From the mailbag: aka, what I really think about the end of my trip

So, I just responded to an email from a friend, and as I was writing my response, I realized it would make a good post for the blog.

The question was:

"How do you feel now that your trip is coming to an end?"

Now, I know I've written about being listless and the shopping, but I don't know that I've concisely or fully answered this question for you, my dear blog readers.

In general, I'm (of course) sad that this is ending. On the other hand, I'm greatly looking forward to seeing my friends and my mother, and putting some money in to my bank accounts. Since I'm also planning on returning to Europe in February (yes, I'm personally aware of how cold it is then...) to try my hand at teaching English in Prague, it feels like this return to the US is merely a little interruption of my Grand Adventure. And as C-E pointed out a couple times, when one thing stops, another thing starts, and that when returning to Seattle starts, I can start planning the beginning of the next holiday/my teaching adventure in Prague.

Which brings me to: while I was writing the email to my friend, I realized that the beginning of this trip marked an enormous turning point in my life. This may sound obvious and I think I had an idea of this when I started the trip, yet it's now just really sinking in, just how big this change is and how much this trip has affected my life. Even if for some reason (brilliant job, grand love affair, ???) I don't return to Europe as planned in February (or so), my life is forever changed. Especially if I return to Europe, it will further illustrate how much my life has changed since I came up with the idea for this trip while sitting on the malecon one morning in La Paz, Baja (Mexico). While I could be sitting reading someone else's blog, in a condo that I've recently purchased (which, if I haven't mentioned it, was the option I had -- put money into property or take this trip...taking the trip was a very, very quick decision), I'm not. And I am so very, very glad that I didn't let anyone sway my decision to take this trip (and people tried) and that I didn't let anyone else's doubts that I would actually make this trip (several people either said this or behaved in a way that made it obvious they felt this way) influence me with their views. I'm eternally thankful to the friends who stood behind me every step of the way, and never once doubted that I would make this dream of a trip a reality. Granted, this trip is not the original version I planned (that involved hitchhiking on sailboats...), but I made the trip. I created a Grand Adventure for myself and lived a life I had only read about and dreamed about before. Yes, I had a certain amount of [healthy] fear about making this trip. Though, I feel stronger for having jumped into the unknown and created the life I've lived.

I also know now, more than ever, that living in a foreign country is a high priority for me. Whether I do it by teaching English, or by finding an international job, or by marrying a foreign national (hey, it could happen) or finding a couple million dollars somewhere, this is the next Big Thing that will happen in my life.

So, here's to me having created something fantastic and incredible, and to me planning the next stop of the Grand Adventure I started last year.

Cheers. Salute. Sante. Salud. Chink chink.

It ain't over yet.