an introduction
Welcome!
I never was good at introductions. In grade school, they teach you to write essays as a hamburger with introductions and conclusions as the buns. But… I’m gluten-free, I’m not even familiar with buns, ya know? I just get right to the meat of it all. However, I am going to try and introduce what this is, why I’ve put this out here, and the like.
Starting with context might be helpful. The first time I traveled to a new continent was when I went to Asia in 2010. I was a ripe 15 years old and this random opportunity to do a summer study abroad program in China fell into my lap. I had an epiphany upon our arrival before we even stepped foot out of the airport. I witnessed a Western couple (like- “of European descent” West, not ye’ ole Wild West) waiting with a cute little sign for someone. As one of their mothers greeted them I was hit with this nostalgia or wanting - or maybe both - of just “this is what I want my future to be”. I knew that one day, I would be the one living in a new country welcoming my family.
Then in 2018, I was innocently watching an Asian reality television series and had an emotional breakthrough witnessing how people were conversing over dinner. I realized that I live in an individualistic culture where we don’t naturally experience vulnerability or even active listening in our everyday lives. The more I explored this thought the more I found it permeated through everything. From the way, our government refers to us as “consumers” versus “citizens” to the way our sentences are structured grammatically, subject + verb + object in comparison to subject + object + verb. The realization I was living in a country that carried societal ideals I never subscribed to woke me up to alternative possibilities. I may not have had a choice in where I was born but I did have a choice in where I continued to live.
Fast forward to January 2020, I was designing my new life. I had been experiencing this aching feeling to live abroad for nearly a decade at that point. I had been re-bitten by the bug (thanks to the reality show in 2018 ) and was ready to commit to the bit. I was going to quit my job in June and travel to every continent in the world for 6 months in an effort to find a new place of residence. Fast forward again 3 months to March 2020 and obviously that plan went to shit.
I’ve spent the last 3 years fumbling my way through life while knowing deep down I was still supposed to be on this journey. By the grace of the universe providing, I found my twin flame and we brought our dreams together to plan a year abroad. We chose places where we potentially wanted to live and planned to stay as long as we legally could with our American passports. We both quit our jobs, booked a one-way ticket, and left for adventures unknown.
That journey started in January 2023 and this is my attempt to share that with you, whoever you may be.
What I love most about all of this is the opportunity to connect! I hope through this medium we can connect in the comments below. ↓
I’d love to know- what has been your favorite place to travel and if you haven’t traveled yet, what is your dream destination?
