"1,2,3,4,5,6,7...." ::deep breath, sigh:: "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9..."
I do this when I am stressed. I count, I breath deep, I sigh, I fixate.
Yikes! I realized that I leave for my trip to Central America in only 18 days and I feel relatively unprepared. I like to prepare and I like to plan ahead for my travels. By this time I usually have a set itinerary, some accommodations reserved and the majority of my packing planned and done. As of this blog I have none of these things finished, not to mention all of the other things i need to take care of before i leave.
I am not sure whether or not I am becoming a more laid-back traveler or if I am just getting lazy. Either way the lack of preparation has me feeling anything but, "laid-back".
"1,2,3,4,5,6..." stress counting again, better go pack.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Central America Obsession
For those who don't know I leave for my next journey in 20 days. I am headed to Central America to quiet my obsession, with the beaches, rain-forests and monkeys that call it home.
My desire to trek from Cancun to Panama began in 2007, I was in Venice, Italy with my mother and I saw her struggling in silence to climb bridge upon bridge, stair after stair, with arthritis and an artificial hip. She wanted to see and do everything and since Venice was not handicap accessible she suffered through 5 days of pain to experience the things she wanted to see and do. On my 23rd birthday we were sitting on the Grand Canal and she confided in me how much pain she was experiencing. It made me think of the year prior when she (against doctor recommendations) hiked across a Hawaiian lava field to watch the sunset as active lava flowed into the ocean. Again she was in sever pain, and again she was not willing to sit aside and miss a life experience. For this, I admire my mother more than I can tell you. Nonetheless, I found myself considering the advantages of seeing the world as an able-bodied individual and reordered my travel priorities.
The re-prioritizing of my travel plans moved Central America and the hiking, SCUBA diving, caving, tubing, kayaking, horseback riding and zip-lining adventures it holds to the top of my travel list. For almost 3 years I have been attempting to make a trip to the region and for one reason or another consistently found my plans unable to be executed. Something (work, money, time, health) always impede my plans.
Then in November I found myself obsessing once again over Belize, Honduras and Nicaragua. I had some but not enough money to make the kind of trip i wanted to take. I put my travel dreams out of my head and three days later, things changed. My mother and aunt gave me a wonderful gift! They gave me a portion of the money left after my Grandmothers death to travel, buy a car or whatever else i wanted to do with it. It took me only one cry of joy and declaration of gratitude to decide what i would do with the money. "Central America here I come!!!"
The past 3 months have been filled with reading, planning and preparing for my 3 month trip to Central America. I am so excited for this adventure and so excited to share it in this blog.
My desire to trek from Cancun to Panama began in 2007, I was in Venice, Italy with my mother and I saw her struggling in silence to climb bridge upon bridge, stair after stair, with arthritis and an artificial hip. She wanted to see and do everything and since Venice was not handicap accessible she suffered through 5 days of pain to experience the things she wanted to see and do. On my 23rd birthday we were sitting on the Grand Canal and she confided in me how much pain she was experiencing. It made me think of the year prior when she (against doctor recommendations) hiked across a Hawaiian lava field to watch the sunset as active lava flowed into the ocean. Again she was in sever pain, and again she was not willing to sit aside and miss a life experience. For this, I admire my mother more than I can tell you. Nonetheless, I found myself considering the advantages of seeing the world as an able-bodied individual and reordered my travel priorities.
The re-prioritizing of my travel plans moved Central America and the hiking, SCUBA diving, caving, tubing, kayaking, horseback riding and zip-lining adventures it holds to the top of my travel list. For almost 3 years I have been attempting to make a trip to the region and for one reason or another consistently found my plans unable to be executed. Something (work, money, time, health) always impede my plans.
Then in November I found myself obsessing once again over Belize, Honduras and Nicaragua. I had some but not enough money to make the kind of trip i wanted to take. I put my travel dreams out of my head and three days later, things changed. My mother and aunt gave me a wonderful gift! They gave me a portion of the money left after my Grandmothers death to travel, buy a car or whatever else i wanted to do with it. It took me only one cry of joy and declaration of gratitude to decide what i would do with the money. "Central America here I come!!!"
The past 3 months have been filled with reading, planning and preparing for my 3 month trip to Central America. I am so excited for this adventure and so excited to share it in this blog.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
What is HillaPinnia?
THE STORY OF HILLAPINNIA.COM
About a year ago my friends began calling me "hil-a-pedia" (think: Wikipedia) because I constantly share information on a given topic, whether or not my knowledge was requested. A part of me took offense to this term because it was a not so gentile reminder that I have a (bad) habit...it is not easy for me to admit this, but i am a "know-it-all". I never enter into a hey guess how much i know about topic 'x' moment thinking that it might be annoying, nerdy or otherwise unwelcome; rather I begin to disseminate information to my peers, colleagues and family because I am SO EXCITED to share the things I've learned! I love to learn and I love to foster learning and exploration in others. When I have a question about something I look it up and learn until my curiosity is satisfied. I do this on every topic from electric cars, to zumba and Olympic curling. I look it up and I tell the world.
This holiday season my wonderful and very thoughtful friend, Kyl changed my nickname and my outlook. He gave me a website/blog, www.hillapinnia.com, to share what i know, learn and see. He named it hillapinnia, a creative 'wikipedia' sounding mix of my first and last names.
Big Thanks to Kyl for his thoughtful and well timed gift. Not only do i intend to use this blog to share the random things i learn and know, but I also will write about my one true love, international travel. I am a globetrotter and spend copious amounts of time researching and planning travel around the world. I see international travel as the ultimate education, satisfying my desire to learn more, do more and experience more. This blog will be a place for others to see and share in my travels and experiences.
I look forward to updating you regularly as I move forward in the world as a student of life.
About a year ago my friends began calling me "hil-a-pedia" (think: Wikipedia) because I constantly share information on a given topic, whether or not my knowledge was requested. A part of me took offense to this term because it was a not so gentile reminder that I have a (bad) habit...it is not easy for me to admit this, but i am a "know-it-all". I never enter into a hey guess how much i know about topic 'x' moment thinking that it might be annoying, nerdy or otherwise unwelcome; rather I begin to disseminate information to my peers, colleagues and family because I am SO EXCITED to share the things I've learned! I love to learn and I love to foster learning and exploration in others. When I have a question about something I look it up and learn until my curiosity is satisfied. I do this on every topic from electric cars, to zumba and Olympic curling. I look it up and I tell the world.
This holiday season my wonderful and very thoughtful friend, Kyl changed my nickname and my outlook. He gave me a website/blog, www.hillapinnia.com, to share what i know, learn and see. He named it hillapinnia, a creative 'wikipedia' sounding mix of my first and last names.
Big Thanks to Kyl for his thoughtful and well timed gift. Not only do i intend to use this blog to share the random things i learn and know, but I also will write about my one true love, international travel. I am a globetrotter and spend copious amounts of time researching and planning travel around the world. I see international travel as the ultimate education, satisfying my desire to learn more, do more and experience more. This blog will be a place for others to see and share in my travels and experiences.
I look forward to updating you regularly as I move forward in the world as a student of life.
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