The Beginning
It was the best of blogs. It was the worst of blogs. . . .
Mea culpa. It's blatant plagiarism, but I wanted a successful entrance into this project.
This is my third week in Thailand, and I do not plan to touch U.S. soil for some time. Perhaps not until we have a Democratic President. This is not ideological martyrdom; simply political optimism, and a desire for this geographic exploration to be a lengthy one.
Blogging is new to me. Travel is not. At age 15, financed by four years of hawking newspapers, I spent three months hitching and train-riding through Europe and North Africa. Since then, many other journeys have followed, both inner and outer.
"THE BLOG!" Please bear with me as I evolve with this process. At present, two considerations arise for me; the layout and the content.
LAY-OUT: I am initiating this project with words, but I hope to be supplementing my prose with photographs. Towards that end I have purchased a digital camera, which at this point I understand slightly less than Einstein's theory of relativity.
Because of my chosen life, there have been some sketchy adventures along the way. Bears have demanded my food on more than one occasion, and I've fractured an ankle dodging a charging rhinoceros. A bomb exploded (much too close) in Bangladesh, and I was intended victim of a would-be robber at knife point. . . . numerous stories, which now resting safely in the past make for amusing anecdotes.
But! Few things have been as overwhelming as wandering through a five-story electronics plaza in Bangkok, attempting to purchase the appropriate digital camera. So, someday, pictures will appear on this Blog but I will not be so foolish as to predict when.
CONTENT: What am I writing, and who am I writing to?
Gandhi once said, and I paraphrase, "God is absolute and knows absolute truth. I am mortal, and my knowledge of truth changes from day to day. And my duty must be to truth; not to consistency."
So these writings will be an evolutionary process. I currently envision them including travel tales, travel tips (both regional and general), and a smattering of mental wandering as well. I would hope to include narrative, humor, information and, at times, some thoughts that will resonate with your own sense of truth. And, please god, at some point pictures.
My readers? Family and friends, certainly, who will do the obligatory website click. This will provide me the opportunity to share my whereabouts and happenings without the formality of a group email.
However, I also hope to connect with people I haven't met; fellow wanderers and wonderers: travelers of feet and of soul. No pun intended. In this spirit, I dedicate my blog to those who, like myself, are temporary pilgrims. On close examination, this is a fairly inclusive category. For we all share the same journey from cradle to grave, and we all have a limited time allowed for the trip.
Let me finish this lengthy beginning with a brief orientation of past, present and future. Hopefully this will serve to give us the same frame of reference (right: like THAT'S going to happen).
Past: For the previous two years I have been an EAP counselor at the Grand Canyon. Basically, this meant working as a therapist and referal source for the primary concessionaire's employees.
Present: After two weeks in Bangkok visiting a variety of friends, I am now in the Northern city of Chiang Mai. Tomorrow I leave for a three-day jungle trek, and then plan to do some wandering before returning to Bangkok for my birthday (December 20). On January 3 I begin a six-week TEFL (teaching english as a foreign language) on the Thai island of Ko Samui.
Future: If I still have cash at the end of my TEFL course, I'd like to spend a month or two in Laos. If funds are running low, then I'll look for a teaching position. At this point, I'm leaning towards either Thailand or rural China.
In a nutshell, that's the gameplan. But as Gandalph told Bilbo, "Way leads to way," and all things are subject to change.
I wish you joyful ponderings and blissful wanderings.
Namaste, Greg
Mea culpa. It's blatant plagiarism, but I wanted a successful entrance into this project.
This is my third week in Thailand, and I do not plan to touch U.S. soil for some time. Perhaps not until we have a Democratic President. This is not ideological martyrdom; simply political optimism, and a desire for this geographic exploration to be a lengthy one.
Blogging is new to me. Travel is not. At age 15, financed by four years of hawking newspapers, I spent three months hitching and train-riding through Europe and North Africa. Since then, many other journeys have followed, both inner and outer.
"THE BLOG!" Please bear with me as I evolve with this process. At present, two considerations arise for me; the layout and the content.
LAY-OUT: I am initiating this project with words, but I hope to be supplementing my prose with photographs. Towards that end I have purchased a digital camera, which at this point I understand slightly less than Einstein's theory of relativity.
Because of my chosen life, there have been some sketchy adventures along the way. Bears have demanded my food on more than one occasion, and I've fractured an ankle dodging a charging rhinoceros. A bomb exploded (much too close) in Bangladesh, and I was intended victim of a would-be robber at knife point. . . . numerous stories, which now resting safely in the past make for amusing anecdotes.
But! Few things have been as overwhelming as wandering through a five-story electronics plaza in Bangkok, attempting to purchase the appropriate digital camera. So, someday, pictures will appear on this Blog but I will not be so foolish as to predict when.
CONTENT: What am I writing, and who am I writing to?
Gandhi once said, and I paraphrase, "God is absolute and knows absolute truth. I am mortal, and my knowledge of truth changes from day to day. And my duty must be to truth; not to consistency."
So these writings will be an evolutionary process. I currently envision them including travel tales, travel tips (both regional and general), and a smattering of mental wandering as well. I would hope to include narrative, humor, information and, at times, some thoughts that will resonate with your own sense of truth. And, please god, at some point pictures.
My readers? Family and friends, certainly, who will do the obligatory website click. This will provide me the opportunity to share my whereabouts and happenings without the formality of a group email.
However, I also hope to connect with people I haven't met; fellow wanderers and wonderers: travelers of feet and of soul. No pun intended. In this spirit, I dedicate my blog to those who, like myself, are temporary pilgrims. On close examination, this is a fairly inclusive category. For we all share the same journey from cradle to grave, and we all have a limited time allowed for the trip.
Let me finish this lengthy beginning with a brief orientation of past, present and future. Hopefully this will serve to give us the same frame of reference (right: like THAT'S going to happen).
Past: For the previous two years I have been an EAP counselor at the Grand Canyon. Basically, this meant working as a therapist and referal source for the primary concessionaire's employees.
Present: After two weeks in Bangkok visiting a variety of friends, I am now in the Northern city of Chiang Mai. Tomorrow I leave for a three-day jungle trek, and then plan to do some wandering before returning to Bangkok for my birthday (December 20). On January 3 I begin a six-week TEFL (teaching english as a foreign language) on the Thai island of Ko Samui.
Future: If I still have cash at the end of my TEFL course, I'd like to spend a month or two in Laos. If funds are running low, then I'll look for a teaching position. At this point, I'm leaning towards either Thailand or rural China.
In a nutshell, that's the gameplan. But as Gandalph told Bilbo, "Way leads to way," and all things are subject to change.
I wish you joyful ponderings and blissful wanderings.
Namaste, Greg
