in the south of Peru I'd like to go to. I'd like to go to Tacna & Arequipa for a bit in Peru, where Denise from Rotaract Chicago is from, and has family & friends. Then, head north through Cuzco/Machu Pichu, back to Lima, then north through Peru & into Ecuador. Travel around Ecuador for awhile, then hobo around Colombia before taking a flight from Bogota to SFO for free on airline miles. Trying to convince/meet the parents in Ecuador for a week or so since they won't be coming to Chile now, in July or August, but that's all really too early to tell any possible details.

After returning to SFO for a month or so, enough to plan a few things, I'd like to head to Southeast Asia for awhile. Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Cambodia & maybe to the Phillipines (friend Ron from Chicago is originally from there, grand vision to travel there together, haha..). And if there is time, I'm definitely going to go India & Nepal for a month or so. That would take me up to sometime between November-January or February, if I can stretch my wallet enough (I've heard wonderous things about the prices of travel in Southeast asia)!

Then, apply for the fire protection program at Cal Poly, and return to corporate work mode until deathbed. 2010 in a nutshell. Don't mind if I do.

As usual, my plan will probably change tomorrow, but I think that is the grand vision, haha.

My cafe in Santiago (NOT at a cafe con piernas, though, haha):