Why Not: A London Update

Either I'm a little too excited about writing blogs posts at the beginning, or I've simply got two hours to kill before my next flight and I'd rather not sit and do nothing.

So I arrived in London a short while ago, went through the whole customs thing, and then proceeded to pick up my bag and then check in again right away. This picture is the entirety of London that I saw during my trip, for about 30 seconds.

I also like the security at Heathrow: I don't have to take off my massive boots, my plastic belt does not go off in the metal detector, and they manage to keep things quick.

Also, I can now recommend Virgin Atlantic. Despite the four year old kid next to me who thought my arm was fair game for a pillow, it was a great flight. They even give you socks and a toothbrush/paste! Gotta love the Brits.

So now I'm off to kill some time, grab a bite to eat, and wait to board my flight to Singapore on the way to Sydney Saturday night!

And I'm Off!

So after a pretty smooth day yesterday for the most part, the evening brought on the loss of the Caps, a disastrous phone situation, and packing past 1am. Let's just call the phone situation a major miscommunication that involved me talking on the phone with several customer service reps for about two hours. It was long and frustrating, but the issue was resolved (with some important results, so keep on reading). After that situation was put to the side, I had to pack my bag one more time. All those contents you see on the table were what went into my bag. I go back and forth between thinking it's a lot of clothing and then thinking it's barely anything at all. Probably because it's not that much clothing but my pack isn't the biggest thing either, so it was a tight fit but I was able to squish everything in there eventually. In the end I got everything into my one pack and a day pack. As you can see, my pack isn't the biggest thing in the world, but it's quite comfortable and it works.

So this morning I said goodbye to my sister on her way to school, ran a couple of errands, and got together my final few things and headed to the airport and said goodbye to my mom. I was glad to see this new air train finally working at Dulles after being a year behind schedule. I'm not sitting at the gate, and just biding my time and trying to figure out the best time to sleep so I'm closer to Sydney time.

ALSO, VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

I have a new cell phone number for the year that if you would like to contact me on you should call instead of the one I've had for years. And, if you follow these directions, your calls and texts to me are free! Yes, free! Zilch, zero, nada. $0. Amazing, I know. Sadly, texting and calling all of you is not free, so I'm depending on everyone to call me at some point.

So, first, dial this toll free number 1-866-305-6462. It will then ask you to enter the phone number you wish to call, which is +447924257278 (if calling from a land line the + is optional so don't worry about it). Free calling people, use it. I also will have my personal email if you can't figure out the time difference off the top of your head or you realize it'd be nicer to email me than wake me up at 4am. Thanks in advance.

Also, I have skype, so if you would like to video chat, let's do it. My skype name is ralszee, basically my nickname for everything. If you can't find me for any reason just search for Alexander Rales and I'll come up.

Alright gang, that's all for now. I'll send an update when I get Down Under!

Here come the butterflies.

So I take off in almost 24 hours exactly, and it's crazy to think that my departure is so close. I've been working on this trip since early January, and it's amazing how quickly the time has passed from then until now. Naturally, for me at least, getting close to my departure also means getting a bit nervous. Now I am the kind of person who gets nervous for everything: tests, piano recitals, lord knows how many sporting events, and just about anything really. I'm fine with it, it tells me that what's about to happen is important and I have some reason to worry. For tomorrow, the worrying part probably centers around my bag. I'm flying to London first, then on another flight I'm headed to Singapore and finally Sydney. Man would it suck to show up half a world away without almost all of my possessions. But I've got my fingers crossed.

It's been a crazy last day at home. Last night before bed I made a final checklist of things to do today. That list was 20 items long. Yeah, long day. But I'm almost done and just need to organize a few things and make a final packing of my bag. I've practice packed before so I know everything fits. Tonight is just some good old-fashioned home cooking from mom with lasagna, garlic bread, and fresh banana bread. I guess I'm getting fattened up before leaving.

I'll put up one more post tomorrow with some contact and logistical things that will be important. And then it will be off to Dulles Airport and then Heathrow Airport in London!

In the beginning....

Hello friends, family, and stalkers, and welcome to my blog: Rales Around the World. I had considered other names for this blog such as "While you're Working" or "The vacation you're not having" but some friends said they would boycott me for the year if those names were chosen. So here I am.

As you know by now, I am about to embark on a year-long adventure that will take me to Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. During that time I will be doing a wide range of activities, from surfing down under and playing rugby with Kiwis to volunteering with young children, hiking Machu Picchu, and taking care of sloths and sea turtles. For a breakdown of when I will be completing each program and the details of my day-to-day activities I've provided the information for you all right here:

Learn to Surf, May 3-7
http://www.realgap.co.uk/Australia-Learn-To-Surf

Oz Experience Buss Pass, May 8 -- June 6
http://www.realgap.co.uk/Oz-Experience-Bruce-Pass

Australia Wildlife Park Volunteer June 7 -- July 5
http://www.realgap.co.uk/Australia-Wildlife-Park

New Zealand Conservation Volunteer (I'm doing the South Island) July 17 -- August 6
http://www.realgap.co.uk/New-Zealand-Conservation

New Zealand Rugby Academy September 6 -- November 1
http://www.realgap.co.uk/New-Zealand-Rugby-Academy

Peru Experience November 7 -- December 5
http://www.realgap.co.uk/Peru-Experience

Guatemala Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation January 2-30
http://www.realgap.co.uk/Guatemala-Wildlife-Rescue-And-Rehabilitation

Costa Rica Sloth Rescue and Rehabilitation January 30 -- February 27
http://www.realgap.co.uk/Costa-Rica-Sloth-Rescue-and-Conservation

Costa Rica Turtle Conservation (the one here is listed as the Pacific, I'm actually doing the Caribbean--based on the time of year) February 27 -- April 10
http://www.realgap.co.uk/Costa-Rica-Sea-Turtle-Conservation-Pacific

Real Gap is the UK-based company I have been working with over the past few months to put together this itinerary. I would suggest to anyone who ever might be interested in doing some volunteering, work abroad, or adventure travel to check them out. They've been great in helping me plan my trip.

Anyway, I leave in less than a week and there is much to do in terms of packing and gathering together all the little personal items and documents to make sure I'm ready to go. I'm off to London on Thursday night, and from there I head to Singapore and finally get to Sydney on Saturday night. (If you're wondering why I'm heading in that direction, Real Gap starts all their itineraries from London, and in exchange they booked all my fights for me for the rest of the year).

As I travel I hope to post as often as possible. Sometime that may be almost daily, and on other programs I may only have the ability to update everyone once a week. I hope to have plenty of pictures for everyone too, and I'm working on setting up a flickr account. I also hope people feel free to leave comments. Even if you're not a member of blogger you can leave anonymous comments; just make sure to sign them so I know who left some witty comment or advice for the road.

Well that all seems like plenty for the first post. I'm just glad this thing is up and running, and I hope to provide y'all with a couple more posts before I take off next week. For comments and questions feel free to speak your mind below, but everyone always has the option of contacting me directly at my email address. Until the next post...

-Rales