I’ve noticed over the past couple of days the puzzled expressions on people’s faces when I tell them I’m spending the next month in Myanmar. Even calling it “Burma” doesn’t confuse people any less and, inevitably, the first question people ask is, “Why there?”

Myanmar was closed to most tourism for more than a generation, but opened up about five years ago. Since then it’s become, for the most adventurous and seasoned travelers, the new hot place to go. But for the majority of people I encounter, they either do not know where it is or have a hard time understanding why, given all the places one can explore, we would chose to spend so much time in Myanmar.

(The political history of Myanmar and the continued military rule makes it a complicated place to be a tourist, a situation I’ll explore in later posts.)

The answer is that it was an easy choice. I’m currently participating in a 9 month course on strategic philanthropy offered by The Philanthropy Workshop West, a course that takes place over four one-week modules. Every cohort (I’m in cohort 12) has one international module, and the TPW West staff determines the destination based on where they feel we can get big bang for the learning buck: where are a lot of NGO’s focusing their work? What places offer particularly complex social, economic, and political contexts? And where might thoughtful philanthropy have impact? This year’s answer: Myanmar. So when I signed up for the TPW West course, I also signed up to spend a week in Yangon in early February.

Sad but true: Josh and I have struggled for years to sit down and plan a “big” trip. In the 10 years we’ve known each other we’ve taken two: our honeymoon to Fiji and a family trip to Berlin for Christmas more than five years ago. And we LIKE to travel! A combination of life (job changes, home moves, family illness) and sheer indecision left us taking trips to Hawaii and Palm Springs, but that was about it. I’m not complaining, though I am admitting we were limited by our lack of imagination.

So when Myanmar appeared on my horizon, we decided to use that as an excuse to finally plan and take a big trip. In order to make all the flying worth it for Josh, we planned a week of beach plop followed by a 10-day group tour with Abercrombie & Kent. The TPW West module is at the end, so I’ll stay for an extra week and Josh will come home.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve left home for a stretch and I’m experiencing a mix of excitement and nerves. The good news is that I’ve traveled enough over the course of my lifetime to know that I can adapt to the inevitable monkey wrenches that are thrown our way. I’ve also eaten enough Burma Super Star (and lately, Mandalay) to be really excited about eating native Burmese food — though also know that after a few weeks I’ll surely be craving chicken parmesan or a burrito. And leaving the cell phone behind will be a great experiment in disconnecting and being more present.