Gettin' ready for the other America

Few, most, or perhaps all of you know that I'll be on the move for the next 3(or so) months, making my way from Baja California to Santiago, Chile. Along the way, I'll be gathering information for an honors research project. More details on this later. I've got a 4-month internship lined up with English newspaper/travel magazine The Santiago Times, which starts at the end of November. The nature of the internship is a bit ambiguous. I'd originally applied for the internship to work on an organic farm/campground in Southern Chile with the implied opportunity to contribute to the publication, but after a few digital "meetings" with my internship supervisor and owner/editor of the Times, we've decided that he'll be able to better place me according to my skills when I'm in Santiago. I hope he doesn't take one look at my exhausted, dirty, smelly post-backpacking self and send me home.

*note where the tentative route diverges at the crossroads of Chile, Peru and Bolivia. If I have time, I would love to visit Bolivia again (considering I already shelled out $100 for the 5-year visa when I visited last year [which was its own debacle, lemme tell you]) , however, it is likely that I will have to bypass this AMAZING country (of which I regrettably saw only a fraction) to make it to Santiago by the end of November.

So there you have it. The primary impetus of this trip was not to "find myself". It's first and foremost getting from point A to point B and maximizing my time in between. If I happen to stumble upon an epiphany or two along the way, so be it.

In 4 days I'll be flying to Cabo San Lucas- that humble mecca of authentic Mexican charm. Right. Cabo. Although more well-known for serving the American frat boy/company sales team bonus sort than authenticity-hungry backpackers, it is technically (but not emotionally)here where I begin my journey through Latin America. In Cabo I'll be with my family at a fairly isolated resort for a week until they fly back to the States and I take a bus to La Paz to begin my real trip. I'm aware that I may be jumping to ignorant preconceptions, but in my mind I'm not going to Cabo to experience Mexico. I am going to Cabo San Lucas to:

1. Lay on a generic, paradisical beach
2. Eat good food paid for by my parents
3. Take advantage of the free plane ticket that will jumpstart my trip
4. Get in all the rest and relaxation that I will inevitably have to sacrifice in order to haul ass to Chile
5. Satisfy my mother's desires for 2009 Christmas card-worthy family bonding

This is why I say the trip emotionally begins in La Paz. I will be on my own and traveling on my own terms. that is to say as modestly as possible.

Here is what I'll bring when I wave goodbye to all the "packaged hedonism" (I forget the author who coined that phrase, but it's such a good one) that Cabo has to sell and venture into America Latina:

-North Face Recon Backpack

-Small Sleeping Pad

-Large Fanny Pack (that's right bitches)

-flip flops

what's inside>>>

here comes some product placement...

-face wash
-bottle of shampoo (doubles as body soap)
-sunscreen SPF 70
-bugspray (which I plan to have to restock weekly considering my blood must be a fucking honey elixir of immortality to mosquitos and I'm rarely in the mood for a Dengue fever scare)
-small mirror
-toothbrush
-toothpaste and floss (not shown)
-Hydrocortizone for bug bites
-allergy pills
-IBprofen
-Malaria pills
-Diarrhea pills
-nail clippers
-Make-up (the usual army of brushes, wands, and powders for my superficial needs)
-Keeper cup (more practical/eco-conscious than tampons)
-Micro-towel (quick drying and compact)
-Swiss army knife (not shown)
-ASUS laptop+charger (2 lbs., wireless, skype)
-notebook
-pencil sharpener (not shown)
-pencils
-relevant novel
-guidebook (I found this surely outdated book on South and Central America for 99cents in Portland! Although the lodging and eatery suggestions may be obsolete, I only really need it for the brief histories and maps of each country and major cities)
-cell-phone battery charger
-camera battery charger
-plug adapter (will purchase en route, most countries in Central/North America use the same plugs)

-I-Pod? (I'm still not sure if it would be worth it to bring. It would be a godsend on long bus rides, but also just another thing I might lose and therefore a presence I'll always have to keep track of. We'll see.)

-2 bras (1 sport, 1 sexy)
-7 panties (I figure I can stand to wash my underwear once a week)
-leggings
-swimsuit
-3 pairs of socks (2 ankle, 1 long)
-1 pair of jeans
-1 lightweight T-shirt
-1 context-versatile cotton dress
-The clothes on my back (not shown): shorts, tank top, T-shirt, Adidas Sambas w/ insoles, zip-up hoodie, light-weight rain jacket
Contents of Fanny Pack:

-cash in local currency(not shown)
-passport + copy of front page
-sunglasses
-Yellow fever immunization card
-sweet ass 12 MP 7x zoom Nikon coolpix digital camera that my mama gave me for my birthday thank you mama!
-cellphone (not to be used regularly. My mom has some free international minutes and those will be used to make sure, on a daily basis, that I'm not drunk all the time)
-debit card (with back up debit card account so that I can transfer funds to a secondary account and void this one if need be)
-Secondary ID (notice how I blacked out info on the debit card and driver's license. Damn I'm identity-security savvy)

-harmonica (key of C)

Though I understand that this trip is in no way an incredibly original one, it'll be the longest time I've been mobile outside of the States and the longest I'll have traveled alone. Comparatively, within my own life it's a pretty epic journey. Although I speak Spanish (which is undoubtedly rusty and shall be prone to regional modifications) and have traveled and lived in South America before, I've accepted that given my innate awkwardness, faux pas are inevitable. Dangerous circumstances may arise. I'll be humbled, probably often humiliated by my own incompetence despite previous experience traveling in the developing world. But, I also have a fair amount of experience in handling the stupid situations I tend to get myself into. So wish me luck! I'll miss you guys. And as much as I treasure my independence, I'm always open to adventurous, impromptu traveling partners ; )

Eeek! A spider.

gotcha.