Disclaimer: Traversing 12 or more time zones in a week has certainly made me feel a little funky to say the least, so appologies if some of the following is not in normal English!
After about 7 successful flights, 2 of which were 14 hours, I have not only entered the UAE to see the tallest building in the world, but more importantly I enjoyed a week with one of my best friends Christine in Peru and Chile. I am currently drinking a coffee at the Auckland airport, enroute to meet another friend in Singapore for a 10-day or so long adventure vacation in Southeast Asia. Although New Zealand looks close to Australia on the map.. and on the map Australia looks close to Southeast Asia... I in fact still have one more 10 hour flight to go before I finally reach Singapore.. Where am I?!! How do you fly this much and reach somewhere not in the middle of the Pacific ocean that is still so far away from other countries?
I have thus concluded that although NZ and Australia are awesome and contain great accents they are probably the farthest away countries from anything. Ever. No wonder locals take 6 month vacations....Let's hope JetStar Airways has some good movies!
Now for a delayed weekly update: I decided to crazily come to South America after Ethiopia, instead of making the much shorter trip in the other direction to Southeast Asia, becasue I felt, rightfully so, that I needed to see a friendly face, and that I deserved a break. It was incredible to see Christine again, and we had a fantastic time. She was quite the host, and cooked me all the foods that I had not eaten since being in Addis. (Guacamole!) After spending a day in Valpariso, which I wanted to visit since I had missed it the last time I was in Chile, we took a trip to Cusco and Puno, Peru in order to see Machu Picchu and Lake Titikaka respectively. It was a wonderful change, in scenery, language, and weather, and a wonderful break from working. Although I have seen both of these landmarks already, it was still great to revisit them, this time with new company, and with a new, and supposedly older mentality. I guess I sort of know how my Dad feels now after revisiting places with my Mom and I.
Vacationing has been awesome and a lovely break so far, and I am super pumped for the next week and a half of adventures in a region I have not yet had the pleasure to explore. It has once again made me really grateful for the opportunities I've had this year, and appreciate my life and friends so much. I must also say that I am glad that I decided to work and travel this year, rather than just travel. Part of me, of course, misses not only having roots but also having a sure purpose when I wake up in the morning. I should say "sure purpose" since as a 22 year old I only vaguely know what I'm doing with myself, and only am assuming that these work/travel experiences will actually help me to get a job. As much as I am excited to continue working, this time in Nong Kai, Thailand, I am also a bit nervous. I still have not heard back from the Foundation after emailing a confirmation with them about a week ago that I'm on their calendar. Things still may work out, but even if not, in a way I'm ok with just being there and finding work when I get there, however ridiculously annoying that may be. As the Ayurvedic Medicinal Healer from New Caladonia (who I met at the airport today) told me--traveling, working, and living abroad not only makes you adapt easily to different situations, but through hard, crazy, fun, and tiring experiences, it also reinforces the idea that everything happens for a reason, and that everything in fact does turn out alright in the end.
More to come from the road in Southeast Asia soon!
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