Pep Talk: OK, Nailah! The calendar has turned, it’s a new year, your travel year, so let’s get to it!

If operation *escape the cubicle* is truly going to come together, I need to start taking action.

I’ve taken two steps in the right direction in the last two days. I decided on an Arabic language school that I’d like to attend in Lebanon and I began working on my Round the World plan ticket.

First up: language school. I am under no illusion that I’ll manage to become fluent in Lebanese Arabic after living in Beirut for only 3 months, but I can at least build a decent foundation while I’m there. After researching a few programs on line, I have decided on the Saifi Institute located in central Beirut. I’ve seen nothing but positive write ups on the staff and curriculum, the location of the school and its committed students. On top of that their prices seem relatively affordable and they offer housing options during my stay. As I haven’t decided on where I’ll live while I’m in Beirut, it is good to have this as an option just in case I don’t find a wealthy business executive who wants me to housesit his penthouse while I’m there (just putting it out there, Universe). Now I’m just waiting for the school to post their spring schedule on line so I can confirm the dates I’ll be able to start.

Second, I began to research my Round the World ticket. I say research instead of purchase because I am not 100% sure of the route I’m going to take. Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey are definitely on the itinerary as are a few countries in Europe (leaning towards Spain, Holland, Austria and the UK), but there are a few outliers that I’d love to fit in depending on time, money and schedule. One new friend mentioned meeting up in Goa which would be incredible and then another person threw out the idea of the Gnaoua and World Music Festival in Essaouira, Morocco in June. Very tempting.

If you haven’t booked a Round the World ticket before, there are some restrictions that you have to consider. One of the restrictions that impacts my plans is the requirement to travel in only one direction. If you start out flying West, you have to keep going in that direction. You cannot back track (e.g. fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo, London and then turn around and fly back to Istanbul). I may have to end up leaving some desired locations off my itinerary because I am trying to get there at a specific time that would force me to backtrack to get there.

The good news is that the trip isn’t quite as expensive as I’d expected. I created a preliminary online trip itinerary on airtreks.com which gave me a ballpark figure. Then a representative from Airtreks called me directly to get a few more details on the trip and within two hours I had a sample itinerary and price in my inbox.  It will probably be another month or so before i book the ticket as I play around with flight dates and cities, but I’m happy to have at least started the process.

Next steps: researching housing options and travelers insurance.  If you have any advice on affordable health insurance options or other travel necessities for longer term travel, please leave me a comment below.