好久不见 (Long time no see) and Introduction

Note: There are two consecutive posts. I posted them out of order so that when viewed they would look normal to the reader.

Long time no see my loyal fans and paid audience. It’s been a few days now since I’ve been back, but I have just finished up my travels – a little shorter than expected – but I’m back and preparing for the start of our semester, March 7 (finally). Before the semester begins though and I lose all this free time I have, I figure it wise to start rolling out a few blog posts seeing how it has been a while. You are in for a real treat because over the course of a few weeks I will be releasing journal entries that I have wrote while on the road traveling. After much contemplation I have decided that I will not be making any edits to my journal entries. This is being done to keep the integrity of the original writing which expresses in the most real and raw form my experiences, thoughts, and feelings at the current time. The entries, for the most part, were written in the past tense with a narrator-like voice. Most were written in the same day that they took place, with minor exceptions. Because I do not want to flood my blog with posts for both of our sakes, I plan on releasing the posts in random and arbitrary sections; accompanying photos will be released shortly thereafter on Facebook.

There is one final thing before I begin, and to help explain it I’m going to use a quote from the movie Lord of War. To really sum up my travel experience into one theme it is this: “Selling a gun for the first time is a lot like sex for the first time. You’re excited but you don’t really know what the hell you’re doing. And some way, one way or another, it’s over way too fast.” This sentiment and quote kept popping in my head throughout my travels. And as you read the various travelogues you will see me over and over again stressing this theme of “firsts” – in regards to doing something for the first time. Now that I’ve gotten the introduction out of the way, sit back and enjoy as I take you on this magical journey to Neverland.

Final disclaimers: Because while I traveled I thought about how I wanted to present my journal to you, some things I write and do in regards to organizational work and the fact I am not editing will result in some repetition and various rough patches. Furthermore, because I am writing in the stream of consciousness there is a slight chance the censorship is at a minimum.