On my way to Panchagani

Today at 8:30 pm I'm supposed to be in school. Why do I have to be in school at such an ungodly hour, well Travel is the short answer. To get my  Duke of Edinburgh award I need to complete 30 hours of expedition. So my fellow Duke girls and I am travelling to Panchgani in India for an adventure. Filled with trekking and camping and a trip to a chocolate factory. Dreamy.

But it's already 4:00 pm and I still haven’t finished packing. Procrastination is a killer.

According to the weather forecasts the place is hot and humid, perfect! ( This is sarcasm by the way). And India's in currently in the middle of a swine flu break out, brilliant.

But hey, as our teachers put it, just because a few people are sick doesn't mean that the world will stop functioning. So here I am sitting on my laptop typing away telling you my expectations for this trip.

I'm not a stranger to travelling without my parents; this is in fact the sixth school trip I'll be going on. I'm quite a veteran really. But that doesn't mean I'm not anxious. This actually is the first trip I'll be going to India alone. And that scares me more than it should. After all India is my home country, and don’t get me wrong i absolutely love that place. It's just that I haven't been to this specific part of it before and I don’t know what to expect. And not knowing what to expect scares me. What if i get bit by an unknown bug and get horrible allergies? What if i fall down while trekking and fracture bones? What if my rope snaps during rappelling and I fall into some dark abyss?

Those were the worst case scenarios, and I believe that you have to familiarise yourself with the worst version of events to truly appreciate the actual version of events. A weird logic I know. But hey how else can you appreciate the smaller things we take for granted.

Now the things that I am hoping will happen. Since I'm travelling with close friends I'm hoping for a fun trip. By fun I mean no drama no boredom. I want to be able to look up at the skies and see stars. I want to breathe fresh air. I want to sit around the campfire exchanging spooky stories and cuddle up to the closest person when they get a little too creepy. I want to trek up a mountain path and the see the painted sky. I want to live like an adventurer and have dirt in my nails.

But most of all I'm looking forward to the peace and quiet. To hear the birds sing in the morning and to see the sun rise and set. To live life like I am supposed to.