Here Goes.

It’s crazy the way travel can be so impactful on the mind and the body.  For the last week or so, I have been beyond pumped for my trip to New Zealand.

Today when I woke up, however, I could feel a hint of butterflies in my stomach.  Even though I’m more than ready for my five months in New Zealand, my mind can’t help but doubt.  Right now, I’m asking a ton of questions.  Will I make every flight, despite the fact that I have two layovers over 5 hours?  Will I wake up in time for the ferry from Wellington to Picton on Tuesday morning?  Will I get through this grueling two days of travel without having my passport stolen?  Will my back, which I tweaked mildly last night trying to pick up my duffel bag, hold out through twenty-one hours of sitting straight up in a flying aluminum pop can?  I hope all the answers are an emphatic yes.

I once heard some advice from a health teacher of mine who said, “Don’t get nervous.  Get excited.”  I just now realized that, despite my respect for said health teacher, this may be the worst advice I’ve ever heard.  Is it, for some reason, impossible to be both nervous and excited at the same time?  Is he trying to say that a pitcher, quarterback or [insert important sports position], is either incredibly shaky, or uncontrollably excited before a big game, but never both?  I have yet to meet somebody who is 100% one or the other before a big event, even when they don’t admit it.

For now, I’m nervous.  I’m at a loss of understanding just what I’m going to encounter over the next five months.

For now, I’m stoked, intrigued by what I might experience, even if I have no idea what those experiences will be.

Here goes.