Anatomy of an Adventure

Hello, dear Reader! Welcome to my very first blog. At the insistence of my fan club - an ardent population of one (my mother) - I’ve decided to share some journal entries from my most recent adventure. I’ve spent the last few weeks riding the rails from St. Petersburg, Russia through Siberia, Mongolia, and ending finally in Beijing. With no grand thematic approach or literary agenda in mind, I simply hope my posts bring you some enjoyment.

 

I have wanted to explore Russia by way of the Trans-Siberian railway since I was a teenager. There’s something romantic about watching the world go by while on a train and, quite frankly, it all feels very “Indiana Jones” to me.

When I told people about my trip the results were… varied. Some people were jealous, there were a few blank stares, and then there was the coworker who went on a tirade for 10 minutes detailing all of the reasons I would be miserable on this trip - the cramped trains, the cold weather, the foreign languages! A few men remarked that I didn’t look like someone who would go to Siberia (I’m still uncertain if this was a compliment or an insult). But by far the most popular response I got was this: “What if something happens?”

 

“What if something happens?” I smile inwardly because this response speaks to the very crux of my wanderlust. Perhaps my biggest fear in life is that nothing will happen to me. Ever. I worry that somehow this is it – I’ll whittle away my life with quotidian tasks and never experience anything soul-stirring. This fear is completely irrational (as most fears are) but it creates a restlessness that travel seems to soothe… at least temporarily.

 

Over the next few weeks I invite you to join me on my journey. **Spoiler Alert!!**  Things happen. J