2 pairs of pants, 2 shirts, 2 skirts, 2 months. My bag is packed (after several trial runs) and I am ready for my flight. I have condensed my life into one backpack, which consists of minimal clothing and all kinds of random medications such as malaria tablets, and my video equipment. I am actually quite proud I was able to fit all of my equipment into one carry-on bag. Not to mention the gifts that I am taking for the boys at the home and school in Dehradun.

For those of you that don't know, I will be volunteering in Dehradun, India for the next 4-6 weeks with needy children at a boys school and home. After that I have another month of just backpacking around in India and Nepal. This is my blog to catalog some of those events and to let everyone know I am still alive. Status: So far, I am still alive.

My final week before departure has been hectic, but rewarding. I found a few moments to refresh my very basic knowledge of Final Cut Pro (that is what this pic is all about). I am making a short documentary video for the program I am volunteering with to put on their website and to give to potential donors. Surprisingly, the school is already equipped with FCP 5.1, but no one knows how to use it. I don't consider myself an editor, cinematographer, or teacher, but I will be giving it my best shot. Hopefully not to much time spent editing, since there is so much to see in India and my resources at home are far greater when it comes to problem solving technological issues, such as dealing with HD footage.

Many of my friends pitched in to help me with my preparations. Stephanie, as always, was a lifesaver and the epitome of efficiency. Ken helped with the geometry of packing my bag, and Christian, although appears to be sleeping, was a great help. In fact, he had some very sound advice before my trip, which I much appreciated.

It has been very interesting as I have told people of my travel plans. I find the responses to be very intriguing and the beginning of my journey and my study of humankind. For example, the man at H&R block. Who was this guy? He was in a cubicle across the room and had the need to come over and tell me that he had served in the peace corp for 2 years. Where? I don't even know. But he advised me for about 10 minutes about traveling, all of it completely useless information. One piece of his advice was, "When in Rome, do as the Romans." Thanks for the cliche, but I hope that I am smarter than that, otherwise I shouldn't be going on this trip. Everyone has something to say. Others have very insightful information and some people just say, "oh, fun!" I think, yes, it will be fun, but it's not like going to the beach for the afternoon. I wonder if I should direct these people to websites about scams, Indian toilets, and other things I am anticipating as being part of my "culture shock" upon arriving.

Despite all of the responses and the potential dangers of a journey alone as a female traveler, I feel protected and ready to go and that this is the best thing I could be doing with my life right now. I will be challenged, but it will be everything I need to gain perspective, learn about other people, and learn about myself.

**Note: It is very late so for those who are considering following along on this blog, I don't intend to continuously write "sappy" posts, such as this. I promise to include a little sarcasm and stay true to myself.