Four weeks to go (13 work days left)

Work is pretty slow at the moment, so I've been doing a lot of research, and the more I find out the more excited I get!

I remember having a discussion with C and Lion about drugs a few months ago that made me laugh. Someone from work told me, "Oh, you've got to try cocaine while you're over there, you've just GOT to!" Lion said, when I told her about it, "I'm pretty sure you DON'T." I laughed, because she’s right: I’m pretty sure nobody is going to kick us out of the country for NOT trying cocaine.

C said, "Well it would be about fifty times more dangerous than in Australia... but hey, cocaine’s so cheap over there that it's WORTH it!" (He was joking.)

If I wanted to try cocaine (which I don’t) without spending much money, I'm pretty sure it would be cheaper to stay in Australia than to pay a hefty airfare and head for South America. But hey, what do I know?

I have been doing a lot of research on safety, and asking people I know who've been travelling for advice.

G (who lived in Brazil for 3 months) gave me this advice: don't get on or off or use transport at night, be sceptical, don't eat dodgy meat, stay with other people in dodgy areas, don't go off with dodgy people on your own, wear flotation devices when swimming if you can’t tread water without using your hands for greater than 1 minute (thanks G, you doofus!), dress down rather than up, do your research before you go especially if the area you’re heading isn’t touristy, travel light. He also said: brush your teeth to avoid cavities, and eat 5 serves of vegetables per day!

K's advice boiled down to: trust your gut. If something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't!

Good times. I have also been wondering whether six months is too long... but after breaking it down into how long we'll be able to spend in each country, I'm wondering whether it'll be long enough!