A vast expanse of deserted nothingness out the airplane window, clear blue and non-hazy skies, an inescapable blanket of heat, the pace of life slowing right down, friendly encounters and random people starting conversations with me, another marriage proposal from an immigration officer, going through the returning residents line at the airport, and the power going out upon arrival in Shakawe … welcome home to Botswana!
Thanks to a long Christmas holidays in Botswana, I have completed my month-long whirlwind world tour!
30 days, 9 countries (10 if airports count), 6227 photos and videos taken, innumerous passport stamps, visas, border crossings, airports and plane rides, countless sites seen, cultures experienced, things learned, people watched, sleep lost, languages and words learned (or attempted) and new foods tried (a fact which I am extremely proud of considering my usual pickiness), and drinking more coffee and tea than ever before in my life (I am still indifferent about liking either).
Thanks to a long Christmas holidays in Botswana, I have completed my month-long whirlwind world tour!
30 days, 9 countries (10 if airports count), 6227 photos and videos taken, innumerous passport stamps, visas, border crossings, airports and plane rides, countless sites seen, cultures experienced, things learned, people watched, sleep lost, languages and words learned (or attempted) and new foods tried (a fact which I am extremely proud of considering my usual pickiness), and drinking more coffee and tea than ever before in my life (I am still indifferent about liking either).
| Here is as brief a synopsis of my travels as I can possibly make. Feel free to ask me about any of it in more detail, because I have lots of details to give! It started with my Mom, Dad and brother flying out to Africa. Along with my fellow INDEVOUR and Botswana buddy Bailey, we spent 2 weeks driving around Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia, seeing Tsodilo Hills, Chobe National Park, the Makgadikgadi Salt Pan, and Victoria Falls, and from there we flew to Cape Town, South Africa to spend Christmas. My family and Bailey both flew back to Canada and I headed on to Asia for 2 more weeks. I went to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and Siem Reap, Cambodia with another INDEVOUR, Danielle, then I visited Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with two other INDEVOURS, Darrelle and Michelle. I then flew back to Vietnam to spend time in Hanoi and its surroundings, seeing some more lovely INDEVOURS before reuniting with Bailey in Johannesburg en route to Botswana. |
My experience was fantastic beyond words, as I was able to see family and friends, experience magnificent sights, and learn a lot about the world and myself.
The world is incredible and full of surprises - not just for its unique sights and sounds and people and the simultaneous differences and similarities that exist everywhere, but meeting up with friends and family half way around the world and traveling from one place to the next in so little time…it's all pretty surreal.
Travel is addictive - the more you see and do, the less satisfying it becomes, so you want to see and do more to top the last adventure.
I have struggled to come to any conclusions on my travels; I had an absolutely amazing time, though I was given a lot to think about and every day I seemed to have a different sentiment or outlook. At times I was lost in the moment thoroughly enjoying myself, other times I was blown away by what I was doing or where I was and how I was so lucky to have the opportunity to be there, other times I was dreading returning to Shakawe, and other times I was feeling very lost and alone and without a purpose or a destination or a home.
For a long while I have questioned my purpose (don't get me wrong, I still don't have it all figured out) and wondered where I belong or what I am doing here. Traveling is great and all, but at some point it has to come to an end. The thought of returning to life in Shakawe was not particularly exciting after four indescribable weeks seeing the world, for obvious reasons but also for the uncertainty of what lay ahead.
But by the end of my travels and in approaching my final destination, I became happier as things became more familiar, like returning to welcome sights of home. While Shakawe is definitely not the most exciting place I could be right now, I have found I have quickly gotten used to life here again and it's like I never left. This is my temporary home and the environment that is most familiar to me at this point in time. I found I missed the little things that make life in Shakawe a story worth telling or laughing about; the things I take in stride as part of the experience -- the sand in my birkenstocks, the spiders everywhere, itchy mosquito bites, the way people react to us when we speak Setswana, funny propositions and conversations with people in town, and my co-worker who loves to talk and is always full of energy.
So, my temporary resolve is that this is where I need to be right now, whether it is because I have to be or to finish something I started or to prove something to myself or some other unknown reason. Traveling is fun but it is always nice to come "home", and I am grateful that I was able to leave for a month in order to come to this realization and give me a new-found appreciation and fresh perspective on placement.
The world is incredible and full of surprises - not just for its unique sights and sounds and people and the simultaneous differences and similarities that exist everywhere, but meeting up with friends and family half way around the world and traveling from one place to the next in so little time…it's all pretty surreal.
Travel is addictive - the more you see and do, the less satisfying it becomes, so you want to see and do more to top the last adventure.
I have struggled to come to any conclusions on my travels; I had an absolutely amazing time, though I was given a lot to think about and every day I seemed to have a different sentiment or outlook. At times I was lost in the moment thoroughly enjoying myself, other times I was blown away by what I was doing or where I was and how I was so lucky to have the opportunity to be there, other times I was dreading returning to Shakawe, and other times I was feeling very lost and alone and without a purpose or a destination or a home.
For a long while I have questioned my purpose (don't get me wrong, I still don't have it all figured out) and wondered where I belong or what I am doing here. Traveling is great and all, but at some point it has to come to an end. The thought of returning to life in Shakawe was not particularly exciting after four indescribable weeks seeing the world, for obvious reasons but also for the uncertainty of what lay ahead.
But by the end of my travels and in approaching my final destination, I became happier as things became more familiar, like returning to welcome sights of home. While Shakawe is definitely not the most exciting place I could be right now, I have found I have quickly gotten used to life here again and it's like I never left. This is my temporary home and the environment that is most familiar to me at this point in time. I found I missed the little things that make life in Shakawe a story worth telling or laughing about; the things I take in stride as part of the experience -- the sand in my birkenstocks, the spiders everywhere, itchy mosquito bites, the way people react to us when we speak Setswana, funny propositions and conversations with people in town, and my co-worker who loves to talk and is always full of energy.
So, my temporary resolve is that this is where I need to be right now, whether it is because I have to be or to finish something I started or to prove something to myself or some other unknown reason. Traveling is fun but it is always nice to come "home", and I am grateful that I was able to leave for a month in order to come to this realization and give me a new-found appreciation and fresh perspective on placement.