In three days, I’ll be in London. While this may not seem like a big deal to most, I’ve never been out of the country before; in fact, I’ve only been on an airplane twice. This isn’t a little vacation, either: I’ll be there for three full months, from May 10th to August 10th. So far, I have my round-trip plane ticket, a work permit, tickets for a Radiohead concert in Portugal, and 4 days reserved at a London hostel that used to be a jail. I’ve emailed out over 100 copies of my resume, which resulted in a few possible leads and a tentative job offer (on resume #95 or so) at slightly above minimum wage. While a friend from home is joining me on this craziness, he’s coming late and leaving early that I’m on my own for 1 of the 3 months. So, it’s fair to say this summer will be an adventure.
Why am I doing this? Good question. It’s really a blend of several different reasons. For how much I complain about my hometown of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, it would be really hypocritical to stay here for the summer. While the next 3 months may have a lot of negative qualities, I really can’t see it turning out boring: whether I’m living in a cardboard box, visiting different countries every other week, or both, this will definitely be an experience to remember. Also, I really am curious whether I can go to somewhere entirely foreign and make it on my own, without help from any connections, reputation, or game plan. Other reasons? Compensation for going to school within 2 hours’ drive of my home, lack of crazy adventures thus far, and juvenile overconfidence all probably contributed significantly to my decision.
Will it work? Yeah, even if it doesn’t. Worst case scenario is probably that I work my butt off doing manual labor for minimum wage while also having to pay obscenely high rent. This would severely limit my ability to country hop, but I can get in great debates and experience a different culture even if I do end up being a dishwasher. Whether I’m experiencing poverty or (somehow) visiting different countries on a weekly basis, I’ll have a great adventure and I’ll keep you posted… at least until my laptop gets stolen;)