Ohhh my!  I’m officially leaving for the Philippines.  I’m scared.  I’ll be there six months with only enough cash to survive for two to three months.  I leave may 28th and I come back November 22nd – I’ll be 24.  For those of you (nobody reads this) who don’t know the Philippines is a poor country with the average wage being $5 USD per day approximately.  I’m considerably wealthy when compared to a large majority of Filipinos.  That aside I’m sure there are plenty of Filipinos wealthier than me.

Why am I doing this?

I need to step outside my comfort zone so I’ve throw myself in a situation where I’ll have to think on my feet and support myself.  I need this.  I’ve lived with my family for a large portion of my life and they’ve seen to it that I’ve been taken care of.  By throwing myself in an unfamiliar situation and forcing myself to take care of myself I hope to grow up considerably..

What will I do once I’m there?

Work.  That’s it.  Really..  My friend and I plan on getting an apartment in Boracay or thereabouts and working ourselves to death on our entrepreneurial projects.  I mean.. we could do this at home but why not go somewhere else to do it?  More precisely I plan on researching one to three authority sites before I go so I won’t have to spend time figuring out what to do once I am there.  While I’m there my full time job will be researching and writing for authority websites.

Do I have much of a cash runway?

No and no..  that’s part of the reason why I am putting myself in this situation.. Quite frankly it’s pretty stupid and this whole thing is pretty fucking spontaneous..  There is a thrill to it but lurking behind that feeling is one of terror and it often rises above the thrill..

What if I run out of Money?

That’s quite a scary thought and very real possibility.  I’ll be monitoring my expenses while I’m over there and if It appears that I won’t be able to support myself I may begin working on an organic farm for room and board until it’s time for my departure.  I’ve taken the precaution to sign u for http://www.wwoof.ph/ in case that happens.  I may end up doing it anyway if my entrepreneurial projects bore me.  If I find myself unable to stay on a farm I’ll need to seek other methods of livlihood.. Other options that I’ll have include writing, seo work, and uhh….starvation.  The latter being undesirable.

What Now?

I need to prepare myself for this journey.  More specifically I need to take seriously how I’m going to finance this trip.. You know.. I probably should have thought about this a bit more before  left.  Nevertheless I’m committed and going.  Before I go I intend to finish up this batch of niche websites I’ve been working on, research one to three possible authority websites, and polish my couchsurfing profile..  just might need it.