“Relax kid, we’ve got 161 of these games to go.”
–Jake Taylor to Ricky Vaughn in Major League
What’s the difference between taking a two week vacation and traveling around the world for a year? The absence of time as a critical factor. Sometimes when you are rushed to fill in all the events you can in a certain time period, you forget to look around you and absorb as much as you can. When time is a factor, schedules are a factor, and full immersion into an environment can potentially suffer because of it.
After two days and about four hours of sleep London greeted me with, you guessed it, rain. The steady downpour, the trickling sprinkles, the foggy mist, all are London’s partners-in-crime. Of course I was a victim. After settling into a very Harry Potter-esque hostel, I ventured out to downtown London to have a walk down the Thames river. It is possibly my favorite spot in London, but that is most certainly not the case when I get caught in heavy rain. I was trapped on the other side of Big Ben and Parliament along the river when the sky decided to open up, leaving me a bedraggled looking dog, sopping wet. Not to mention a tad agitated after only four hours of sleep. I had no umbrella, my only saving grace being the rain jacket I decided to bring with me at the last minute. That’s when the Major League quote came to me. Relax. You’ve been to London before. You’ve seen the sites. Enjoy it. Not every day is going to be sunny. So I got wet, and stayed wet for the rest of the night as the downpour turned into a steady rain which then slowed to a hanging mist. But I still wouldn’t say I particularly enjoyed being dripping wet.
The round-the-world adventure has begun, and I still don’t quite know how to feel. One day into it has not changed me into a relaxed traveling hippie, I can tell you that. I’m sure full immersion will eventually come, but on day one there is no reason to expect to be in midseason form.
Relax. We’ve only got about 360 of these days to go.
First off, I think going on a world adventure is hands down amazing and opportunity some one should take if they get the chance to. I also enjoy seeing some of the snap shots that you’ve taken so far – they are very professional and neat to look at. I hope you enjoy skyping with our A.P. English class at BCLUW – its going to be fun to travel around the world with you.
Best of luck,
Alison M. Coppock.
Thanks Alison. I agree – if the opportunity exists to travel, I believe one should not hesitate to take it. I don’t think anyone regrets it. I am excited to continue to talk with you and your classmates as I make my way along on this journey…
Brian:
I really enjoyed your blog post about your first few days on you trip and how London greeted you with rain on your second day there. I know what it’s like having the first few days of a trip not no go as well as planned, my family has our own experience of a tire totally falling off our car as we arrived in Lake Powell, Utah.
I look forward to reading about more of your experiences and hope to hear more from you soon.
Sincerely
Grant (BCLUW)
Thanks Grant. Yep it really is true that no trip goes as planned and that is especially true for a one year journey around the world. Part of traveling though is reaching and surmounting those hurdles since you become a better person because of it.