Being unemployed is scary. It definitely screws up your plans, as far as saving for a trip abroad go. I’ll be fine, I’ll just have to skip on the wine and dancing for a while when I go… Which is sad, but whatever. I’m sure I’ll be fine.

I’ve got a job offer in Bosnia, which is interesting. It’s a nanny gig for these girls who are 2 and 4. Their mother is from Trinidad and Tobago and their father is Bosnian. It’s not a carreer path I’m thinking about going down, but it might be cool to stay there, and also acquire more cash for the rest of my trip, which sounds nice so I can have a little more flexibility.  Plus the family seems really great. I’ve talked to the mom quite a bit now. So that is  a definite possibility. On top of that I’ve always wanted to go to Bosnia and the other former Yugoslavic republics. It’ll be an interesting opportunity for me.

My life is so unpredictable right now. I’m kind of enjoying the freedom of it. But on the other hand, I’m also a little overwhlemed by everything. I’ve got to make so many decisions right now, and I’m not sure how exactly they will pan out. I’m really excited, but at the same time I’m trying to do my best to make the right decisions and to prepare myself for what is ahead.

I’m leaving with my bicycle and essential items that I will need to travel by bicycle, all by myself for an extended/undetermined amount of time. 

This blog will be for personal reference more than anything, but I hope that it finds some people that will find it entertaining and/or informational. I also hope to use it to convince my mother that I’m doing fine and am managing on my own. She’s convinced that I’m going to end up dead in a ditch or begging on a street corner. While I understand her fears, I think she’s silly. She doesn’t really understand what I intend to do.

Here’s pretty much my intent– I’m going to visit Germany, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania (after that I intend to go on, but I figure I’ll know where I want to go after travelling for a while and weighing my options). I’ll be bringing stuff so that if I need to camp, I will be able to. I will live minimally. And except for the travelling fromTulsa to Patras, I’ll only bicycle to the places that I’m going. I’ve saved up a bit, and I’m no novice to travelling alone internationally. I’ve done it since I was 17– and I’m pretty aware of the risks and how to deal with them or avoid them altogether. 

It wouldn’t be brave, if I weren’t a little intimidated. However, I know that I’m more than capable of doing this– and I know I will learn so much and meet so many people. And even more importantly, I will be doing something that I’ve dreamed about so much.  

Living the normal okie life in Tulsa is not enough for me right now. It seems like the last few years that the only situations that I’ve been 100% at home with have been while being in the middle of new situations, in new places, with new people. I rarely have that here. 

I’ve been preparing my bicycle and riding it to get used to riding heavy, day in and day out, for countless days on end. My friend built it up, with parts from my mom’s old cannondale which was a little too tall for me.