Flight 68, departing for the rest of the world

I have tickets. In my hand. To a place not remotely America.

After much financial consternation and red-tape, I’m **this** much closer to finding myself on another continent for the first time in my life. The WikiSym 2006 conference is unfortunately going to take me away from Ph.D. orientation week (well, most of it) and my 20th high school reunion, but it is I’ll take that trade.

I’m nervous about the trip. Not in a shoe bomber way, but in a fish out of water way. I’ve never been a big fan of travel, what with the expense, constant packing-unpacking, and many hours of feeling trapped in some random vehicle. Add to that angst signs written in other languages, cultural quirks and colloquialisms, and the eternal fear that I’ll sneeze and bring down Europe with some breech of protocol … I’ve got a few weeks more of restless nights to sort through it all.

Of course, everything is now hinging on my government’s ability to give me my first passport in a timely fashion. If not … I’ll be able to make orientation after all.