After planning this trip to death for the last year or two, I seem to have missed one critical detail before heading to the airport. Turns out that Poland wants my passport to be valid for at least three months after my departure date. So this is when I just chalk that first trip to the airport up as my trial run and start getting all my documents together for a leisurely hangout at the passport offices.

Thinking that being two hours early, before they open, will surely have me be first in line, I arrived to find myself #16. Turns out there are some people more desperate than me waiting to get out of the country. Even so, I was pleasantly surprised how smoothly everything went. With my impending itinerary in hand, I waited less than an hour in the morning, then came back in the afternoon and voila! A shiny new passport in my hand!
​
Heading straight to the airport and crossing my fingers at check-in, I breezed through security and was on my flight to London without a hitch. As one of my friends told me, getting these kinds of problems out of the way first thing just means more good luck on the road ahead. That's a great way to look at it, so I'm just going to go with that.

Wow. I don't know what to say. Because "thank you" just doesn't seem like enough to reflect how I'm feeling or the amount of gratitude I have for each of you. We did it, we really did.

Going into this I honestly didn't think we would get to the full amount. I was preparing myself to cut corners, tighten my belt, and rough it on this trip if it came to that. But thanks to you I can get the equipment I need to create something professional. I can be sure to have enough to eat and a roof over my head for the duration of the journey.

This is huge and I am left in awe of your generosity. So when I say, THANK YOU. I really mean it, from the bottom of my heart.

♥♥♥ / Follow the journey...
If you haven't already, please connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I will post updates on my journey and social media is probably the best place to see them. But you can also watch for new posts here.

This is only the beginning!​

We're almost there! Right now The Landless is 92% funded by an amazing 88 contributors! We are so very close to the finish line with just an hour to go...

The question is, can we make it all the way, and will you be the one to get us there? If every backer got another friend to contribute just $5 we would be done! The phrase "any amount helps" has never been more true than right now.

### / Nr.1 Creative Project on Indiegogo!
The Landless is now in #1 out of all creative projects on Indiegogo and #1 in the podcast and blog category! What an honor. Thank you mysterious Indiegogo staff persons!

This is it my friends, our last day to make it happen! We're an amazing 86% funded with 81 contributors (that's you!). Now we just need that final push to get us over the finish line. We can do it!

♥♥♥ / Spamming time?
I know you've been posting and sending to your friends. It's because of this effort that we've been so successful thus far! Yes, we're all getting tired of seeing posts about the campaign, but we need that final flood of semi-spammy shares to get us that 100%! It's time for all those last-minute stragglers to join the party. Pretty please!

### / Indiegogo feature!
The Landless is now featured in the Indiegogo collection "Arts & Film!" We're also in #6 out of all creative projects on Indiegogo and #1 in the podcast and blog category. This is truly amazing, and kind of hard to believe if I'm being completely honest.

We're 61% of the way there with $3,355 raised and 61 contributors. But! It's getting down to the wire with only four days left. With the campaign wrapping up Saturday night, I need your help leading up to the finish line more than ever...

♥♥♥ / Share with a friend
I bet you've got one friend that you can send this to, and encourage them to contribute. You know, that person who trusts your opinion? Well, if you believe in this project they will believe in it too. Send them a text or email and tell them why they should support this story. Together we can make this happen!

!!! / New Perk
Two original paintings are now available as rewards. These compositions are from my Eastern Block series and are painted in acrylic on canvas paper, measuring 18 by 24 inches. I grew up in a building much like one of these and they still loom large above my memories of that time.

The Bello Collective
​a newsletter & publication about audio storytelling and the podcast industry