Oh how good it feels to start up a new blog in anticipation of my next trip. Even though I have never taken to pen and paper journaling, creating a new URL is the equivalent of running my finger down the spine of a new diary to flatten the crease of the first blank page.
Here is the start of "South of 53" - a title that will hopefully summarize my open ended trip to South America. I am sitting comfortably in my house in Edmonton to write this inaugural post. From here, I optimistically hope my adventures will include only a few Spanish and Portuguese 'lost in translation' failures. There should be some interesting food, a lot of great landscapes, and many new experiences as I have never been out of 'the western world'. Essentially, this blog will represent every place I manage to visit south of the 53rd Parallel North where Edmonton sits.
This trip to South America has been in the making for a year. I came back from New Zealand last May to find work and save up money. Work ended up being quite successful as between two jobs, I averaged 60 hours a week. It has been satisfying to see how hard I can work for something I really want, but I'm also very aware of how privileged I am to have this opportunity. It's also fantastic that this time I travel, I'm not alone. My partner in crime is Chloe, who studied abroad in Cortona with me and is down for travel as open ended as mine.
My grandmother probably summarized it best when we were saying our goodbyes and she said, "Well, I hope you have a great time. I don't know if this is a holiday or what it is, but you better send me a postcard."
Adios, Edmonton! Here's to new adventures.
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