There are many perks to relaxed, long-term travel, and here are a few of the things I enjoy the most. I hope that when we move to Scotland, I'll be able to include some of these into my normal everyday life.
2) Getting time to enjoy nature. I love sitting outside and just looking at everything - the trees, animals, birds, bats, and even the insects. There is so much going on in the natural world and in our normal busy lives we rarely have time to just sit and appreciate it. Many parts of our trip have been built with nature in mind, from a safari in Africa to hiking in Brazil, to camping in Australia. As I sit here in South West Rocks, Australia, I can watch kangaroos hopping and munching in grass, magpies swooping through the air, and the soft calls of dozens of other birds.
3) Time to reflect. These last few years living in Switzerland I have been a complete workaholic in preparation of this trip. Although I loved teaching and tutoring, I had very little time to sit back and reflect about what I want to spend my time in, actitivities I'd like to focus on, and the kind of person I'd like to be. This trip has given me the time and space to really look back and think about my life up until now and plan my life after this trip. Taking the time to think and reflect is essential to live a happy, relaxed, productive life.
4) Having 'do nothing' days. When you are working, your weekends are for playing catchup. From paying bills to running errands, a lazy morning where I didn't do anything until noon felt like a luxury. Now, while we're traveling, we indulge in 'do nothing' days whenever we feel like we need a rest. Take today, for example. I woke up naturally at about 8:30, read until 9:30, got myself breakfast and tea and more reading time until 11:30, and then had a think about what I wanted to do today. Laundry needed to be done, but it was no rush. So instead I'm sitting by the pool on a lounger, writing a much needed blog. Maybe I'll take a nice walk later, or maybe a nap, but there's no pressure to get things done and be busy. Being busy is overrated!
5) Less TV means more us time, outdoor time, adventure time, sleep time and everything else time. Don't get me wrong, I love my Greys Anatomy/Walking Dead/Game of Thrones/etc TV times, but during this trip without any real chance to watch anything, I've kind of cut the habit. I used to pile myself onto the couch for 2 hours in the evening after a long and stressful day of work/run/socialize/work/dinner because I just didn't have the energy to do much else. Sometimes I didn't even care what I was watching, I just used it as a time to mindlessly decompress. Now I spend more time writing and reading, thinking and enjoying the surroundings. Occasionally we do watch a movie or TV show on our laptop or iPads, most notably before or after traveling days (and of course on long plane flights!). Even then, I can only make it through 30 minutes or so before I'm asleep and I think that's a good thing.
6) Learning about different cultures, people, governments, ecosystems... Everything! When you are traveling you get the chance to talk with people and learn about their different ways of life. Take Malawi, for example: children get free primary school education and classes number in the hundreds (but the kids love it!). Bolivia had a long string of terrible leaders, but now has one that seems to be for the people and who is trying to mak everything equal. They even have nationalized health care! In Brazil you can be taken to court for gossiping the wrong way (idle threats are taken very seriously). New Zealand is so expensive that many kiwis can't even buy their own products (like lamb and merino wool!) there's more, tons more, that I've learned from the people I've met, and it just makes me more curious about the world around me.
7) Building a stronger relationship with my number one guy! I'll admit, when I got married at age 24 (just barely!) I thought it was a bit young. I knew I had the right guy and to be together the easiest solution was marriage, but 24! Goodness! Sometimes I worried that I wouldn't get the chance to fill out my biggest dream, this trip. Well I am one lucky girl and I get travel with my husband - a life dream with the one I love! These last few years have been wonderful, but the time we got to spend just enjoying each other's company without stress was extremely limited. Paul is a loving, caring, tolerant person who put up with exhausted, over-stressed, overworked Liz. Now, we get the best of each other and get to explore each new place together. Sometimes we have different adventures but we get to be with each other at the end of every day and I love it.
8) Writing Postcards. Although I think of myself as a traveler, I dearly miss my friends and family while I'm away. At least in Switzerland I had weekly Skype dates with my parents and tried to keep in contact with friends when I could. Now that I'm traveling, the time difference, Internet limitations, travel schedule all make it difficult to keep in touch. But the one thing I do love doing is writing postcards. I love sitting down and thinking of each person I'm writing to, what they're doing, and how I think I'd like them to be with me. If you haven't gotten a postcard (or haven't given me your address! Send it to me!) don't worry, I've still got a month left and I'm making my way through my address book. If you do get a postcard, I really am thinking of you.
I'm sure there's more (lots more) I'm not mentioning here, but I hope this list will remind me (and you?) to look out for the important things in life and make them a priority.
No comments:
Post a Comment