August 2000 I took the trip of my life.
Three weeks to South India. It was on
the pretext of doing some on site training for a customer service company my work is outsourcing for the night shift. After the budget ran low and my boss asked me to stay home, I told her there was no way I was going to miss out on
the chance of a lifetime (not to mention
the hundreds of dollars I spent on travel
books, immunizations and travel gear).

The last week of July I moved down to
LA and two days later I found myself on
a plane to Madras, India with a lengthy
stopover in Singapore.

I really wasn't that nervous. My coworkers in India were more like
my friends and I literally read everything
I could get my hands on. Once I got
to LAX, though, I freaked out. The lines
were huge and everything seemed so
chaotic. There were women in sarees,
carrying huge suitcases and hip Japanese
teens everywhere.

"I envy you," Dad said to me, so I pushed
my plane ticket at him and smiled weakly.

Two hours later I was in the air.

fasten your seat belts. it's a bumpy ride.