I feel as if I'm in this liminal space where I'm not really connected to Portland and obviously not in Scotland...yet. Fully aware of the year left before I embark on my travels, I'm having a hard time suppressing the wanderlust that is brewing within me. Although I have been keeping busy with finishing the last week of summer term, working 7 days a week and scheming how to fit my life into a suitcase, the travel bug will not get out of my mind. Along with reading comics studies essays (as mentioned in the prior post) I've been reading travel books and travelogue comics in order to be as prepared as I possibly can when I leave. I don't know if it' helping or hindering my wanderlust, but at least I won't be completely clueless when I embark. Also, reading the travel and memoir comics are truly inspirational and insightful of what I hope to create regarding my own journey and dissertation proposal. Here's what Ive been reading this week:
How to Travel the World on $50 a Day Matthew Kepnes
The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost Rachel Friedman
Lonely Planets Best Ever Travel Tips
Age of License Lucy Knisley
Carnet de Voyage Craig Thompson
Truth is Fragmentary Gabrielle Bell
I've found little nuggets of priceless information from all of the texts so far, especially when it comes to booking flights and accruing air miles via credit cards. Another helpful company mentioned in several was FairFX.com, a way to get currency before I travel so I won't be hit by ATM fees while exchanging money at the airport. As I'm on a budget now, I'll be on a tighter budget while I'm traveling until I can secure part-time employment in Scotland, so discovering ways to lessen fees will definitely help in the future.
As far as preparations, there's not much I can do at this moment except wait patiently (hence the liminal mindset). I have a paper to wrap up for my early medieval history course, and a zine release party to attend on Wednesday for my senior capstone. I have a list of miscellaneous things I'd like to work on when classes conclude this week, such as improving my life drawing and urban sketching. Since I've made a travel watercolor palette, I'm excited to enjoy the end of summer while filling my sketchbook.
BUT! August 31st, my payday, I will finally have enough money to get my PASSPORT! Hot dog hallelujah, I'm so stoked. Getting my passport is my first big goal to mark off my list, and once I do it, the ball will officially be rolling towards graduate school. As I've read on other travel sites, you're never serious about traveling until you get your passport, so I hope I'll get some sort of validation from the universe once I get that pocket-sized blue book.
Other than that, I don't have much to report. Until my next milestone, I'll keep plugging away at downsizing my belongings and saving my pennies.
Getting to Grad School
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