The Big Picture

I will be living in Malaga, Spain next year.  I will be an au pair for a family there from September 2012 until July 2013.  I will also be teaching English on the side to earn more money, and collaborating with a health communication firm there (which is what I have been studying in my masters degree).

As you can probably tell, this blog seems to be out in cyberspace about seven months too early.  I am too excited.  I am doing all I can to prepare for this experience, and one of the things I just couldn't wait to begin was the documentation of my travel plans.  My rationale for blogging so prematurely is that I want to fully capture the entire experience surrounding these travel plans (it's the best rationale I could think of...).  Therefore, up until I fly out of Canada and over to Spain, I will be blogging about my preparations, thoughts and feelings about this experience.  The posts may be few and far between... but they will trickle in, as I progress through the next seven months of wanderlust.

The Humble Beginnings

I have been struggling over the idea of creating a travel blog.  I think there are too many of them out there, and each serves as either a vehicle to update interested friends or family members on your wherabouts and adventures... or rub it in people's faces that you are one of the lucky ones who has the ability to travel.  I guess this blog will (in)advertently serve both those roles.

But then I struggled with the notion of documenting my year online, as opposed to buying a nice, leather-bound "travel notebook" and using that instead.  There is something magically old-fashioned about a hand-written journal filled with experiences, thoughts and memories.  But alas, I have chosen the online option.


I have a feeling this blog will take me back to my LiveJournal days... except far less emotional (emotionally speaking, I don't think anything can ever top a LiveJournal from a sensitive teenage girl).  I am worried about my now-typical habit of losing interest and stamina in maintaining my hobbies... Will I really be writing down my experiences here on a regular basis?  I hope so.

Well, here it is then, my inaugural post on A Scenic World.  Let's hope this sticks.