I must be crazy...

I finished my last exam of undergrad this morning after hours of staring at a piercingly bright computer screen, aching to finish a mediocre paper just to have it finished, grade irrelevant. The comfort I felt in turning the exam in was familiar to me, yet I knew, somewhere in my head, the real significance of finishing four years of higher education. Part of that significance was the happy knowledge that I wouldn't have to stare at a computer screen for so many hours ever again, or at least for the foreseeable future.

Yet, here I am, less than 12 hours from finishing my last assignment of undergrad, not only in front of a computer screen, but writing. And what am I writing about? Reading. (I'm not even an English major, so that excuse is out.) What kind of sick person finishes four years of college, having spent a great deal of that time dreading and complaining about reading and writing assignments, and finds herself dreaming about the books she will read and the blogs she will write? A crazy person, that's who.

Me, apparently.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

As I look to my future, I feel the excited fear of something new on the fringe, the pain of leaving so many of the people I love, the pride of receiving my diploma, gratefulness for the knowledge I've gained, nostalgia for the experiences I've had, and disbelief in what's in store for me in the months to come.

On September 2, 2011, I set off for a five month study travel experience around the globe. Although I officially graduate in 8 days with the St. Olaf College Class of 2011, I am continuing my education with St. Olaf through their prestigious Global Semester program , which will take me, 27 of my peers, 2 professors and their 2 sons to Switzerland, Germany, Egypt (or Turkey if things don't shape up in the land of the Pharaohs), India, Thailand, China, South Korea, and Japan. Try as I might, I haven't figured out yet how words can describe how excited I am for this opportunity - so far, high pitched squeals and spastic dance-like movements do the trick, and I'm sorry I can't translate any of that to this medium; maybe a YouTube video is in store.

I'm usually awful at preparing for travel, probably because that was always my mom's job for family trips (thanks mom, you're great) and I found it just as nice to arrive in a new place and just marvel at the newness of it, letting her explain what needed explaining. Since starting college, I've traveled without my mother many times, and yet, the most preparation I did (aside from a few mandatory orientation meetings) was confined to looking at a map and the occasional school-related reading that just happened to talk about someplace I was about to visit. My mom didn't understand this apparent apathy, so my go-to excuse was a college student favorite: "Chill out mom, I'm just busy!" Yet, apathy it was. Not that I didn't want to go to those places, but I had never felt the need to immerse myself into someone else's reflections on those places before I'd had an opportunity to experience them myself, in a very raw manner.

Not this time, strangely enough. I am excited to prepare this time; maybe because it's such a daunting adventure and I think I'll be lost otherwise. Regardless, I am preparing, and I intend for this travel blog - which I hope to also continue through my travels - to help me in that endeavor.

My intention is to use some of my summer time to read at least one book, novel or non-fiction, for each of the countries and/or regions I will be visiting. Over the last weeks, I have been collecting titles and authors from friends and family, and I hope to amass a long list from which I can choose my "assignments". (If you are reading this and you have a book suggestion, please let me know, whether by comment or other form of communication.) I expect my reflections on each book to be both informative and introspective. I hope to come out of this preparation experience with more knowledge and appreciation for the places I'm about to meet. Hopefully, if my posts aren't all this lengthy, you might glean some worldly benefit from my musings too.