Mariana Studart

Ok, so I already let the blog slip since my first post… I’ll skip the part where I explain that life has been hectic, a lot has happened, yadda yadda yadda. All the excuses aside, I have been stuck home for about a week now with an ear/throat infection plus some serious coughing, courtesy of the crazy weather of Brasilia, so all those excuses are null and void. I’ve had time. LOTS of time. I’m looking forward to getting back to hectic soon.

In the meantime, here’s a short update on the progress of my RTW (that’s short for Round The World, BTW) trip planning. Yes, I’m still going. No, I’m not going in August, I’ve moved that up to New Years 2012/2013 for a million reasons that aren’t really important. And ever since I wrote that first post back in September, I’ve been planning. I’ve bought guide books and note books and maps. I’ve researched websites of other crazy people that have done this before (surprisingly, there are quite a few out there!) Most of this planning has been going on in my head, mind you, but that still counts… Right?

So I guess this is the part where I start putting stuff down on (virtual) paper. Starting by the itinerary, which has changed quite a bit. Of all those countries I listed on my original post, I’ve managed to narrow it down to nineteen, which is much more manageable. I’ve decided to skip the whole of the Americas, since, well, they’re right here. Plus, I’d really like to do a huge trip just for this continent in the future, something like starting up in Alaska and going all the way down to Ushuaia. But that’s a whole other story.

So, without further ado, here’s the new (tentative) itinerary:

Brazil – Australia – New Zealand – Japan – Vietnam – Cambodia – Thailand – India – Nepal – China – Mongolia – Russia – Ukraine – Turkey – Israel – Jordan – Egypt – Tanzania – South Africa – Morocco – Brazil

You may have noticed that I cut out most of Europe. It’s not that I don’t want to see the whole of Europe, I really do. But it’s all so expensive! I figure if I start there, I’ll probably spend half my budget in a month. So the idea is, if by the end of this itinerary I still have money left, then by all means, I’ll head up to Europe and spend it all

I also really wanted to do more of the Middle East, but I’ll have to see how those folks are doing by the time I get around to that area of the world… Same goes for Africa. As I get closer to that part of the world, I’ll check and see how things are looking.

So that’s the itinerary. I’ve already started breaking down the country information, stuff like visas and vaccinations and festivals and weather and, wow, there’s a lot to think about! Feel free to comment with info on countries I’ve listed, suggestions on places I’ve missed, or any other knowledge you wish to share…

Coming up next: Australia breakdown!!

So, I hear that every journey starts with a first step. This is it.

One year from now (more or less), I’ll be leaving. I’m still not sure of where… I might go back to school, to get my MFA. I might go make a documentary somewhere (or even a fiction movie, you never know). Or I might go on a round the world trip, which is definitely the coolest of the options. But I learned a long time ago that making definite plans is like taunting the fates. Whenever I absolutely decided on something, the universe would go out of its way to mess up everything. Oh, you’re buying an apartment in this city? I’ll give you a job offer over there. You’ve remodeled your apartment? I’ll send you to school in a whole other country. You can plan all you want, and then life comes and changes everything.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t plan anymore. I do. I’m just more flexible than I was, oh, ten years ago. And so here I am, planning a round the world trip that I’m still not sure I’m going on. So many things can happen in a year. I could start on an amazing project at work. I could fall madly in love. I could need the money I’m saving for a million other different things (like the aforementioned school and/or movie). Or, you know, other stuff. I could win the lottery. I could lose the money gambling (not really). So many paths. But I’m gonna plan anyway. I figure that I’ll end up going to these places at some point in my life, even if it’s not all in one fell swoop.

So… Where to start? That’s always the question, isn’t it? I was trying to design my RTW trip over at the BootsnAll Trip Planner, and I couldn’t even figure out which way to head. Should I start with Africa, since it’s the closest? (I live in Brazil, BTW.) Or go to Europe and visit friends first? Or head the opposite direction and start with New Zealand? I had barely started and I was stuck. So I decided to follow my own personal saying in times of indecision and desperation (Jason, you’ll remember this!): stop, take a deep breath, and make a list.

So here’s the list of countries I would like to see. The plan is to go one by one and list out places I want to see, costs, friends, travel options, etc. Initially there will be no time or money restraints on this… I’m pretending I won the lottery and have enough time and money to leisurely go everywhere I want to go and do everything I want to do. Later, when I actually figure out how much money I’ll have, I’ll start cutting things out (thankfully, I don’t have to worry about time, since I can take up to three years of personal leave of absence from my job — without the salary, but the job will be there when I get back).

Places I really want to go to:

• United Kingdom (the whole lot, England, Wales, Scotland. I’ve only ever been to London, and I have a ton of friends spread out across the UK)
• Ireland
• Norway
• Iceland
• Russia (Moscow and St. Petersburg, but also doing the trans siberia would be really cool)
• Ukraine (specifically Chernobyl. I don’t know why, but I’ve always wanted to go there)
• Portugal (surprisingly, I’ve never been there, although I’ve been to all the surrounding countries)
• Spain (I’ve seen a lot of it, but I have yet to go to Barcelona)
• Belgium
• Netherlands
• Germany
• Poland
• Greece
• Turkey
• Israel
• Egypt
• Morocco
• Tanzania (safari)
• South Africa (or maybe do a safari here)
• India
• Nepal
• China
• Thailand
• Vietnam
• Cambodia
• Japan
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Chile
• Ecuador (Galapagos Island)
• Panama

I know, it’s a lot. There are other places too, that aren’t a priority but that I’d like to go to. Like Angola and Benin, Malaysia, Philippines, Mexico. I’d also like to revisit places like France, Italy and Austria. And of course, there’s Canada, the US and Brazil, huge countries that I’ve only barely scratched the surface. In the end, if I could I’d probably go everywhere. But those I listed above are enough to start with. And so let the planning begin!