It’s 3:20 AM on Jan. 27 and I have to be up around 8 to start the longest trip I’ve been on in decades. I’m going to Cyprus to do my sabbatical work, then to Israel, Jordan, Egypt, back to Cyprus, then to Greece and home. I’ll be on 10 flights, 8 of which will be going from one country to another. There will be 5 different currencies and 4 languages. My sabbatical proposal was turned in in March 2008 and I started on it in the fall of 2007 so this is a long time coming. I was supposed to go in the spring of 2010 but had nasty shoulder surgery and was on medical leave instead.

Why do people give up the comforts of home to travel? We get our homes to be as close to what we might call perfection. The right pillow, the comfortable chair, favorite foods and beverages in the refrigerator; all that and much more (like a loving wife) is gone for me for close to 4 weeks. Hopefully, this blog will at least partially answer that question.