One of my best friends text me after my last post and lamented I was depressing. People generally do not want to hear why you're nervous to travel the world, especially if it is not highly relatable things like "I am probably going to die". He asked me what I was most excited about, and the pause to consider was a lot longer than it was when thinking about my fears. In all of the waiting, I have lost a lot of my wanderlust, and with only two and a half weeks to go before I depart I needed to think about what I am most excited about.
I Will Get to Meet New People.
I love meeting new people, especially in new cities. I love hearing people's backstories and I immediately think this new random person wants to be my best friend, and there's probably some party down that dark deserted back-alley and most certainly not murder. I once landed in a city twelve hours before my best friend and checked into our hostel. By the time she arrived, I was six-too-many cocktails deep and unable to give her clear directions from the train because I was having way too much fun with my new best friends. She remarked later on that I probably had more fun making friends with those strangers in a few short hours than I did exploring with her the entire weekend. I have those sort of memories everywhere I have traveled, and thus far nobody has done anything untoward.
I Will Be Immersed in New Languages and Cultures
While my insistence that hola and taco will get me everywhere in Spanish-speaking Latin America, I nonetheless would love to pick up a bit more of some of the languages as I travel. I am looking forward to learning new ways and cultural ideals that may clash with my own. I would love to have my eyes opened to the world around me, although I know it will be frustrating, challenging, and downright confusing at times (shower/squat toilets, I am looking at you!).
I Will Finally Have Time to Try New Things
I am easily bored but forever curious. I have wanted to take cooking classes and dance lessons forever, but I always seem to lack the time to do any of these; probably because I was so hard at work saving up for this trip. But now I have no excuses. This is probably going to be my best endeavor of the entire trip. I have already signed up for coffee tours, latte art classes, volcano boarding, and a whole list of worthwhile pursuits. As I've learned, I may have some very eye-opening, eyebrow-raising experiences in the process: I recently inquired about a Guatemalan stew cooking course, only to find out they require each student to personally slaughter their own chicken for the preparation of the meal. Eek.
I Will Finally Catch Up on My Sleep
I work a lot and socialize even more. I barely seem to sleep and am chronically exhausted. This lowers my immune system and I seem to be near-death every month or two. I am looking forward to taking care of myself; being mindful of what I eat and not shoving pizza in my face at 1am because I have forgotten to eat for twelve hours. I will get more exercise and get out more, or so I tell myself, but that has been on my lips for years without much success.
So there you have it, I am at least a tiny bit excited to go on this big supposedly life-changing trip.
I can't wait to share with you all of my hammock-dozing pictures in the near future.
