Planning a trip is half the fun. I am not an overly zealous planner, but I do enjoy knowing where I am staying and how I am getting somewhere. I am currently in the process of preparing to travel throughout the world next fall and I am running into some difficulties that I have not experienced before.

Visas: Americans are lucky in terms of visas. We can go virtually anywhere in the world and wave the flag as we walk through customs while the poor citizens of everywhere else stand in line to be strip searched and interrogated. There are a few countries I am heading to next fall that require a visa: India, China, and Brazil. The price for a two week visa in those countries, nearly 500 dollars.

Baggage: What do I do with all the stuff I buy? I am going on a four month long trip and the airlines are all switching to a 1 checked bad limit on domestic flights. I have, for now, solved this problem by deciding to take two empty bags with me and only enough clothes to get by until I can make it to China (three weeks after the Olympics). If everything goes as planned I will be dressed from head to toe in Beijing 2008 gear for the better part of 2008. I assume I will get a good deal but who knows.

Vaccinations: I truly do not want to die. With this in mind, I have decided to get vaccinated against nearly every disease possible. In the last week I have had Yellow fever, malaria, Hepatitis A, Polio, whooping cough, tetanus, typhoid fever and what ever else the doctor decided to inject me with while I was not looking. My arm hurts.

There are lots of difficulties that come along with travel. If it were easy everyone would do it. The truth of it is, going anywhere that you are not accustomed with is hard and maybe not even fun. Seeing new people and culture is why you go, not to have fun. In retrospect every trip was a good time, yet, in the situation feelings of being an outsider and confusion are the only things you feel. The planning is difficult, and I am sure the trip will take me outside my comfort zone, yet, it is just that experience I am seeking.

Going somewhere is kind of like mowing the yard when you are a kid. You don’t always want to do it, but you do. You can never get the mower started and it seems like half of the time is spent getting ready to mow. Mowing is hard, hot, and there are bugs. When its all over though there is a glass of lemonade at the end and a nap to be taken.