In Lieu of a College Education

This is my introduction to the world of blogging, a day I honestly hoped wouldn't come for a long time. Despite my sometimes dilatory resistance to becoming a technogeek like the rest of my family, I have finally concluded that blogging is just the most convenient way to avoid mass hysteria with mass emails that never get to everyone.

Almost everyone who reads this should already know who I am--but I'll reintroduce myself for those I haven't seen lately. My name is Sam, and, after I graduated from high school last summer, I wasn't ready to go to college. My graduation from Huntingdon Area High School removed a massive time constraint from my schedule, and I wasn't about to surrender my freedom in a couple of months when freshman orientation came around. I'm still going to college eventually--I start at the University of Chicago this fall--but until then I have more important things to attend to.

In the summer and into the fall, I took off on a whirlwind backpacking trip through Europe, exhausting myself and my bank account with a steady diet of late nights, cheap food, long train rides and the occasional beer. I went to museums and concerts, dance clubs and churches on a crosscontinental whirlwind. I came back from this trip in early October in need of money and time to relax. Now, nearly five months later, my wallet is replentished and it's overdue that I go spend all my money again.

Finally, to the point of the blog. In two days the work and relaxation portion of my gap year is over, and I take off on my next adventure. On March 7th, I will be leaving the country again en route to Mussoorie, a gorgeous town of 40,000 in the Himalayan foothills of northern India, where I will be spending the next three months. When I was thirteen, I came to Mussoorie with my family while my father was on a sabbatical. This time, I'll on my own and independent. I will be studying Hindi, the language of northern India, in a a language school, living in a boarding house, and traveling on weekends. I can already smell the spices and taste the chai--real chai, not what they give you in Starbucks, but massive vats of the stuff simmering for days over a gas fire, into which little glass cups of the spicy concoction are ladled. My mouth waters thinking of the curries and lentils andrice--Indian is the best food in the world. All the cheap artisanry, cheap food, cheap transportation, cheap everything...

So this is the introduction--I'll start actually writing when I get to Mussoorie, not until next week. Before I go, as a disclaimer--I have never been good at communicating. Sorry if I start out strong and never finish, but that scenario is pretty likely. Just to let you know--and I still love you all.

Namaste!