Pre-departure

So, I’m trying this blogging thing. I know that it will be important during the coming weeks and months as I travel to India, the Dominican Republic, Curaçao, Australia, Japan, and possibly Cuba.

I’ll go to India thanks to an invitation from a beloved best friend, Cherry, eager to share her roots and family with me and another best friend. Then, in late July, I depart on a 12 month journey to study international baseball as part of a Watson Fellowship.

Cherry, Fi, and I are no rookies to exploring.

Off the bat (baseball puns will abound so stay sharp, readers) I want to admit that I’ve already made false promises about this practice. Before I went to Spain in the fall of 2013, my Aunt asked if I was going to blog. I told her I would, so that she could keep in touch with me. I made a blog, and sent her the link. In my four months in Spain I did not update my blog once.

As I told my Dad this morning in anticipation of this post or another, the whole blogging just seems self-righteous. I hope to overcome these feelings so that I can blog as a means to process my journey for myself and invite those who are close to me to process it with me.

On Tuesday morning, my BDAY (!), I head to Chennai. A 30 hour extravaganza in a flying tube in the sky will bring me to D.C., Frankfurt, and then Chennai, India to meet Cherry and her family. I’m pretty stoked. I’m quite nervous about the sweat and the heat. I’m looking forward to some hot chai in the hot weather.

Cherry seems a bit nervous for us to arrive. But heck, I get stressed inviting my friends to my house in Davis, so it seems natural for Cherry to be feeling the anticipation of Fiona and me arriving. I assure her not to worry; if I leave India tougher than when I arrived, I think the trip was a success. Come July, it’ll just be me and myself in foreign places and possibly sticky situations, so I’m just going for the ride while I have Cherry’s support.

In my (almost) month since graduation, I have been preparing for the journeys ahead and soaking up some good time at home. Of course I’ve been kicking it with the main homie: Lyla Rothschild Glass, and some others as well..

Recapping the Preparation

As I write this, I am between bouts of mosquito-proofing my clothing with a crazy product called Permethrin. The stuff comes from chrysanthemums and protects against mosquitoes and other rascals for 42 days or 6 washes. It’s quite toxic to human skin or lungs until it dries, but I’m continuing to write this post as a right knuckle of mine burns, because, as I’ve said, I am often tempted by reasons not to blog and I hope to overcome these temptations.

For future Watson Fellows, future travelers, or just curious minds, stay tuned for how this chrysanthemum stuff works. I’m susceptible to mosquitoes, so I’ll bring back a full report from India and the Dominican Republic.

I also bought an unlocked phone, so I wouldn’t have to buy a phone in every location I go to. And I bought a lifetime supply of a product dear to my heart: Flonase. I probably wouldn’t pass MLB drug testing after all 720 sprays of this went into my nose (it’s a steroid) but then again, my end goal is first female MLB manager not MLB player.

More on suitcases, backpacks, and technological devices ASAP. For now, I’m off to enjoy one last fro-yo with my parents, and then spray the backside of my clothes with Permethrin.

Stay tuned! It feels even more peculiar to write this if those who are dear to me don’t enjoy it.