After having to postpone going on the World Race from September 2014 to July 2015, I figured my path to the race couldn’t get any more complicated, but it turns out there was one more twist ahead.
I have switched routes. I will still be leaving in July, but I have moved from Route 1 to Route 5. This means a new squad and new countries. I will now be going to:
El Salvador (July)
Guatemala (August)
Honduras (September)
South Africa (October)
Zimbabwe (November)
Lesotho (December)
Cambodia (January)
Thailand (February)
Malaysia (March)
Mongolia (April)
China (May)
This was actually a long time coming, but I didn’t see how the pieces fit together until recently. When the July routes were released, I immediately began to narrow down my choices. Routes 2 and 3 were eliminated quickly – they didn’t hold interest to me (and weren’t going to many, if any Spanish-speaking countries. That was a deal breaker).
So it was down to 1, 4, or, 5. I lingered on Route 5 for a bit, but the prospect of China scared me off. I debated between 1 and 4, eventually choosing route 1. It would take me to four different continents, and to all new countries for me (I had been to two of the ones on Route 4).
I thought I was sure, but as soon as I sent the email to AIM confirming my choice, I started to have second thoughts. I was wondering if I had made the “wrong” choice, but since there really wasn’t one, I pushed forward. So for six months, I assumed I would be spending my race on Route 1.
Then, about two weeks ago, I got an email from my mobilizer (an AIM staff member who coordinates the racers on a particular route). The email told us that all of the spots on the route available for women were filled, and only a few more spots for men were available. Any other racers who wanted to go on this route would be put on a waiting list, and added to the squad if someone decided to switch or not go at all. If there were no spaces available by the time training camp got closer, the people on the waiting list would be asked to switch to another route.
I had been correct in my prediction that my route would be a popular one (routes that go to 4 continents usually are) and was curious to see how many people were on the other routes. Route 4, like mine, was at full capacity. Routes 2 and 3 had less, but still a good amount and could take more before training camp. Then Route 5 caught my eye. It had the smallest squad by far – only 22 people at the time I checked.
I had been thinking about switching routes before – I had heard stories about people being asked to switch at training camp, and knew that if I found myself in that situation, I would volunteer to go before I let a squadmate go unwillingly. Looking at this small group on route 5, the idea to move to it popped into my head. Someone on a waiting list could replace me on Route 1, and since my plans had changed so much from the start anyway, I wouldn’t mind changing routes the way someone else might.
I didn’t want to do anything rash, so I sat on this idea for about a week, and then looked at the list of countries on Route 5 again – I wasn’t going to switch if there was a reason I really didn’t want to go on it. When I looked closely at the route again, a few particular places stood out. China now seemed exciting instead of intimidating. I could go back to Guatemala, my favorite place in the world so far. The route included South Africa, which I had really been looking forward to when I was on a September squad. I could go to Burma, a country I knew little about but I had previously worked with refugees from there – I was very interested to see it in person.
At this point I was pretty sure I knew I knew what I was going to do, but I still waited. After a few days, I looked at the route again. There was one change: Burma had been removed from the route and replaced with Malaysia. I was a little disappointed, but the change didn’t make a difference in how I felt about the route. I still felt that switching was the right thing to do, and even though it means saying goodbye to the Route 1 squad, I’m excited for what lies ahead.
