Monday, January 24, 2011

Interesting....

When I would talk to people about my trip I’d often describe the upcoming experience as ‘interesting’ and the person I was talking to would usually react in kind of a negative way, perhaps thinking I wasn’t excited about it, or thinking that it wasn’t a good thing. Unfortunately, I think the word ‘interesting’ often falls into the category of ‘odd’ and  ‘weird’, all of which seem to generally be spoken in a negative context, to which I disagree.  I see them as good things, a break from the norm, which I find to be quite refreshing in today’s society. When I used the term ‘interesting’ as the descriptor, I feel it to be the most accurate way to describe my upcoming experience, because not all of it will be good, and not all of it will be bad, but all of it will surely be ‘interesting’.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Welcome

Travel has been an ache of mine that's been around for many, many years and that only seems to be getting stronger. And I don't mean just a quick trip to Cancun, I mean a full on immersion into the travel community. I'm talkin' long term backpacking! Diving into a new experience, learning how to handle whatever comes my way and, as corny as it sounds, finding myself. Meeting loads of new people, experiencing crazy new things I haven't even imagined yet, and lets not forget spending all that time in the glorious vitamin D rich sunshine while I would otherwise be struggling through another rough Alberta winter. I'm not going to post secondary, I don't have a career and I don't have a serious boyfriend, I have no commitments right now so why wouldn't I take this golden opportunity to see the world?
So what's the plan? Well on January 30 2011 I will fly into LAX, spend a few lovely hours at the airport there, then head over to Sydney, Australia with a quick little 3 hour layover in Fiji. After I get into Sydney... well actually, I have no plans. I'll just be booking my first few nights of accommodation and that's basically all that's going to be prearranged from home. I don't even know which direction I will head when I leave Sydney!
People keep asking me how long I'm going for, and the answer? Undetermined. I have a working holiday visa so hopefully my bank account won't determine the length of my stay. It all basically depends on how much I enjoy the lifestyle, I suppose. While sitting comfortably at home it's easy for me to be enamoured with the idea of having nothing but the few possessions on my back and the road at my feet, I'm sure it's another thing to actually live it.

If you're interested in seeing how my journey unfolds, I'll be posting photos, thoughts, news and stories during my time abroad. I would love to hear your comments, ideas or even stories of your own!