It is definitely bittersweet to be writing this. How
can 6 months possibly have gone by so quickly? I remember sitting in our newly
purchased campervan [Sherman] in New Zealand crying my eyes out because I
missed home- 2 weeks felt like forever to be away. I knew I would get stronger
and it wasn’t just about being away or taking the longest vacation EVER [I
think of it as a quarter life break], it was about learning new cultures,
growing, and finding more about myself than I knew when I left. I have powered
through the tears and found strength in knowing the journey was more than I
even could comprehend at that time.
We have slept in campervans, cars, overnight trains, and airports; we have found ourselves staying in hostels, homestays, tents, hotels, and new friend’s homes; we have indulged in street food, picked fresh fruit that we have never heard of and tried it [in the jungle of Thailand, might I add!], grocery shopped and ate out of a cooler for weeks, and cooked endless amounts of meals on the gas stove that was bolted inside of our campervan.
What an incredible journey we have been on and through the ups and downs, we are landing back in the United States changed. Changed completely. It has been a frequent topic of conversation Adam and I have lately, “How do you think we have changed since we left?” It seems like a simple question but it’s truly hard to comprehend when you sit down and think about it.
I don’t feel like I’ve changed but more so grown in so many ways I didn’t know possible. I guess they can work hand in hand but it’s inevitable that once you start learning new things, the way you look at others will change with the new knowledge. Before leaving the US- I can admit now that I was close minded. Before this trip, have I ever been out of the country? Of course, we live so close to Canada. Oh, and I took that family vacation to Mexico way back when. Yes, maybe we can sometimes say we have been out of the country- but did you learn about where you went or was your mind in strict vacation/beach/cocktail mode? Mine was in strict vacation mode when I went and I was too young to appreciate it anyways.
We knew leaving on this trip we wanted all that traveling to foreign countries has to offer and then some. Giving ourselves about a month in each location we were able to settle in and learn about the country.
We successfully bought and sold a vehicle, made amazing life-long friends, stayed with locals, hiked around a volcano, hiked in the jungle, rode elephants, kayaked, scuba dove, covered ourselves in neon paint to attend a full moon party on the beach, got tattoos, white water rafted, and completed a Tough Mudder. Just typing this- I can’t believe that’s all true. How fortunate we are to see so many parts of the world and meet so many incredible people.
There are people that you meet who leave a lasting impression. We find ourselves lucky to come across these people in life and specifically in our 6 month journey. If you remember a previous post from our time in Australia and the amazing couple that invited us into their home, Harvey & Jane, to this day we still talk about how wonderful they are. The conversations you have and memories you make shape the way you grow and can be linked to how you may “change” along the way. We have handed our card out to many people we converse with along the way and we love the amount of emails we receive back. It’s not always easy to exchange information on the go but when you have it all written down on a card it’s much easier to hand over.
We met some amazing people through AirBnb as well- John Money in New Zealand for starters! John took us to the local bar and even made us a delicious pasta dinner and cake the night before we were heading out. We enjoyed a few beers and meals while talking about our families and how we got to where we were today. John also makes the most amazing cakes that Adam and I LOVE!! Yum. I don’t think John realized how nice it was to have a home cooked meal and how much we appreciated everything he did for us. Would we have met someone like John if we stayed in a hotel over an AirBnb location? My guess is no…and we would have missed out big time.
As I reflect on all of the great times we have had- you know some struggle came with it! Can you imagine being with your significant other for 6 months straight, every minute of every day? Can you imagine being with ANYONE for that length of time? You get real close, real quick and at times you want to get REAL FAR real quick. Haha. The best part is- we are closer than ever and on top of experiencing all the things we have, we are both absolutely confident we have found our soul mate- and how lucky is THAT!
I don’t think we can count the amount of times I said- I JUST WANT TO DO MY HAIR! I WANT TO BE PRETTY AGAIN. I WANT TO FEEL GIRLY. When you are backpacking all over- you have a small bag of clothes and that’s what you wear. EVERY. DAY. Maybe you trade some things out and buy others, but rarely because if you can’t carry it in your pack- you can’t have it. I made it to Australia until I made a very girly purchase- I bought a BRA. OMG you mean you can wear a sports bra EVERY DAY and you don’t want to? Girls- go 2 months in a sports bra and tell me you still like it. Life got much perkier after that purchase J. Yes we may be backpacking, but I realized I can’t give everything up. I still haven’t worn an ounce of make-up and absolutely love it. I am excited, however, to style my hair. I don’t know what I’m going to do with it since it’s grown so much and it really has no style- but it will be nice to not rock a braid or messy bun.
I don’t even know where to begin with all of the ANIMALS we have seen! Penguins, seals, hedgehogs, kangaroos, wombats, koalas, monkeys, elephants, crocodiles, turtles, sharks, TONS of fish and so much more. Almost all of these we have seen in the wild and in their natural habitat. We hugged elephants, took selfies with turtles and spent an entire day hanging around kangaroos. These are the types of things I thought only existed in movies and on TV…until now.
The thought of a zoo becomes sad in a sense when you see these animals in their own world- they all should be free. We saw the most beautiful birds in Australia and while in Thailand, those same birds were in cages at a pet shop. It’s so sad and hard to not get caught up in emotions when you see animals like this. And the stray dogs and cats- OMG. I could tear up just thinking about all of the stray sick looking dogs we have seen during this trip. I want to just scoop all of these puppies up and save them. BUT when it comes to the treatment of animals around the world, we have to remember that other countries don’t have rules and regulations that the USA does and we can’t expect people to act the way we think they should as they don’t know better. They don’t know to STOP letting these dogs breed… if you can’t take care of one with food, love, and attention- you definitely can’t take care of one plus all of its babies. They don’t have vets sprinkled all over like we do in the US. On Gili Trawangan Island in Indonesia, only cats are allowed, no dogs. And one of our friends told us a vet comes to the island once a month for free to service the cats. A step in the right direction to say the least.
During this journey we have seen so much and lately Adam continues to say to me- “You would have NEVER done that 6 months ago!” Looking back, almost every time he has been right. You learn to appreciate things so much more when you take a step back and look at the big picture. You stop stressing about the little things and you learn to take more chances. Life is precious, everyone’s dream may not be the same but at least we’re all dreaming!
I took a chance and pulled a 180 on my life. I’m not sure how I gathered the courage to do this but I wasn’t happy with where I was and I knew I had to make a change. It was a BIT DRASTIC- but this trip has completely changed my life. I am so thankful to all of the people we have met, landmarks we have seen, things we have learned, and millions of memories I have made with the love of my life and my best friend. And an even bigger THANK YOU to everyone who has followed along with us and enjoyed a view into a few countries through our eyes. The support from our friends and family means the world to us. Just because we are coming home doesn’t mean the blogging will stop. We plan to take a little bit of time [before settling down] to travel around the United States and explore as much as we have in other countries back in our homeland. Hopefully then we will find a place we love and want to make “home”.
Life isn’t always about your job, your house, your car, and what you are doing Saturday night. Trust me, I know firsthand- I left my job, I sold my house AND my car, and I turned every day into Saturday. I saw the world and I may have taken 6 months off and away from everything but I found more happiness in these 6 months than I have in a very long time. I learned the importance of small things, learned that having a lot of material things can have the power to hold you back, and that if for once you find the courage and strength to do what truly makes you happy- you will finally feel free.
