T minus 2 days...

That's right, two more days! I leave Tuesday at the butt crack of dawn, so that gives me all of tomorrow to work with to get everything sorted out. I still have a lot to do, though...

Packing...hummmm...Haven't quite gotten there yet. I have a lot of things sorted out, but not all together. I still need to buy a few things, too. I'll pack tomorrow. But surely, it should all fit in a 40L Lowe Alpine pack I got for $8 at a once a month thrift center a few years back..well, plus a small daypack for my carry on.

The packing for this trip is a bit tricky. Hot weather, beaches, malaria/dengue fever mosquitoes, jungles, hiking. It doesn't sound like it should be tricky. Well here's the tricky part -- school. I have to dress up for the school -- look decent. I guess they don't want you to look like a backpacker even though you are. I bought a bunch of clothes from Goodwill and tailored them to my size. I have enough for a weeks worth, so I will be wearing the same clothes every week for the 4 weeks of the program. But hey, at least I won't look like a grotty backpacker!

I will pack the school clothes in a separate bag and have Sean bring them down for me. He is meeting me up on Feb 9th. That way, I won't have to carry them around in the beginning of my trip. I'll do a clothing swap -- swap out some of the junky stuff for the 'fancy' stuff. I'll have to figure it out somehow.

Money...I don't have much of it. Doh. Ill planning on my part...

I am estimating that the total trip cost will be somewhere between $5000-5500. A wide range, I know. But I expect to spend at least $5000. The cost of this trip rivals the cost of going to Africa for 3 weeks. Not bad for 11 weeks, I guess.

Here's a bit of the breakdown:
- Plane ticket: $ 710 (paid)
- TEFL course: $1690 (paid)
- apt rent during school: $ 600 (expensive, I know!!)
- internal flights: $ 180 (possibly)
- $30/per diem (49 days): $1470 (food/lodging/transport)
- $10/per diem (28 days): $ 280 (I have to eat when I'm in school!)

That all comes out to $4930. I'm sure that I'll want to do some side trips, which will probably total a few hundred. Not to mention surfing. I'll probably end up renting boards whenever I get the chance. Oh yeah, and I'll need lessons, too. Factor in some more cashola.

Luckily, I've already paid $2400 out of the budget. What do I have in the bank? Uh...$1600. That comes out to a total of $4000. I'll have to have Sean infuse my account with some money somewhere maybe a month into my trip. I do have cash in the bank, it is just tied up in CDs that don't come up for a while...so I'll pay him back at a later date. I'll figure it out as it comes.

These countries are more expensive than I anticipated. I do miss the under $2/night lodging in Bolivia..oh, how I miss those days!

Alright, time to organize...