Category Archives: General/Misc.

I noticed that I’m being really nice to strangers. OK, it’s not that I think I’m not usually nice, but on my journey so far (24+ hours in airports, haven’t stepped out yet) I’ve been really kind to strangers. I think it’s a subconscious effort to break down all the anti-Americanism foreigners have. Lord knows I stick out as American (though as compared to other fellow USA-ers on the road, I could probably pass as Scandanavian), so I feel like I have a duty to try to rep my country well.

Change one mind at a time!

Written From: London Heathrow Airport

Seven weeks on the road in foreign countries requires some careful thinking about how I will make my total "life infrastructure" portable.

1. Health/Fitness – Without access to a regular gym, my exercise will probably be limited to jogs outside. This is not ideal since I get lost easily and can’t track my time/distance easily. I will do pushups and situps, too, in lieu of weights.
2. Current Affairs – News sites online; will try to follow day-by-day via NYT/LAT/BBC and others
3. Books  – already discussed
4. Blogging/RSS – I will just monitor my high and medium priority feeds. I will also do most of my blogging offline first via MarsEdit.
5. Technology Infrastructure  – I am bringing my old 12 inch PowerBook. It’s reasonably light and will allow me to operate as if I were on my normal 17 inch PowerBook. I will also be toting a digital camera (and charger) and iPod (and charger). 
6. Communication  – I will have no mobile phone or mobile email; just Skype primarily, pay phones, and of course lots of email! Will try to find wi-fi conections for my computer. Worst case internet cafes on public computers. Putting critical stuff in secure sites online to access from public computers in case laptop is stolen.
7. Work – Email and Skype will keep in touch with Comcate activities. When I was in Zurich for three weeks last summer I reviewed documents and contracts, gave feedback on brochures, and did some rudimentary sales work. All of this can be done whereever I am so long as I’m on a high speed connection!
8. Security – Money belt, encryption of software data. My partner Dave has put the chances of my laptop being stolen at 10-20%!

I’ve noticed Europeans refer to general travel as "journeys" not "trips."

"Have a pleasant journey…" many confirmation emails say. In America we say "journey" to refer to long, probably difficult trips / adventures. For your average plane ticket it would merely say, "Have a nice trip."

I love these little differences. Others I’ve noticed: "Holiday" to mean "vacation" — in America holiday refers to a holy day or specific time of year. Europeans seem to say "holiday" for any vacation or break. And then there are prepositions: "I will go to hospital" they say (instead of "I will go to the hospital") or "I will go to university" (instead of "I will go to a university").

I’m going to spend a lot of time on the train during the seven weeks in Europe. I’m excited about being able to do a lot of reading. But how do I square "packing light" with the dozens of books I will need to sustain me during this time?

My solution, at the moment, is to mail books right now to addresses where I know I’ll arrive along the way. When I finish books on the road, I mail them back home to San Francisco or just throw them out.

This blog is where I will chronicle my travels around the world during the summer of 2006. Enjoy!