The K-State Anthropology student who lived at Meadowlark Hills last semester, Jordan Thomas, has embarked on a new journey. Jordan and his companions set out from Atchison, Kanas to South America on bicycle earlier this summer. The following are portions of his online blog:

by Jordan Thomas
June 19, 2014 

Seven days ago I woke up 300 miles from where I now sit to my alarm buzzing in my ear. I rolled over and groaned, slapping the alarm for a few extra minutes of sleep. After a few moments, however, I opened my eyes with a jolt. Today I was leaving for South America on my bicycle. This is a journey that I have been dreaming of for years, planning for months, and which tipped into a stark reality as I pedaled from my father's driveway with my two companions. My family's poorly concealed tears created a lump in my throat that balanced the excitement welling inside of me as I struggled to grasp the adventures that lay ahead. This excitement, a cool breeze, and a blue sky carried me 60 miles through the gentle green hills of eastern Kansas until I pedaled into Lawrence. In Lawrence, I strummed my guitar while we relaxed in a park and brainstormed where we would sleep that night. Before long a man approached me. He smiled as he offered me a cigarette, revealing a mouth half full of yellowed teeth. His face was kind, but his hard eyes spoke of many cold nights sleeping on benches with an empty stomach. We began conversing, and before long this man was offering advice on safe places where we could pitch our tents to avoid both the police and the vagrants. As the man walked away into the approaching evening, I was struck by the reality of my undertaking. It seemed incredible. By the simple act of rolling from my driveway on a bicycle packed with my belongings, I had been instantly transformed from a successful university student into a character capable of eliciting sympathy from the homeless. The perspectives that I will be able to obtain on this adventure seem as limitless as the adventure itself. Luckily, we did not need to rely on the homeless man's advice. With the help of a local friend, we were able to find a commune of mostly college students who graciously allowed us to lay our sleeping bags on their patio for the night. We awoke in the middle of the night choking on smoke as the house across the alley burned down, but other than that the night passed uneventfully. The next three days challenged us with 20 to 30 MPH headwinds which quickly conditioned the stamina of both our muscles and our will. Biking into such a headwind takes almost twice the energy to cover half the distance, and we found ourselves struggling solidly for seven hours to complete a mere 50 or 60 miles.

Look for more excerpts from Jordan’s blog in future Messengers. If you’d like to visit his webpage go to jordancthomas123.blogspot.com.