Who is Kate Fogarty:

I was born on Staten Island, raised in New Hampshire.

I spent four years at Saint Thomas Aquinas High School during which time I dyed my hair about 20 different shades of red, spent many a night studying, and just about every weekend drinking coffee at Breaking New Grounds in downtown Portsmouth.

Then it was off to college. Wheaton College, to be exact. The one in Massachusetts. At Wheaton the studying continued, but the shades of red were substituted with shades of blond and the coffee with cheap (and might I add delicious) keg beer.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to spend the better part of 1999 in Dublin, Ireland with Liz. I don’t think we could have had a more fabulous time-well, getting egged on the first day of school wasn’t the best, but it was pretty hilarious, so we didn’t mind. Anyway, we had the greatest time and did virtually no studying (imagine that!). Thanks to our very generous parents we had the opportunity that semester to travel to London (where I had a picture of my head taken on the infamous Tower of London chopping block), and Amsterdam (where we mistakenly ordered non-alcoholic beer on our first night out and it rained during our tour of the canals-literally only during the tour, the rest of the day was perfectly sunny-nevertheless we loved it and the VanGogh’s were spectacular), and Paris (where I saw Mona and where yours truly forgot every single bit of contact information for our French host, Heather-for the record, when you’re totally lost in France, don’t speak the language, and have no place to stay, I suggest a nice bottle of French wine), and Morocco (where, among so many other amazing things, I got to experience sun poisoning on the back of a desert camel.)

Okay, so back to the good old USA…I graduated from Wheaton in 2000 and in August of that year started working at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. I’m still there-although technically on a leave of absence. While I’d be lying if I said there weren’t days when I would have rather stayed in bed, drinking ice coffee, and watching the Golden Girls (with a fashion magazine close at hand), I loved my work. Fa says “It’s not work when you love what you do.” My goal is to always love what I do.

I am going on this trip becuase:

I love to travel. I can’t wait to see new things and meet new people. I hope we’ll have great stories to tell and new traditions to share with everyone when we return.

I am looking forward to:

Samoa: Listening to the ocean as I fall asleep; not getting a sunburn; enjoying the beginning of what I am sure will be one of the most memorable times in our lives. New Zealand: Driving the country; taking “the finest walk in the world” with everything I’ll need on my back. Australia: Ward and Liz; wimming in water where I’m more likely to meet a Great White than if I were swimming at Hampton Beach; having Andy as my tour guide through the streets of Sydney; kangaroos. Bali: The botanical garden; my birthday. Vietnam: Trying a new food; learning to communicate with the Vietnamese, given the fact that I know not a word of their language. Hong Kong: Standing, at night, in the middle of a bustling street, illuminated by bright lights, wondering how the heck four months went by so quickly;

I am nervous about:

Running out of money; having really bad diarrhea with only a public bathroom at my disposal; missing home more than I thought I would.

I hope to get out of this trip:

You never return home from a trip the same way you left, or at least I haven’t. So, I hope that when I come home I have a better understanding of other cultures, a more diverse taste is foods, a greater appreciation for my home, and an even closer bond with my best friend.

I am taking with me:

Bathing suits. And other clothes that 1) don’t get too wrinkled (we all know how attached I am to my iron) and 2) I don’t get sick of after a week.
A nice sleeping bag-very important. I mean, who wants and uncomfortable piece of crap greeting you after a long day of exploration?
A journal.
My iPod.
Sunscreen (everyone who knows me is probably wondering why this wasn’t the first thing on my list!)

What has been most helpful in planning for the trip:

In one word, Andy.

And, despite the fact that my parents probably would rather I spend these four months in a more conventional manner, they are responsible for the fact that I have enough money to even consider going on the trip. And far more importantly, my parents and my brother are the greatest safety net I could ask for-making the leap into the unknown is much easier when you know what you have to fall back on.

I'll miss most:

Um, of course, Vinny. And my family; being able to call home without calculating the time difference; my friends; Lumpy (no, he’s not making the trip this time); my bed; having more than 3 pairs of shoes at my disposal; and did I mention Vinny?