Here at Harvard we have this thing called "January term", which is basically an extended winter break (5.5 weeks or so) in which you are supposed to celebrate the holidays and then do something productive like a mini-course or internship. I, however, am doing it a little differently. I like Christmas as much as the next girl, but since I am one semester away from being a full-time grown-up, I wanted to use this chunk of time to squeeze in a major adventure. Thus I leave this Wednesday for my J-term excursion.
First up: three weeks solo in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda. Although I prefer to leave things a little more flexible when traveling alone (you can often make friends and tag along with them for a couple of days if you keep things fluid) it seems East Africa is a little harder to get around in and thus a bit of structure (internal flights, etc.) goes a long way. Hopefully I'll be meeting up with a couple of Glenn's friends in Kigali and then three HBS kids in Kampala for a little white-water rafting over New Year's.
Then it's back to Tanzania where the HBS Outdoors Club (yes, I'm a member!) is climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and spending a few days on safari in the Serengeti. I have acquired some serious gear for this climb and am pretty psyched (though the cold at the summit and the need for high-altitude pills does worry me just a wee bit).
And finally, I head back to the States (via an overnight in London) where I embark on part three: a black-tie wedding in Brooklyn, a few days with my best friend Melissa in Indianapolis, and four days in Fresno, California, where I'll be meeting Glenn's mom and oldest sister Kirsten, before returning to Boston to start my last ever semester of school.
Pretty exciting, right? Did I mention I'm taking just one serious backpack (and a daypack)? And my trip covers everything from beaches to mountain climbing, a safari to a wedding, Zanzibar to Fresno? Yup, packing is going to be a challenge unto its own... =)
