My RTW Trip Update: A Gap Year Review

Merry Christmas, everyone! And, I guess - Happy Boxing Day!

I just spent a wonderful Christmas here in Wales, gobbling up the most delicious holiday feast, courtesy of my besties, Abby, Kit and their family. It would have been perfect if it snowed... but alas, we only got a few hail showers. Perhaps the Universe didn't want to spoil me... having already given me SO MUCH this year. :)

It;s hard to believe 2013 is almost over, and that this is my LAST post of the year! My old life in Los Angeles seems light years away, and yet at the same time, it feels like I've only just begun!

MY GAP YEAR REVIEW

To give everyone (including myself) a good recap of the events that transpired during the year, here is a timeline of my journey... My Big Year.

MARCH 9 - I flew out of Los Angeles to The Philippines, to complete the training of my work replacement at Bosley.

MARCH 29 - My official last day of working at Bosley.

APRIL 19 - I was invited as a guest speaker on Travel Inspiration for TRAVEL MASSIVE Manila

MAY 4 - I flew out of Manila to SYDNEY, joined by my Travel Buddy, ShinyHappyKaren

MAY 8 - We flew from Sydney to MELBOURNE

MAY 14 - ShinyHappyKaren and I parted ways, as she remained in Melbourne and I flew to AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

MAY 17 - Drove to MATA MATA for The Hobbiton Movie Set Tour

MAY 17 - Drove to ROTORUA after Hobbiton, and had my first COUCHSURFING experience with the most wonderful host, Karen, and met a fellow couchsurfer and traveler, Dulce.

MAY 19 - Drove to GISBORNE to see the first sunlight of the world

MAY 20 - Drove down to NAPIER, passing through TE MATA PEAK for the amazing views

MAY 22 - Drove to WELLINGTON and stayed with my old college buddy, Mikey.

MAY 27 - Arrived in TOKYO, JAPAN and stayed with my high school best friend, Fernie

MAY 29 - Went on an overnight trip to KYOTO

JUNE 4 - Arrived in DUBAI, UAE and hung out with my friends from college.

JUNE 10 - Arrived in LONDON

JUNE 26 - GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL

JULY 5 - Weekend trip to Liverpool with one of my dearest friends, Andy

JULY 17 - Went up to SCOTLAND to visit my good friends, Paul and Aly in Edinburgh, and to do an Isle of Skye and Highlands tour

JULY 29 - Went on a day trip to York, on my way back down to London

AUGUST 14 - Left the UK for ITALY. Arrived in Genova for my first Help Exchange Experience at The Shanti House

SEPTEMBER 3 - Day Trip to CINQUE TERRE

SEPTEMBER 8 - Left The Shanti House for La Preghiera in Umbria, Italy, for my second Help Exchange Experience

SEPTEMBER 21 - Left Umbria for ROME

SEPTEMBER 24 - Left Rome for GENOVA to hang out with my friends from The Shanti House

SEPTEMBER 27 - Road Trip to MILAN to see one of our friends, Alessando, play music.

OCTOBER 1 - Left Italy for CORFU, GREECE for my third Help Exchange Experience, working at The Pink Palace Hostel

OCTOBER 11 - Left Corfu for ATHENS

OCTOBER 15 - Left Athens for NAXOS for my fourth Help Exchange Experience, working at Hotel Kouros in Apollonas Village

OCTOBER 20 - Left Naxos for SANTORINI

OCTOBER 23 - Took the ferry from Santorini to MYKONOS

OCTOBER 28 - Left Greece for TEL AVIV, ISRAEL for my fifth Help Exchange Experience, working at The Overstay Hostel

NOVEMBER 4 - Day Trip to JERUSALEM

NOVEMBER 16 - Day Trip to MASADA and THE DEAD SEA

NOVEMBER 18 - Crossed the border to JORDAN to visit PETRA

NOVEMBER 21 - Flew out of Israel, and into the UK once again

NOVEMBER 24 - Day Trip to BRIGHTON, ENGLAND

NOVEMBER 26 - Went on a quick 2 day trip to EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

NOVEMBER 30 - Took the bus to CARDIFF, WALES

DECEMBER 5 - Went on a Day Trip to BATH, ENGLAND

DECEMBER 21 - Drove from CARDIFF to WEST WALES for the Christmas holidays, and this is where I still am at the moment.

