In the end, I decided to buy a Oneworld Around the World ticket, which is nice, in that all of my flights are already there, it has a good diversity of airlines under its cover, and only charges a moderate amount to make date and destination changes. All in all, it was actually significantly cheaper than the other round the world flight places I looked at, even airtreks, which disappointed me (tho they're really worth looking at if you're doing a more 'traditional' RTW- if such a thing exists)

These are only approximate dates- I just packed my tickets into my bag, and I can't be bothered to get it out at the moment. All are VERY subject to change, depending on weather, contacts, and whatever whims I am currently pursuing (like going somewhere where it isn't raining, as it is doing at the moment- springtime in New Zealand, my ass)

I'm being petty. I love New Zealand. And Dunedin, in the grey, reminds me of downtown Seattle, with steep streets and a long line of water in the distance.

August 14, 2003 Los Angeles to Auckland

October 2, 2003 Christchurch, New Zealand, to Sydney, Australia

November 1, 2003 Perth, Australia, to the far north of Australia

November 15, 2003 Far north to Great Barrier Reef

December 11, 2003 Brisbane, Australia to Sydney, Australia

December 12, 2003 Sydney to Johannesburg, South Africa

January 30, 2004 Cape Town, South Africa, to Nairobi, Kenya

(don't ask me how I'm planning to get from Nairobi to Accra...anyone have a landrover they want to sell me?)

April 12, 2004 Accra, Ghana, to London-Heathrow, U.K.

April 19, 2004 London to Cork, Ireland

April 28, 2004 Glasgow, Ireland, to Helsinki, Finland

May 5, 2004 Finland to Geneva, Switzerland (and travelling up to Germany, the Uni of Freiburg)

May 14, 2004 Geneva to Barcelona, Spain

June 3, 2004 Paris, France to Miami, Fl to Costa Rica

Woo hoo!

Oops. Did I say that out loud?

Late August. Ish. 2004 Costa Rica, to Los Angeles, where I have no idea what I'll be up to (anyone want to offer me a job? Or, for that matter, acceptance to medical school?)

I'll do my best to update this as things change.