Itinerary – looking for connections

REPOSTED from Facebook:
We’re in different stages of telling people, but Brandon and I are leaving Seattle on April 20 to head East and then eventually fly out ~mid May to Europe and then India for 6 months.  This is something I’ve wanted to do since high school — travel and live abroad for a while.  At work, someone mentioned this was a very “Millenial” move on my part — to give up a stable life, good paying job, just for adventure and self-exploration.  It’s something I need to do, to refocus my energy on what’s important to me, reconnect with social justice movements, and upon return, find/build community.   

I’m seeking your help as my int’l community, to let me know if there’s anyone we can stay with in the cities below, people we should connect with, or while in India, any projects/groups I can work with (if they’re looking for it there, on the ground).  

Itinerary
April 20 – Leave Seattle, arrive in MT somewhere
April 21 – S. Dakota!
April 22 – 25 – Twin Cities (Aaron, Chris!!!)
April 25 – 28 – Chicago
April 28 – May 3 – Cincinnati
May 3 – 5 – Columbus
May 5 – 10 – SE Massachusetts/Somerset/Providence RI
May 10 – 16 – Boston & other New England road trips
May 16 – 19 – NYC
May 19 – Fly out to Europe

May 20 – 24 – Paris (looking for a place to crash!!)
May 24 – 29 – Barcelona & S. France (looking for places to crash!!)
May 29 – June 3 – Lisbon / S. Portugal (ditto – crash places – Laura – your friend?)
June 3 – 10 – Italy (Rome, Florence, Siena – seeking suggestions – and places to crash)
June 10 – 13 – Amsterdam (crash place?)
June 15 – Fly to Delhi

Once we hit India our itinerary isn’t very firm.  We plan on heading north for half the time (Manali, Rishikesh, Dharamsala, maybe Ladakh).  Then for the 2nd half, drop down through Rajastan and then to Goa/Kerala.  We plan on flying back to the US in December, barring illness, or a whim to extend our trip and head to Thailand/the rest of SE Asia.  When we get back, we plan on moving to Vermont for a while so I can take classes at the Yestermorrow Design/Build school.   Of course, all plans are subject to change.   

That’s it.  Crazy stuff.   

Seattle folks – I’m going to miss you.  Boston/Northeast folks – am glad I’ll be in the area again.  I now have a West Coast driving mentality (if it’s within 4 hours it’s close!!).  Can’t wait to be close again.

FINALLY – I’m going to do the blog thing — I have my own domain:  www.valeriecosta.com if you want to see what we’re up to.

Parties TBA.