June 3rd, 2009

This is my first post. I promise future posts will be more exciting, will have less text and will be jam packed with amazing photos.




About me:

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Daven. I am 27 years old and call Oregon my home. I identify myself as an amateur musician and jack of many trades. I'm many different things to many different people. My family might say I'm responsible and hard working, my friends might say I know how to have a good time, my ex-girlfriends might say I'm a "nice guy" or "the one that got away," acquaintances may say I have energy, and some people may not say anything because they just dont understand me yet. I am currently a student at OSU-Cascades campus in Bend Oregon.



Why start a blog?

On June 12th of 2009 I will begin a three and a half month journey. The purpose of this blog is to update my friends and family of my travels, and as a working journal of my personal exploits. I will post photos, videos, stories, and will hopefully entertain you all. I disclaim now that not all posts will be interesting, funny, or cool, and some may have spelling errors and such. Dont let this deter you from reading on! The good stuff will surely be interlaced throughout this blog at random, much like the way good stuff is interlaced throughout life at random.


The plan:

I am studying abroad this summer with AUIP in the Australia and Fiji short programs. I also look forwards to travels in New Zealand, Southeast Australia, and a few selected locations back in the United States (Los Angeles, Phoenix, Santa Fe, Orlando, and last but not least, Maine). I depart for this adventure on my last day of school, and will return to Bend Oregon the day before Fall term starts. It is difficult and complicated to say how this plan came together, and what exactly I am in store for. One thing is for sure, it will be a once in a lifetime trip.


My Itinerary: (this will be updated as it changes)

The following itinerary is a loose guide to my summer of 2009 and may change. I understand that calendar is quite long, maybe boring and possibly unnecessary, but is here to update my family and friends of when I'll be different places. I also hope that posting a list of the places I will be, will prompt people to give me advice of people to stay with or places to check out. Help me out folks!

June 14-July 8: Studying abroad in Northeast Australia. This portion of my trip includes field studies of some amazing places. Most notably, the Great Barrier Reef, the Australian Outback and the rainforest of the Cape of Tribulation. (can you say wow?)

July 8-July 17: I will be studying abroad in Fiji. This portion of my trip will bring me in contact with the Votua tribe and Rainforest environments. Afterwards, I will have a couple of free days in Fiji to traipse around. (anybody have any advice?)

July 17- August 6: I will be traveling in New Zealand. I have no plans for this section of the trip. I plan on couchsurfing, and trying to travel on a tight budget while seeing as much as possible. (any suggestions?) On a side note, if you have never heard of the online community couchsurfing.com, you should check it out here, it is a community of people who open their doors to travelers. It is legitimate, relatively safe, and I have hosted some people myself. This community of amazing people has changed my life. If you want to check out my couchsurfing profile, click here.

August 6- September 1: I will fly into Sydney, and will spend a few weeks in southeast Australia. I have no plans for this portion of my trip yet, except to visit my long lost mate Paul. (Paul, I'm getting there as fast as I can!) I'm really looking forward to seeing a few familiar faces and to see what Sydney is all about.

September 1- September 3-6? I fly to Los Angeles. I am excited to see my aunt, my cousins, and the rest of the So Cal crew. Not sure what day I'll be actually be leaving yet. I'm going to try to find a ride share to Phoenix, we'll see if a ride falls into my lap. (any eugenians wanna road trip?)

September 3-6?- September 6-8?: I will be in Phoenix Arizona. Hopefully I'll get a chance to connect with Bargrass Revival and company and play some music.

September 6-8?- September 12: I will be visiting some dear friends in Santa Fe (they are currently smiling at the thought of this) Hopefully get to do some hiking and exploring of the area.

September 12- September 14: I will be in Orlando. Yes, Orlando. Belive it or not, was considerably cheaper to book a flight to Orlando and to fly out on a monday. I have no idea what I will do for these two days, but will likely try to locate an amazing and generous couchsurfing host with the ability show me some Orlando culture other than the commercial Disney stuff. Only time will tell...

September 14- September 20: I will be in my home state, Maine. I plan on catching up with family and attending my Dad's wedding. I haven't been home in quite some time, and am really looking forward to this part of my trip.

September 20: After flying from Maine to Eugene Oregon, I will get to see my mom and sister. After a few hours of hanging out, I will need to get in my car and drive to Bend Oregon, as classes start the next morning. I probably wont have a home set up in Bend yet, but will (hopefully) work out some place to crash for a few days while looking for a place in Bend.

So it goes. That concludes my plans for the summer, Think I'm doing enough stuff? Typing it all out makes me realize I may be a little insane to undertake all these flights, and although it seems quite planned, it might not go as planned. I will likely be sick of traveling at times, and at other times want to never go home. Who knows exactly what will happen? If you know folks that I could connect with along my journey, or know of stuff to check out, give me some feedback.

-Daven