PHEW!

 Karijgfaeiordsufjan$%lweifuan&lwf8un)(&0384r8!!!!! Honestly, I've been so busy moving forward, that I never really had the opportunity to look back on everything that I've done and all the places I've seen till now. And that's the honest truth. For realz. It's pretty crazy, and a little overwhelming. If you think about it, I've only really visited 10 countries total. It doesn't sound like much, but the experiences I've gained, and the new friends I've made, makes all the difference in the world. 

One of the things that I learned about this trip is that - TRAVELING SLOW really makes the experience worthwhile. I've visited 10 countries in 21 days when I did the Contiki Trip 5 years ago... and even if I have a lot of photos of tourist destinations to show for, I don't really have much to say about the culture of those countries I visited... nor the people. I realized that I prefer spending those 21 days staying put in 1 country, rather than 10, because as it turns out, one of my favorite things about travel is meeting locals, getting to know them, and learning about the way they live.

I have learned SO MUCH about Italy, Greece and Israel (the three countries where I spent more time on)... I've taken away so many new life skills from my experiences in those places, and met SO MANY people whom I consider kindred spirits that have enriched my soul and turned me into a better person. 

WHATS NEXT?

You know what the most amazing thing about this whole thing is? It's that I'm actually not done yet. Yes, 2013 is about to end, but my Gap Year still continues! After my stint in the UK, the plan is to head over to Spain for a couple weeks, maybe see Madrid, Portugal, and visit my friend in Valencia... THEN off to SOUTH AMERICA for the win! Carnival in Rio, Brazil is scheduled for Feb 28 to March 4. Plans aren't set in stone yet, but I fully intend to attend that festival. PERU is also in the radar for Machu Picchu... plus I've been accepted as a volunteer for The Light and Leadership Initiative over there. I'd like to spend about a month helping them out, teaching kids English, Music and Art. I hear great things about Argentina, Bolivia and Uruguay as well, so... South America is going to be BIG for Earth2Eartha. HUGE. And you know what? Because of the people I've met from over there, I have a *really* good feeling about that continent. A *really* good feeling. I can't explain it... but I'm excited! 

WHY TRAVEL?

I'm scrolling through the timeline I made above, and I scratch my head in awe. Can I really, truly be this lucky? This year has been amazing. One of, if not THE best year of my life! It's not glamorous though, I tell ya. The life of a poor backpacker is not one for the faint heart. I've worked my ass off volunteering in those places for free board and lodging, been bitten by bed bugs staying at a cheap hostel (and I am scarred for life), hurt my back in more ways than one, carrying my backpack running from one plane or train terminal to the next, and I've cleaned wayy too many toilets than I have in my lifetime, alright? It ain't pretty.
But what I've gained from all of this is just soooo much more than what I thought it was going to be. This year has taught me more about myself than anything... I've discovered strength, kindness and tolerance I didn't know I had. I learned that - I'm comfortable being alone, but that being by myself in a beautiful yet deserted Greek Island is not my idea of a good time. And most importantly, I learned that communication is not limited to words or language alone... Sometimes, good intentions and a smile can go further than a paragraph.
I've made so many great new friends on this journey, and I have seen the world through different eyes. None of this would have happened, had I not taken a leap of faith to follow my heart. It sounds corny, but sometimes, you *need* corny in your life. I'm so insanely ape-shit happy right now, I have nothing but corny love to give to all of you.

Every now and again, I still get asked by people why I'm doing this. Why I travel. Why did I turn back on a life of glamour and security? Why trade a life of luxury for a life of austerity on the road? Why did I let go of everything I own, and live off on just a backpack full of things? Why travel at all?

My answer has not and will not change. It is permanently etched on my wrist.

Why? 

Why not? :)

Pourquoi pas? :)

** Watch out for next week's Top 13 of 2013 post.
In the meantime... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The 30 by 30 Epilogue

Almost exactly a year ago, I held a bow and arrow for the first time, and found myself competing with a 12 year old blonde kid with elvish genes whom I then referred to as, “Legolas”. Learning archery was the first of the 30 things I promised myself I would attempt, as part of this project. A project I had started because I wanted to find my niche! My bliss! I was tired of being a jill of all trades, and a master of none. It was a quest… to find out finally, what it is I’m really passionate about!

