26 February 2008 SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
After more than 7 months of living in San Jose and the Bay Area, Dylan and I, Ariel who is 2 years and 4 months and baby Chloe, 6 months, left 3315 Remington Way to set off for the GK Highway of Hope. It would be a gruelling 81 day trip to 70 cities all over the US to rally people into a deeper commitment to Gawad Kalinga through GK1MB (GK 1 Million Builders). Joining us also was Nathan Mari, GK1MB USA National Coordinator, and John Dizon, my beloved cousin from New Jersey. The night before today, we had frantically put away all our worldly possessions into boxes ready to be transported back to the Philippines at the end of May when we conclude our 10 month stint in the US.
I have a lot of mixed emotions going into this trip -- anxiety over dragging my 2 small children all the way across America travelling 14,000 miles on an unbelievably punishing schedule. But I was also mildly excited with the prospect of this once in a lifetime journey --- dashing across America's heartland, seeing the vast expanse of this immense and diverse land of opportunity that the pilgrims once called the "brave new world". This was the trip of a lifetime and I would've been tingling to the tips of my toes with wanderlust if not for the splinter of worry that had lodged itself inside my brain constantly reminding me that things are never the same when you're travelling with children.
It might just be plain naivete that has convinced me to get along with it anyway despite our less than ideal circumstances. I mean, how bad can it get?
