Money, money, money.
I think that whatever I'll earn at Philmont is about as much as I'm spending to go there. I've had to buy hiking boots as well as a memory stick (because my mum and dad won't let me bring the laptop that I already have...), I've had to withdraw some money from the bank to cover initial expenses, I have to repay my mum for the bus fare (the shuttles between Philmont and the airport), and I've had to purchase a number of small but necessary items like shampoo and etc.
Oh, well. I'm going to Philmont for the experience, not the money.
I think that what I'll miss most when I'm there - besides bookstores and other large-town amenities - is the news. I don't watch the news on a daily basis - speaking of which, I hate how the new, non-Ted Koppel Nightline is more like a news magazine (a la World News Tonight) rather than the news feature show that it used to be - but I'll miss our subscription to Newsweek. Generally, I read every issue of Newsweek cover-to-cover, although I skip over the international affairs, business, and sports articles (granted, that's a lot), and I'll miss that.
When you're somewhere in the mountains of northeastern New Mexico, you tend to lose track of what's happening in the real world. Being there for even just a week can set you back. I remember Matt's telling us that, after a ten-day trek, he asked in base camp, "So, what's been happening in the real world?" And so much had happened in an everyday fashion (an odd phenomenon) that no one could really update him about anything except for Julia Roberts' secret wedding in Taos.
I'll have very limited access to the Internet, so I won't be totally cut off, but still... it'll be strange.
Anyway. Speaking of bookstores and other large-town amenities - well, actually, speaking only of bookstores - I've decided on my summer reading. I'm going to finish Beowulf (I don't know why, but I always automatically type it in as Beowulfe and then I have to correct myself) and then finally read the entirety of Les Mis and then start Dante's The Divine Comedy: Inferno. That, plus doing photography and hiking and seeing all the tiny local towns, should fill up what free time I may have there.
Also, my old counselor - Robbie, the one I had for two years in a row - will be there this summer, except not on base camp. But we'll still see each other around... it'll be cool, to see at least one familiar face at first.
Gonna run off and do some last-minute packing and then have a quick haircut (just a trim). I'll try to update one more time before I go to the airport early to-morrow morning...!
(Oh, I haven't signed some of you guys' yearbooks... save some room for me!)
Oh, well. I'm going to Philmont for the experience, not the money.
I think that what I'll miss most when I'm there - besides bookstores and other large-town amenities - is the news. I don't watch the news on a daily basis - speaking of which, I hate how the new, non-Ted Koppel Nightline is more like a news magazine (a la World News Tonight) rather than the news feature show that it used to be - but I'll miss our subscription to Newsweek. Generally, I read every issue of Newsweek cover-to-cover, although I skip over the international affairs, business, and sports articles (granted, that's a lot), and I'll miss that.
When you're somewhere in the mountains of northeastern New Mexico, you tend to lose track of what's happening in the real world. Being there for even just a week can set you back. I remember Matt's telling us that, after a ten-day trek, he asked in base camp, "So, what's been happening in the real world?" And so much had happened in an everyday fashion (an odd phenomenon) that no one could really update him about anything except for Julia Roberts' secret wedding in Taos.
I'll have very limited access to the Internet, so I won't be totally cut off, but still... it'll be strange.
Anyway. Speaking of bookstores and other large-town amenities - well, actually, speaking only of bookstores - I've decided on my summer reading. I'm going to finish Beowulf (I don't know why, but I always automatically type it in as Beowulfe and then I have to correct myself) and then finally read the entirety of Les Mis and then start Dante's The Divine Comedy: Inferno. That, plus doing photography and hiking and seeing all the tiny local towns, should fill up what free time I may have there.
Also, my old counselor - Robbie, the one I had for two years in a row - will be there this summer, except not on base camp. But we'll still see each other around... it'll be cool, to see at least one familiar face at first.
Gonna run off and do some last-minute packing and then have a quick haircut (just a trim). I'll try to update one more time before I go to the airport early to-morrow morning...!
(Oh, I haven't signed some of you guys' yearbooks... save some room for me!)