Kampot: Take Another Little Piece of My Heart

Robert had originally suggested that I stop in Kampot for a day or two on my way south. He said o should grab a motorbike and head to the mountains and just enjoy the nature I was craving. Well, lucky for me the boys were able to join me for the weekend!

The title of this blog is "Take Another Little Piece of My Heart." As I travel this world usually after a few days in a place i'm ready to leave it and move on. However every once in awhile, I find a place that I just do not want to leave. I love my time there and feel like I belong so much that I can't picture myself anywhere else. Minneapolis is one. My first real love. Then came Ohrid, Macedonia, followed by Berlin, Germany. Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina came next and then Jogjakarta, Indonesia. Well you can add Kampot, Cambodia to this list. 

We rented a private car, which cost us a lot more than the bus, but we figured it was worth it to get there on Friday night and not have to deal with tuk tuks taking us to and from the bus stop. The ride was pretty easy and we could see migrant workers crammed into the back of trucks as we passed. I felt a little guilty for my air con and my leg room. We made one stop for a quick snack of sausages and rice ( I hadn't eaten since breakfast) and arrived at Samon's village just in time to check into our room and order dinner. The food was incredible. Mostly because every dish used Kampot pepper, which is apparently the best pepper in the world.

We went to bed early and woke up the same. After having breakfast we got our motorbikes, I was given a quick course on how to use it and we headed into town to purchase a picnic lunch and a bottle of wine. I was definitely more fearful of driving in the city, considering there were more people to look out for, and turns/stops to make. Once we were on the highway and then up on the mountains I felt so free. I had a variety of songs stuck in my head throughout the day, including Dixie Chicks's Wide Open Spaces, Have You Ever Seen The Rain (when it was raining) and John Denver's Country Roads. We stopped with pleasure to explore deserted houses. And then, we stopped without pleasure when Robert's bike broke down. After waiting about 30 minutes the guy came and offered us his bike while he fixed the other one.

We continued up, stopped for a beer, and then found a nice cliff to eat our lunch of crackers, cheese, tuna, and wine. The view was incredible.

abandoned church

lunching spot

We continued to explore houses, casino ruins, and eventually made our way to the waterfall. After a bit of relaxing we headed out for the long journey down. Halfway down it started raining, which was a bit rough at some parts. I was glad I had my sunglasses as a shield.  I sang Trampled by Turtles lyrics "Know that I was made for you, there is nothing I can do about it" as my love song to the mountainside.

2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, if it only had a roof....

Once back, we spent the evening sipping on coffee and Bailey's. I was feeling super sleepy at 7. When I took a cold shower I noticed I was sunburnt even though I had reapplied sunscreen a few times. I ended up asleep at 8.

finished the bottle....

The next day we finished our Bailey's and coffee and played some cards. Then we headed into town for lunch and Robert and Scott headed out on a bus. I stayed behind and explored the city a little stopping at a place called Cafe Espresso, for a veggie burger (super yum) and an espresso.

church and bar across from eachother

I decided to walk home, taking the opportunity to enjoy some country roads. The city reminded me so much of home as I walked along and saw bars in completely random places in the middle of nowhere.

That evening I just relaxed, went for a short canoe ride, drank a few beers and ate dinner while I read my book.

canoeing adventures

The next morning was more reading, and then a tuk-tuk trip to the secret lake and the pepper farm. It was short and simple, and I'm not sure it was worth my money. Maybe if I had shared the cost of the tuk tuk. Ah well, one of the downfalls of traveling alone, with limited time. The "bus" (van) came to pick me up that afternoon for my awful ride to Sihanoukville.

secret lake

I wanna ride this tuk-tuk back to Kampot...

Sulawesi Part 1 of 3: Toroja in the South

This trip was different than any trip I have been on before. Mostly because I had to look out for two other individuals. They did surprisingly well considering the vacation I chose for them. I like challenging myself and the people around me. :)

We arrived at the airport at about 5 am only to find out our flight had been changed to 11. They said they had emailed me (typical Indonesia...) but had not. We passed the time looking in the entire 6 shops, and eating/drinking various goodies. The plane finally left and I was exhausted from only getting 4 hours of sleep so I took a little snooze. Once we arrived and met our guide I was super relieved. Everything from here on out was out of my control. We cruised over the mountains, and mom and dad kept getting freaked at the crazy driving and the drop off edges without railings. I was taken back to our coastal road cruises in Albania, where I would get extremely motion sick. The guide (Jonathan) and I discussed Ramadan with them a bit, trying to explain the customs. When we finally arrived at dinner we were all over hungry and exhausted from our journey. My tummy had been having issues the last week and it was absolutely acting up. Basically I passed out upon arriving, woke up to use the toilet once and sleep clear through to my alarm. I tried not to let the boring and pointless first day get me down, since technically they had intended for us to arrive in the area 5 hours earlier than planned.

