Sunday, May 11, 2008

Where does the blog's name come from?

The name of this blog, and to a large extent, the theme of the gap year comes from the same idea; never say no. (Unfortunately, that name was taken, so I went with never ever say no). Credit for the idea and phrase has to go to Tim Allan.

The idea is self-explanatory to a degree but it deserves some commenting. Jaime (DyBuncio, who will be joining me on the gap year) and I really believe that we'll get a lot more out of life and we will be able to fully enhance our year and the experiences during it by being more open-minded. This extends past simple experiences, events and invitations. Even more than any of that it really applies to ideas, cultures and different ways of life. In order to really broaden my horizons, the goal for this gap year, and the rest of my life, is to say yes as often as I can, without putting life or limb in too much jeopardy, in order to learn about this world and move past my limited life experience.

I will be blogging all summer long in order to get a hang of this and get in the habit of doing it as often as I can, so do check back here often. And finally, just so we're all on the same page, here's the itinerary for these next 12 months:

June-Aug '08: Reprise my internship at the Lt. Governor's office (Downtown L.A.)
Work on John Perez's State Assembly campaign

Mid- to late-Aug: One week at Camp Harmony (Malibu)

Sept 28- Nov 16: Volunteer with Cross-Cultural Solutions (Yaroslavl, Russia)

Nov 22- late-Dec: Volunteer with CCS (Cape Town, South Africa)

Late-Dec to mid-Jan '09: Break at home (Los Angeles)

Mid-Jan to mid-March: Organic farming and travel on the cheap (Australia and New Zealand)

Mid-March to May: Volunteer with CCS (Xi'an, China)

May: Organic farming and travel on the cheap (Spain)

Just as an added teaser, here's a link to an album in a Facebook group with pictures from Russia. Only 4 months and 17 days! http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=2209453793&view=all

6 comments:

Unknown said...

David,

Great first post! I see we were thinking alike when it came to the idea of creating blogs for our gap year experiences. I figure it's the best way of keeping people up to date without sending personalized emails to everyone we know.

I'm impressed that you have everything planned along with your whole itinerary. I, on the other hand, have allowed Senioritis to creep into all facets of my life. I found a program, but the idea of completing an eight-page application and four essays tends to crush any chances of productivity. As a matter of fact I haven't even heard back from UVa about granting my request to defer even though it's been two weeks. Regardless, I'm confident everything will work out, and I'll be a hemisphere away come September.

See you at school!

Elliot

Unknown said...

Very impressive indeed.... and I'm very jealous. I'm ready for a gap year too! Where did you get this wanderlust from?

xoxoxo

A Secret Admirer

Nancy A. said...

Seems to me that "Auntie Nancy" has traveled a bit too, Secret Admirer! In fact, she's off to Italy in one month. Arriverderci, tutti!

Teri Alpert said...

David,
What great plans. I can definitely say you did not get your wanderlust from this Alpert auntie!

Cross-Cultural Solutions sounds great(maybe put a link to their website?)especially to those of us who thought about the Peace Corps, but were too chicken, or didn't want to go for 2 years.

Have a great time!!

Tim Allan said...

Dave,
I just got around to reading this and I am really impressed. When I mentioned "never say no" I had no idea that anyone would put it to such good use. And I have to say, if there are any two people with the self-motivation to do it, it would be you and James. You guys have done the hard part, dealing with visas, planning, etc. Now is your time to live your dream. Enjoy it dude, hopefully these are the most meaningful months of your life.

Tim

Jordan Bender said...

I just finished reading all of your blogs David. You have turned into one of the most mature guys that I know. I'm so glad to hear that you and Jaime are having such a rich experience and are getting a taste of life.