Hello World!!!
Excuse me while I come up for breath from my hectic, hectic, HECTIC life! 
Life has been crazy! Let me tell you – finishing up three research projects, trying to take examinations, packing up ones house, AND planning a long, long trip can be quite the challenge. However, I’m still here and still alive…I’ve only got 46 days until I graduate and 51 days until I leave on my trip!
In very important news: I got the Equatorial Guinea job!!!! I mentioned before that I applied for a three-month volunteer position with a researcher working through the BBPP (Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program) and after several rounds of applications and interviews, I was informed on Saturday morning that I had been picked for the position. For those of you who don’t know, Bioko Island is relatively unexplored (biologically) so it’s my weird biologist fantasy to trek around and be able to take it all in. Plus, I doubt I would ever get to see so many parts of the island, without help from the BBPP…and my in-country expenses are basically all covered by the program. It’s pretty much a win/win situation!
SO: As a result I’ve worked out the kinks in my happy dance routine, signed off on my volunteer contract, and am ready to book that RTW flight!
In other developments: my backpack (Eagle Creek Truist 45L) has been ordered and shipped, my international student youth travel card (ISTC card from STA.com) finally arrived (I ordered it two whole months ago…and it just got here, which makes me nervous to buy my flight through the site…but I digress), and I’m the closest I’ll ever be to having an “itinerary” for the first half of my trip.
It looks like the my trip (the first half) will look something like this:
December 2009 – Germany
January – March 2010 – Equatorial Guinea to work for the BBPP
March – June 2010 – South Africa to work on the Loskop Dam Reserve
June – September 2010 – Various African countries, including a one month volunteer position at an orphange in Tanzania
October 2010 – Egypt, Middle East
November 2010 – Middle East, Turkey, HOME!!!!
Also, I’ve been hard at work networking with other travelers through my twitter and through a new page I’ve created on facebook (you can visit that page by clicking on the facebook “badge” on the left hand column of my blog). Feel free to add me – I would love to hear feedback/comments/tips. Thank you (very much) to everyone who has taken the time to leave me feedback both here and on twitter – you’re comments have definitely helped me make decisions (something that is hard for me to do!) and have also given me more confidence in my trip!
[...] those of you who totally clueless as to where Equatorial Guinea is (and what I’m doing there), take a look at the google map: the cute little pointers/bubble-thingies indicate what city I will [...]
[...] those of you who totally clueless as to where Equatorial Guinea is (and what I’m doing there), take a look at the google map: the cute little pointers/bubble-thingies indicate what city I will [...]