I am where I started: sitting on my uncomfortable wooden IKEA chair at my functional IKEA desk, acting pensive and thoughtful, and typing about my travels. As promised (ok, not promised, more like proposed) here is my one-third-trip epilogue-prologue. Essentially, I will give a few final thoughts on my trip to South America and will lay out a few hopes and aspirations for my forthcoming trip to Singapore.
I was worried about heading to South America. My concerns weren't constructed in the traditional sense. I wasn't worried about safety, logistics, health, and the like. Rather, I was worried about how we were going to construct our research project, who we were going to talk to in order to obtain sufficient information within that construct, and whether or not we as a team were even going to be able to stand each other after three weeks. Oh, and I was worried about whether or not I was going to survive Luke's snoring. But it was all for not. I am happy with the work we did; my expectations were exceeded. Moreover, I loved the people I traveled with. From the five Israelis in Bolivia, to Luke and Niels, and everyone in-between, I am happy I was able to experience South America with these people. Oh, and the snoring? iPods are amazing snore-neutralizers.
Now I am trading the muddy roads of Peruvian villages for the spit-shined ones of Singapore. Moto-taxis will be traded for the subway, civiche will be traded for curry, and $2 beers will be traded for those that cost $12. Overall, it is going to be a significant change...obviously. However, I think this is mainly due to the fact that I have never really lived in a shopping mall before.
Anyhow, there is so much I look forward to in Singapore: the mixture of cultures, the proximity of exciting destinations, and the 60%-off sales that are perpetually occurring at any one of the 75,247 malls located on the island. I am also looking forward to a paycheck. While cubicle life isn't entirely inviting, being able to buy items with money that is not subject to 7% compounding interest will be nice.
So there you have it. Pretty skimpy on the hopes and aspirations, but I can imagine that several will come to me during the 18 hour flight to Singapore. In fact, I bet they will include aspiring to find a way off of the plane, and hoping that I won't be stuck in the "United coach-seat" position for the rest of my life.
Finally...the pictures. I took over 600 of them. I have posted a few here, but I plan to post my favorite ones a photo sharing site for all to see. Some are good. Some are bad. Some are frameable. I will post the link once I have posted them.
Alright...for those of you I saw in California: Thanks. It was nice to have a little "home" for a couple of days. For the rest of you: I will see you soon. Until then, keep in touch. Skype me (paulderemer), e-mail me, or call me (will give a number once I have a phone).
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