Pre trip thoughts from Xander and Liam

In the whirlwind week before we left, Xander and Liam wrote the following descriptions about their feelings about the trip:

Xander:

   Everybody asks the same questions about the trip; where are you going first and are you excited and/or nervous about going on the trip. I can easily answer where we are going first since it has been drilled into my memory like a screw into a board. I may be able to answer that question correctly but I can't answer the question about my feelings. Usually I answer the question, a little bit of both in some form. I know people would think that this trip would have no downsides but it truly is a splash of this a splash of that. There are more upsides to this trip and those come to you quickly but when you let the thought develop there are a similar amount of downsides to it.

    Since the exciting news usually appears first in your thoughts, I'll start with those. I'm excited to see the world through a different lens than a piece of paper and a glowing screen with words and pictures. On our trip I will be able to go to those places and see the real deal and smell the stench of that area. You may learn about landmarks in a book, you may learn what happened there, but you will never learn what it feels like until you go there and experience it for yourself.       

    I am most excited to go to Iceland, our first destination. The reason I am so excited about Iceland is because of the geography and the amount of people. I've always been amazed that Iceland has ice on its beaches. I'm also amazed at places that have beaches that border high mountains. Iceland is similar to these places. In Iceland there aren't a lot of people and there are no huge polluted cities. Both of these things I prefer - not being in big cities and not being around a lot of people.

    Now when I think about the trip a little deeper, I come up with negative aspects. One of these negative aspects is that eventually my family will begin to get sick of being around each other and will need to spend some time apart. You may not realize that this is a problem when you have a good balance of time spent with your family and without. On an extended trip, the only time you're away from your family is in the bathroom and that's it. Spending so much time with your family may result in easily getting annoyed by each other. This will probably happen on our trip but we will push through it.

    Another negative feeling I have is how I'm going to handle missing things. I'm a picky eater and my food-trying limit is about as small as a pin head. The world has all sorts of varieties of foods and I don't like many of those options. When I go to a place I can't survive on one type of food. Along with missing fattening food from America, I will miss my friends and family. A year is a long time to be away from home. When I got back from a trip to Thailand I didn't realize how homesick I was and that trip was only 2 weeks. Missing home and the things back home will probably be the hardest aspect of the trip for me to get used to.

    There are many more feelings I have about the trip; big and small. Though learning through a different lens, going to Iceland, family annoyance, and being homesick are the four most present feelings. Over all, I predict that these negative aspects will turn out to be positive. This is not just a regular trip and not everyone has the chance to take a year-long adventure. I am very fortunate to have this experience of a life time.   

Liam

Going on the trip will probably be the best experience of my life with its pure value of adventure. I think that the trip will be fun but darn scary.

I will miss my friends and family the most.  I think this because I am a very social person and I will eventually get sick of just having Xander and my parents to play with.  Along with missing my friends and family I will miss playing with my toys and being in my own room with my own  bed.  I will probably find having my own room as a luxury when I get back home.

Even though I will miss home dramatically, I am looking very much forward to going to all the places and getting  the best experience of my life.  I am especially looking forward to Madagascar because of the lemurs that you can't see anywhere else.

This trip will be awesome even if I'm away from home. I will remember this trip for many years. I hope I can have this great of a chance again when I'm older.