conceiving a plan...well, sort of

So...Here is a rough layout of what I will be doing, at least initially. I am flying into Germany, as it is the cheapest ticket I can get. Ok. That's all I have officially mapped out yet! I am leaving on March 5, coming back...well, I don't know that part! I did accept an invite to the Rio Carnival, in February 2009, so I will be there then! The time in between is still up in the air.However, I have been getting registered with the organic farming organization, WWOOF (http://www.wwoof.org/). I found that Estonia and Bulgaria both offer their farm sites for free, but there is an awesome list of independent farms for $35- Norway, Kenya, and everywhere in between! For those that don't know, I plan to save some money by volunteering on organic farms. I don't get paid, but it's also super cheap (mostly free!) to stay there, to eat there, and to use bicycles/canoes/horses, depending on the farm and location. It's a good way to reduce my carbon footprint while traveling, and also learn something along the way. In fact, one of the farms in Estonia produces jams and jellies, so maybe I could impress mom with my skills one day. :)Beyond that, I am done with full-time work for now, and will be temping until I leave. This leaves me time to go to New Jersey, and hopefully Seattle, before I head off to the great unknown, as well as do some much needed budgeting/planning. While the whole point of this trip is to be spontaneous, I need a rough idea of how much money I need so I don't get stuck somewhere that I can't get a job (i.e., a non-English speaking country). I am studying French right now (Kirtie, don't scoff!), thanks to Robyn at the Bauer. It is slow, however, as all of my evenings in the last two weeks have been spent sleepless with the Australian Open. I know, I know. Just to be super-tennis geek, I applied for a job at Wimbledon. Ha! Serving food to the masses for a fortnight. Well, at least I could say that I've been there. There is a secretarial job open, but they are interviewing now and I can't get there for another month. It is a three-month job, which actually would rock. Hooray for making Pounds! Oh well. It all remains to be seen...

Ok, so I don't have a jet-set life. I don't have a jet-set bone in my body. But there is a certain allure to it, no? I do love to travel, and haven't been to nearly enough amazing places. Mostly, I want to spend my life working to travel. I have been working for my retirement right now, and I'm pretty much over that. It will be awesome to enjoy my life right now, and live in the moment. So I plan on working my way around the world, one continent at a time, for the next year (or less, or more-I have no real plan...) or so, in hopes of finding fulfillment, meeting cool people, and being a true part of the world. Since I have very little money to work with, I will be on a tight budget...

As a side note, I probably won't WORK in Antarctica. But I do hope to visit!