Day 1

June 14, 2:11 am

“In 6 hours I am getting on a motorcycle and leaving my home for 8 months. What am I thinking?”

Haha, well here I am in Peoria, Illinois with my best friend, 342 miles into the quest to extract something deeper out of life and do what I can to make the world a better place. And what a great first day it has been.

Odometer reading in my driveway

The last two days have been pretty crazy and I definitely did not get everything taken care of. But, it will all work out, even if I don’t have AFLAC coverage, a second tube, extra life insurance, etc. I did sell my old motorcycle AND car. I didn’t exactly want to sell the Prism, but the new motorcycle was an unexpected expense.

Goodbye Prism!

Enjoy the bike Nick

We began the day by going to Kristen’s house for breakfast made by her mom. What a way to start! Kristen got home from 6 months in South Africa the previous night and I had to see her before I left. She volunteered at a hospital, her stories are amazing and she might head back there for grad school when she is done with AmeriCorps. Last summer she did something called bike and build which was incredible. I HIGHLY suggest it to anyone 18-28 who wants to travel and serve across the United States. Check out the website. http://bikeandbuild.org/cms/

Breakfast at Kristen's

Leaving home

After that it was go time. The weather was perfect, but we got tangled in crazy suburban sprawl south of Chicago. It was literally 15 miles of strip malls; I think we passed 428 chain restaurants and 5 Best Buys. After finally breaking free we stopped for lunch at Earl’s Corner on 41 south. This is what I’m talking about. They had great food (they specialize in hot dogs), and we had fun hanging out with the owner and a few patrons. We traded stories and they asked me about my trip. Stop by if you are ever driving south on 41 in Indiana. I asked about the name and Nancy the owner joked, “There ain’t no Earl, and we ain’t on no corner. But I like the name and it works.” She was very nice and gave us free Gatorades for the road. That means twice on day one I was given free food and drink. I could definitely get used to this.

On the road

After about 7 hours of riding, we arrived at Wildlife Prairie State Park. This place is amazing!! We are the first ever tent campers here (they just opened it this season) and it is only $20 a night. And there are showers, a rec room, trails, and lots of wildlife to see. Check it out if you are ever in the area.

http://www.wildlifeprairiestatepark.org/

Campsite

Jeff treated me to a nice dinner of mac and cheese with bacon cooked at our campsite. Heck yeah. We are just about to sit down to a fire and hang out one last time. I did bring my guitar so maybe that will come out later. Oh yeah, and there are thunderstorm warnings tonight. At least I will be able to test out my tent. I hope it holds up…

Frustrating News...

Yesterday I received an email from the President of the Sacred Valley Project, Alex Ball.

Here is an excerpt:

"The dormitory currently operates in a 2,560 square foot building that includes 3 dorm rooms (for the 12 girls), a room for the housemother, a kitchen, a dinning hall, study hall and yard. With a majestic view of the Ollantaytambo ruins, it is a beautiful location with plenty of space for the girls to run about, hang laundry and burn off steam.

Last December, after a nearly unanimous vote of approval by the 500 members of the local community, we signed a 5-year contract that required us to pay only $100 per month and discounts 50% of all costs associated with repairs or improvements to the infrastructure.

The community has owned and occupied this space for over 30 years and also built the locale’s entire standing infrastructure. Unfortunately, a wealthy man from Lima with strong ties in government and law enforcement purchased the land from a neighbor who claimed to be the rightful owner. He then entered into a lawsuit with the community to win the land with plans to build a hotel. Willing to pay for the highest quality lawyers and taking advantage of his high level connections, this man has successfully appropriated community-owned land on a number of occasions in a variety of locations.

It seems as though he is winning the suit and we fear that we might lose our dormitory. Because we are a third party, we do not believe that we will be kicked out before the end of the school year and we are already actively seeking out other options. We have begun looking for grants to help with construction and are reaching out for help from the provincial and district governments. This is not the first time that our project has encountered difficulties and we have every intention of continuing to fight against this injustice. "

New dorm

Am I upset? Yes.

Am I surprised? Not really.

I feel like land disputes like this happen all the time in developing countries, and they were the inspiration for the creation of the Association for a More Just Society (http://www.ajs-us.org) that I visited while in Honduras.

There is some good news, however. The mayor of the neighboring city Urubamba has offered to sell land next to the site of a future high school for $8,000-$10,000. This would be a great long term solution as the SVP would own the land outright (and not rent) and would be right next to the school!

I will keep everyone updated as I hear more about the situation.

3 Weeks to Go!!

I leave three weeks from today, and things are crazy.

First of all, I bought a new (to me) motorcycle on Saturday! Yup, I've been working on mine for two years and now I have to get rid of it. It turns out that Peru has a law where you cannot import any vehicle more than five years old because of emissions. My motorcycle is a 2003. So a quick trip to Warsaw, Indiana on Saturday and I bought a 2007 (Thanks Troy!!). I definitely have my work cut out for me getting the new one ready in time and getting the older one sold.

Riding home from Warsaw, IN

John and Emma came over today to take pictures for the Bucs Blade and the Tribune. It was fun as Jeff stopped over and we rode trails at his house. Emma's face was priceless and she sat on the back of a 4-wheeler trying to get the perfect shot. Those two stopping by inspired me to put in about 6 hours working on the new bike. I'm actually almost done!! I did discover the choke cable is stuck, one more thing to fix...

Two years of work packed into one week.

Actually not too far from being done!

I still have a million little things to do, but the major pieces are in place. My house is rented for the year. I have been granted a leave of absence. Plane tickets have been purchased and the shipping is all set. I also have been trying to spend as much time as possible with family and friends, which has been great.

Yesterday and today I presented at Rotary Club's two weekly meetings. I showed a powerpoint summarizing the trip and highlighting the Sacred Valley Project. Monday I received the biggest surprise imaginable. Grand Haven Rotary named me as a Paul Harris Fellow!!! This is a big deal. I am so humbled and honored to be recognized by a group that I hold with such respect. When I wear the pin during my journey, people will recognize it and I can build connections. This is amazing. Also, many Rotarians gave me advice and information about possible connections. I really feel supported by my community, now I have extra incentive to actually make it through the entire journey!!

Now is a good time to mention that if you haven't watched the girl effect video I highly recommend it. I have been reading research on the effects of education on girls in developing countries and the results are astounding. I think so highly of the mission of the SVP and can't wait to get to know the girls better and help them with their education. I have a stack of six TI-85 graphing calculators I am bringing. I think they will enjoy learning how to use them. (Okay, as much as anyone can enjoy math.) My students also suggested I bring some scratch and sniff stickers, good call!!

My highlight of the day today was the fundraiser that Interact students (mostly Kira and Lauren) did. They sold HOT KOOLAID at all three lunches. It was a big hit, of course.

At this point I need to really reach down and think about what lies ahead. I can't believe what I have planned for myself, but at the same time I am excited for all of the possibilities. Most people's reactions are about 50/50 so far. For every person excited about the plans, there is someone who is certain I am going to die. It kind of messes with your head a little bit. I do understand there are risks, and I want to be as responsible and safe as possible. Maybe this is a good time to clarify.

These are NOT reasons why I am planning this trip:
1) It is on my bucket list.
2) I have a traveling itch.
3) I seek adventure.
4) I am a natural risk-taker.

But, at the end of the day, it is all still just plans. After last week discovering that I couldn't ship my old bike to Peru, I am now expecting anything to go wrong. Let's just see if I can actually make it to Peru with a motorcycle in tow...