And now, one year – and 30 things later, I still don’t have a clue! Haha!

But it’s not a bad thing!!!

Because honestly, putting myself through all of the activities I participated in – truly TRULY made my year a LOT more interesting AND more fun than if I had just sat myself down and let life pass me by. 

I mean it’s one thing being a joiner like I already am… But then having a goal in mind – like I did, really did something to my psyche. It’s like having a propeller. Whenever something came up… like an opportunity to do something different for example, my brain was sort of wired to automatically say “YES!” almost like I had no choice. Because the choice to say “yes” was predetermined by the contract I made with myself to do this project and see it through. Does that make sense?

And the law of attraction or the power of thought or however you want to call it --- was definitely working to my benefit too. One thing kept leading me to another. One activity led me to meet someone who did this thing, and going to that thing led me to see a poster about this other thing, and going to that other thing inspired me to try this other new thing… etc. You get the picture, right?

And one of the greatest most amazing gifts the universe has given me was leading me to meet my favorite writer, who was in fact my inspiration for this endeavor. Like I mentioned in my previous entries, this whole project was my homage to his “Yes experiment”, and meeting him right at the very end was just too movie-like perfect.

In fact, someone should seriously turn this into a movie… and I nominate Emma Stone to play me!!!

I’m trying not to be cheesy and feel-goody about this ‘epilogue’… but it’s haaard because I really did have such an amazing time doing this! I mean I don’t think I would have sought out to learn Archery, or had the guts to play Dodgeball, or subject my body’s flexibility to Anti-Gravity Yoga, or give up bacon for Veganism if I didn’t feel like I had to. But I’m glad I did!

I did have my challenges. At pne point in the middle, I had lost my momentum. I got exhausted! I felt like I was doing too much, my body was literally failing me. I had temptations of giving up halfway... I thought about quitting. I was running out of things to try, things to do... and I was so tired.
But everyone goes through low points, and I slapped myself out of it eventually. I just taught myself to slow down and pace myself. I actually ended up doing more than 30! Some of the activites just didn't make the cut. Too boring to write about. Nothing really eventful happend when I took voice lessons or hip-hop classes. I already bored you guys with the horseback riding story, I didn't want to do it again.

I’m happy to report though, that I’m still doing Muay Thai, 4 times a week, thank you ver much! I really like it, and its one of the ones that stuck with me. I still play and rock the ukulele, trying to get better at it everyday. I still volunteer on a regular basis, and recently got an offer to be a real face painter (Woohoo! Didn’t see that coming!). I’m doing the triathlon again this year, focusing on my navigational skills in the ocean this time. And traveling? Well, plans for a Greek Island Hop is underway!

                           

And even if I didn’t find my niche like I had intended… beh… So what? It’s okay. I still have the rest of my life to figure out what it is… and the point is, I don’t think I’ll ever stop trying anyway. :) Just because the 30by30 Project is over, it doesn’t mean it stops there.
As a matter of fact, after I’ve turned thirty, I’ve driven a boat, coordinated a wedding, volunteered as a paparazzi, AND auditioned for a musical (Les Miserables) at a local community theater (I got in!!).

So you see?? Maybe trying EVERYTHING is my niche! Maybe I’m just a master at being a jill of all trades! Maybe life IS my bliss!
Maybe I had it all wrong. Maybe we aren’t supposed to have just ONE passion or purpose in life.  

                                              
 
Who knows? I’m no expert, but I do know that right now, at this very moment, is the youngest I’ll ever be… and I don’t plan on wasting my youth by moping about, complaining about the things that could have been, kicking and screaming about my limitations… But instead, I choose to celebrate the things I can do, and be grateful for them. I choose to be proactive, and seek out adventure that makes me feel INFINITE! I choose to be mobile, and continue to discover different places, music, food, and cultures of the world! When I am faced with a situation where I have to ask myself, “Why” – I choose instead to ask, “Why not?” … And to opportunities, suggestions, favors, or invitations where I would normally say “no” – I choose to say, “YES.”

And I hope you do too!

Lastly, I’d like to leave you with a nice blessing, borrowed from our friend, Neil Gaiman…

“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.” ♥

Thanks for reading, guys. It’s been a pleasure.

xoxo,
Eartha