Chapter 1, in which our intrepid explorer prepares to leave home and go...well, home.

It's hard to pack up your life into two checkable bags and a carry-on.
After two and a half years in California, I have two and a half days left before the adventures begin. I don't think I've ever been so excited about anything in my life, but I've already had to force myself through a series of tearful goodbyes, and the hardest is yet to come.
This is a picture of me and Nadia, hiking in Tilden Park this week.



Goodbye, left coast! Now I have a week on the east coast, one short week with family and friends, and then it's off to meet Rebekah in Colombia!