Well it's official, we're on the road! Wow, sometimes it's hard to believe we actually picked up and left, then again, sometimes it doesn't surprise me. After ten years of itching to get out and explore, see things up close, and have an adventure, it finally just took one last shove to push me over that edge that held me back. I've always tended to be someone who has that "list" of things they want to do, see, and experience, a bucket list of sorts, that I contemplate about for years and then suddenly one day I just tell myself 'stop saying you're going to go do this someday, go do it!' for example, I had always been interested in scuba diving and would continuously say I wanted to get certified and, on every year I would say this would be the year. Another year would pass without obtaining the certification, then another, and another, and so on. Now mind you scuba diving is rather expensive, costing roughly $900 for class and start up gear, but finally one year I said I don't care how much it costs, I'm going to get it done and figure out paying off the credit card statement later, this was something I really wanted to do and there wasn't going to another summer passing me by without doing it anymore! So that's exactly what I did; that July I signed up, paid for the class, stayed the weekend with my friend Jeanette who lived close by to Monterey (where the final ocean dives took place,) and got certified! And of course, it was AMAZING! Since then, I've gone diving in a couple other countries where the coral reefs have been spectacular! Scuba certification is just one example of me putting things I want to experience o. The back burner and then suddenly going at it full force. This life changing trip is the same thing.
Ever since I was even in high school I've wanted to get out and see the world! My parents were never big travelers so I'm not exactly sure where I got the traveling, exploring, adventurous bug, but I've certainly been bitten!when I met my friend Chantelle who was born and raised in New Zealand until she was 16 years old, I immediately became interested in traveling to her home land. To this day it's still on my list of places to explore, yet I know one day I'll just pick up and go there! Who knows, maybe sooner than later.
In college, I always wanted to do a semester abroad with Austrailia being the country at the top of my prospects, yet I always felt some sort of unspoken obligation to what I had going on at home, which was Fresno at the time. I had my cats which would have to be cared for by someone, all the things that belonged to me, where would it all go? I guess at the time that's all it took to stop me from going forward with what I truly wanted to do. Forget the fact that I would get to meet some awesome people, do some amazing things, obtain knowledge I can't even fathom right now, and all the other potentially worth while experiences, I just didn't get out there and do it. I regret it. Even when it came down to graduating college and I stated that I wanted to go backpacking for a year, still no real steps were taken to bring myself closer to that kind of reality. Until now.
Traveling for me is something relatively new. When a former coworker and friend to this day made the suggestion of going to Egypt two years ago, I suddenly found myself totally on board. Egypt was always a place that fascinated me and I have a huge liking of their ancient culture. So I spoke up about wanting to go and that was it, I was in! Two weeks, in a country half way around the world and I was sold on international travel. I made a goal for myself to visit at least one foreign country a year and now that Egypt and Mexico (from a family trip to Cabo a few years prior) we're under my belt, I had many more to conquer! But it wasnt enough, I wanted more. On my bucket list one of my biggest goals it's to visit at least 25 different countries in my lifetime, but at a rate of one or so per year, that was going at too slow of a pace for me. Granted there are easy, quick ways to knock out a few countries in a short amount of time, but I'm the kind of person who wants to immerse myself in the culture, see the sights, talk to the locals, shop at the markets for local cuisines, take a million photographs, and what ever else comes into play. So making a short trip out of it, just wouldn't satisfy me. I went on a cruise with two of my sorority sisters from college last fall to the Western Carribean where we made stops in Cozumel, Mexico, Belize City, Belize, Roatan, Honduras, and Georgetown, Grand Cayman, but with only stopping for seven hours or less at each port, I almost don't feel comfortable checking any new countries off the map of places to see. Next time around, I'll have to spend much more time just taking in the sights.
So now that I've given a little background and insight into the inner workings of Samantha, I guess I can move on to the trip at hand. Yup, I quit my job as a county Agricultursl Biologist, yes the one that had the great benefits, but also an awful commute and a toxic work environment, I sold what I could, donated or gave away much of the rest, boxed up some items I couldn't part with, took my corgi, Daphne, to reside with my parents, the two cats are staying with my boyfriend, Joe, and his two kids, and Mindy and I are hitting the open road to see the USA and Canada up close and personal. Then, if that wasn't wasn't crazy enough, after being on the road for 21 weeks, I bought a one way ticket to Europe. First stop, Greece for my cousin, Heather, and her fiancé Vasily's wedding which will take place on the island of Kefalonia July 1st. From there, I will travel to wherever the wind blows me. The list of places to see in Europe is arduous and long. Copenhagen, Bergen, Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Dublin, Prague, Zurich, just to name a few. I'm not sure how long I will be staying, but it will at least a couple of months backpacking around and riding the Eurorail. Nothing short of an adventure.
Packing up my possessions, storing a few others, saying goodbye to my family, boyfriend and his kids, friends and my pets has been really hard and emotional, yet I feel like if I don't get out and explore the world and follow what my heart desires, then I'll grow older and older filled with regret of never getting myself out there. There's no time like the present; I'm not married, I don't have children of my own, I saved a bit of money which originally had been intended as a down payment on a house, and I got rid of my car. Ok, well more like I accidentally got rid of my car by totaling it on the freeway driving home one day about six weeks before we were to leave for our road trip, so I collected the insurance mo ey and put it towards an adventure! I budgeted the best I could for the months ahead and as long as the trip isn't engulfed in unexpected expenses, I should be able to fund my travels for nine months or so. Plus, I could always pick up small jobs along the way. I recently went to bartending school, another feat that had been on my to do list for awhile, and I figure it's an almost universal trade; people all over the world like to drink, and I have boobs, so that can work well for getting tips. :)
So here we go, the adventure of a lifetime!
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