On March 10, I am out of here! Hopping on a plane to Istanbul, Turkey with a one-way ticket and no plans on returning to the U.S. anytime soon.

The idea of being a vagabond for the next several months is both alluring and frightening at the same time. I think of all the adventures that I am going to have. Rock climbing in Thailand, touring mosques in Istanbul, smelling spring flowers in Paris. The world is my oyster.

Of course, with all adventures come challenges. I suffer from mild chronic fatigue syndrom, a gift from the mono I contracted in high school, that went undiagnosed for four months. It’s not that big of a deal except that I tend to get worn down and sick more easily than most people my age. It also means that I don’t have as much energy to pull all-nighters on trains between destinations or hiking for three days straight. It will be interesting to see how I make sure that I get enough sleep and proper nutrition while on the road.

The unique aspect of this trip is that I will be working remotely the whole time for an international non-profit. It’s exciting to think that I will actually have enough money to do all these adventures without having to live on a shoestring budget. Of course, I will be limited to traveling to locations with good Internet connections so that I can actually make that money.

I will try to keep you updated on my status as things progress. Today I am cleaning my room. Sorting items to take with me, put in storage and throw away. So far the throw away pile has gotten pretty big. And, of course, I will be posting more videos! Yay!