It’s fitting that this is the first thing on my bucket list, not just because it is an ‘A’, but also because it is indeed top on my list of things I want to do before I die.
I’ve always wanted to take an around the world trip. On my several mini trips, I’ve run into so many people who’ve taken a year (or more off) to discover the world and I’ve always been a bit jealous of the adventure they were on. Mine often seemed to pale in comparison to theirs. Don’t get me wrong, I love the way I travel. One month in a country gives me lots of time to see nearly everything I’d ever want to see. I am not rushed and I have the comfort of knowing I will be back home and in my own bed soon enough. But I really like the idea of being gone for a year. I like the idea of not working for a year, of calling the world my home.
It’s just never worked out for me really. As an ESL teacher, I’ve had the opportunity to live abroad in Chile and Honduras, and I did the majority of my traveling from those countries. It made sense. It was cheap. It was easy and I could remain working and making money for all the trips I was taking.
And while most people seem to take this kind of giant trip when they’re younger, perhaps on their gap year, or simply before they’ve gotten a ‘real job’ and acquired things like cars and cats and houses, I envision doing this when I’m older (mostly because I am older.) I’d love to do it with a partner. It seems easier, logistically speaking at least, and cheaper and much more fun. I also see me doing this when I am closer to my goal of hitting all 196 countries and can travel around the world hitting the remaining countries on my list with an around the world ticket.
Until then, I’ll save and dream and live vicariously through all the travelers I meet along the way.
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