Goals

Leaving for a sabbatical can not be done aimlessly and without any goals. You do not want to stay away from your job for 12 months just to realize, that you have been procrastinating posting on Facebook the whole time. So I started to make very strict plans in November... and then realized, that it just would not work this way. The things I planned to finish before leaving could not be done in such a short time with the high job pressure. The plans I had for the sabbatical itself were just too ambitious. That is why I changed the general approach.

These are the things that I might do while being away (or rather the things I generally thought about doing, but do not necessarily have to do):

• learning Spanish (always wanted to do that, never really had the opportunity, will be in an immersion situation anyway)
• do sports on a daily basis
• certification as an IT Architect (this one goes out to Rebecca... ;) ...)
• transalpine hike along the E1 (i.e. the Swiss part of the E1 from Konstanz to Porto Ceresio) in the European summer
• write a business plan
• travel Argentina's more Southern parts, maybe Chile, Peru
• start a travel blog (no not regarding sightseeing hotspots or my actual travels, but regarding the act of transportation itself) 
• learn how to tango (I'm a little afraid of that, but I'm a big boy now, I will manage...)

... and of course I will read lots of books, sit in the sun, have a glass of wine, eat home-made tiramisu, watch people in the park, talk and write to friends, go party and dance... something along these lines...

I was thinking in really ambitious dimensions in the beginning. I always wanted to do the Appalachian Trail. It would have taken me 4 to 6 months. It would have been necessary to really prepare myself. I basically would have had to shit in the woods (pardon my French) without a shower for half a year, fighting off bears on a regular basis. I don't think so, Tim. I am a Jon Krakauer fan, but I want my sabbatical to be relaxing as well. I will do the Appalachian Trail some time in the future... :)

So the bottom line and the main goal of my sabbatical is to not obsess with anything!

End of story...