The State of the Union

In six days, I'll leave Seoul, Korea for Bangkok, Thailand by way of Guangzhou, China. I've spent a year teaching after-school English classes to burgeoning saints, careless daydreamers, mischievous ne'er-do-wells and brooding malcontents for the earthly rewards of a paid-up student loan bill (sayonara, Sallie Mae of Helena, Montana) and a pretty penny in walking around money.

I intend to spread every thin dime of those earnings over a wide swath of Asia, Europe and Africa.

As it stands, I have a plane ticket and a hostel booking. I've researched visa requirements for dozens of countries. I've bought myself a fancy backpack of steel and nylon and a waterproof camera.

What I don't have are health insurance, vaccinations, or a clean apartment for the next unlucky jamoke who gets saddled with this mosquito-pit. Work remains to be done. It is a race against time.