ENTRY #1 - A trip to Peru?

What started as a wild idea has now become reality. I booked the travel a little over a week ago, and the planning is underway. At this point, I have all my flights arranged and am looking for a hotel and activities while I'm down there. I'm both excited and scared at the same time, and am looking forward to my journey.

As I expected, I've received a couple of different questions such as why are you going to Peru, and why are you going alone. I try to answer these questions the best I can, but I'm not sure I know myself. I do know, though, that I'm looking forward to the adventure.

I chose Peru because of the contrast it has with the places I've traveled to before, and because I want to experience the differences of the world. In Peru, the people and places are very interesting, and very foreign to me. I have no idea what to expect. I don't speak a lick of Spanish and I don't know how to get from the airport to a hotel. But, I know that I can find a way and that will be part of the adventure.

Secondly, why am I going alone? I'm not expecting this trip to solve anything, I'm not trying to escape anything. I don't have some fantasy that I'll return from this trip and be "cured" from everything that effects me. I do know that there are days when I don't know who I am. The things that used to make me happy don't make my happy any more. The emotions that I feel overwhelm me sometimes, and I can't function like a normal person. This trip isn't some kind of "finding me" trip. It is a chance for me to experience something scary, something new, something where I will not be in complete control of the language, the plan, the purpose. I want to go learn. I want to see the world as other people see it. I want to sit and watch people work, see how others live and find my place in the world. I have no doubt that I have grown up in a sheltered world as we all do in the US. I want to know what the world is like outside of that protection. I hope that this will help me learn about me, and I hope knowing more about me will help me understand how to better appreciate the things in my life.

So, there it is. The planning has began and I'm off! Peru, here I come!