After traveling around the world for 2 ½ years, I realized there is just no way to encapsulate the trip into a ten minute conversation with friends. How do you do that?
Should I talk about the Great Pyramids of Giza or celebrating Christmases in London and Sydney and Milan or riding on a camel or hiking up a volcano? What about all the places I slept, all the different modes of transport I took, or all the new friends I made? How can I relay all this in a soundbite? Should I edit a movie montage? All I can come up with is ‘it was amazing’ or sometimes I find it’s better to not even try at all.
But what did I learn? I had all that supposed ‘free’ time to just think, philosophize, and simply ponder life, right? Well, the first thing I learned is that we seem to eventually adjust ourselves into whatever situation we are in. Kind of like when you have a project to do – it always seems to take as long as you are given. If you have two weeks or two days to complete it, it seems human nature that you stretch it out into whatever time frame given.
So on the trip, I thought I would have all this time to think, but often times I just found myself in the moment – enjoying a sunset or tasty meal or the company of good friends. What I learned was just that – how to live. How not to think about the past or worry about the future, but to simply… be. So rather than pulling myself out of lovely moments, I enjoyed them, I marinated in them, I lived them. I let myself just be – and enjoy every part of my journey that still continues today.
So, how was my trip? Well, it was amazing and it was and is my life… forever changed.
A Journey – Yes, this a Louis Vutton commercial – a name brand barely in my vocabulary let alone my closet, but it’s very well done and their message is true. And not at all about fancy bling and $1000 purses. Take a look and enjoy your journey.
Walk the Walk
Oooh, a question I struggle with constantly. I would rank this one right up there with "How are you?" in those asking expecting a short and sweet answer as opposed to an in-depth response. Too much information and you're seen as rambling or bragging, too little and you seem to be blowing off their interest. Thank god for blogging, where we can throw out as much as we want for those of varying interest! 🙂
Let's start with the fact that you were a very complex chick before this adventure ever started. You had planned your approach to the trip for a long time without worrying so much about what was going to unfold. Your mindset was right going into it. When someone asks how was it? You simply do what you do. You offer the kaleidescope of experiences of what you did. I might be tempted to ask the person asking what part of the world do they consider most interesting and where they would most like to go. Chances are you were there or near there. The great part of your story is that it can start anywhere and go as far as your audience wishes. You're interactive in a way few people could ever be in a lifetime. You're like a sailor who never went to war.