To start....A heart-felt thank you

So, to christen this blog, this record of my upcoming adventure, I have decided to start with a big "Thank You". I am quite fortunate to have wonderful family, like-family (ala Hannah clan), friends, roomates, co-workers (go Wayside Team Fearless), and adopted co-workers (hello to LIMRA) who all support my efforts so strongly.

I am thrilled to say that in just over a month, I will be flying out to Denver, Colorado to begin my training. This orientation will prepare me for my cultural education, a 5.5 month tour with Up With People. My current itinerary involves travel in the U.S., Japan, and Europe from mid july until mid December!

I could go on for pages about the details of my tour and UWP as an organization. Readers would best peruse the UWP website, www.upwithpeople.org.

I have spent the past month in preparation for my tour. This has included various paperwork, fund raising (many thanks to my sponsors) , organizing my life, stressing, etc. For this next month, I will do much the same :)

I hope my readers will benefit in some way from this blog as I will from this experience. Maybe you will learn about Up With People, new cultures, different lands, art forms, psychology, me (oh dear!), or even about yourselves.

I do not plan to hold to any particular format and I do wish for reader feedback (hint hint Wayside friends ;-) ). Please ask questions as I travel along. You may wonder about something that I may not think to investigate.

So, again, thank you to all my sponsors and supporters. Mom, I could never thank you enough. Welcome to my adventure...my interactive, international quest. Buckle up and hold on tight, cuz' it's gonna' be a crazy ride.

Here goes.

(Pictures: 1st: UWP headshot for their 2001 tour, which was unfortunately cancelled. 2nd: Hiking/camping in New Hampshire last summer, 2005. Oh, and yes, the sunglasses do come off from time to time and I do smile. You'll see.)