Sitting in the airport waiting to start boarding, I open my binder to take a look at my syllabus. This quote was included at the top:

"Well, you know, there are two ways of being a tourist.

The first way is you get on the tour bus and the guide grabs the microphone and you drive down the streets that everyone has driven down before. And he tells you, you know, when this church was built and then you go in for 15 minutes and you come out again. And you go to the next country.

And then there's the other, which is when you go somewhere for awhile and you don't have a tour guide, and you walk into the nearest bar or shebeen and you just be. And you start figuring out a place from the people up."

--David Simon

...in my eyes, this is really the only way you can go about life. You put yourself in uncomfortable situations, stumble through language barriers, and take your host's recommendation on what to order. Along the way, you learn how to really live, how to better appreciate all this world has to offer, and how unique the human experience is. I'm looking forward to all that's in store for myself and my fellow travelers over the next two months. ¡Nos vemos!