I got dressed and ready and then it started to pour. Breakfast consisted of rice and by this point I was sick of eating rice and bread because it had been all I could keep down for the previous 5 days due to my stomach. I ate a little and we headed out on our longboat with ponchos in the pouring rain. I could hardly see anything squinting in the rain, but halfway in the rain gave out and stopped. The sun began to come up over the lake to show the beauty and life on the lake. Beautiful lily like purple plants sprouted to the top and birds swooshed across the sky. 

We got to stand on one of the floating houses, and were surprised to find out that they have to move the houses based on the season. After the boat ride was done we went to see some silk weaving and realized that the silk wasn't very soft, which I found strange.

Our journey continued into the mountains and after a few hours we stopped for lunch overlooking the mountain called Guning Nona. There is a legend behind this mountain about a brother and sister who wanted to marry. However the spirit of the earth told them they could not and formed a river through the mountain. Apparently one side of it is shaped like a penis and the other like a vagina. I chose to ignore this legend and enjoy the beauty instead. The mountain fresh air and views made me feel like I was back in Albania once again. We purchased a few spices and souvenirs and were on our way for more switchbacks and screams of terror. We arrived at our hotel in Rantepao around 4 and had time for a swim, a brief walk, and dinner at the hotel, which had some delicious asparagus and squash soup. I was exhausted and slept straight through the night for about 9 hours. 

Guning Nona

The following morning we awoke for and emotional day of visiting Torojan houses and grave sites. Torojan people have very different beliefs about death. Mainly they believe that a person is not dead, they are simply sick. Therefore, they keep the body of the dead in their houses for a few months to a few years until they know their soul has gone on to the puja(paradise) and they are able to save up enough money to sacrifice water buffalo and pigs in their honour. If they do not sacrifice enough according to their caste, their sons and daughters will not be able to have a good marriage or run for office if they choose.

Tongkanan (traditional Torojan House)

We attended a sacrificing ceremony where 2 water buffalo were cut open and bled to death. We were required to buy a carton of cigarettes for the family as a presents. Others in the community may offer the same or a pig if they are of a higher caste. The pigs are carried in on bamboo, kicking and screaming the whole way. Those who bring the presents walk in a ceremony according to their house number. We saw other tourist walking in the processional and were frightened that we might have to do so. Our guide informed us that last week there was a ceremony where 20 water buffalo were sacrificed. It smelled awful, and sounded awful, so we asked to leave early because we were feeling a bit ill.

Knife out, ready to kill....

We visited several villages to see the family graves, including one that contained a baby grave. Babies are buried in the tree so that their spirit may grow along side it. 

Baby Grave

The best part was when at one village we were greeted by little children who all ran around our feet and held our hands down to the grave site. Once there, they played around and goofed like it was their playground in the caves. We gave them all high fives and paid 70 cents for a bag of candy for them to share.

After this we returned to the hotel, just before the rain. The following morning we visited the buffalo market, which smelled similar to homeland Wisconsin and we walked through the smaller market where they sell household items, clothing and food.We stopped to look at some stone statues, all symbols for people who were dead, though differing from gravestones because the people were not buried in the ground. Eventually we landed at a home stay up in the mountains overlooking beautiful rice fields. We ate lunch and our guide took us downhill to walk around them. These were some seriously beautiful views for a simple 2 hour journey. We had a delicious dinner of satay and then headed to bed in our Tongkanan (Traditional torojan house), consisting of 3 mattresses on the floor and 3 extremely hard pillows. I had to wake up once in the night to pee which was a task, because you had to climb down the stairs and walk to the bathrooms in dim lighting. Halfway through the night some Indonesian men came in the room next to ours and were speaking quite loudly on a speaker phone. I found it hard to sleep because I kept trying to translate.

We woke up in time for the sunrise and began our day long hike into the villages after breakfast. 

Good Morning!

This was not an enjoyable experience. Not sure if it would have been more interesting with a different guide, or if we had gone a different way, but we saw nothing of interest. It was mostly just more rice fields, which we had to cross over and my dad got bit by poisonous ants and fell. We stopped at a village closer than expected because it was going to rain. After we showered (buckets over our head) and waited about 2 hours past hunger we were served delicious chicken cooked with banana stem in bamboo cookware. And of course rice. My parents cramped onto the twin mattress and I slept on and off on a brand new mat on the floor, purchased from a traveling salesman earlier that day. I was freezing for most of the night, a feeling I had forgot about.

We awoke to a breakfast of leftovers and began our short 2 hour journey to the village we were picked up in. Once dripped at the hotel we booked massages. It was clear we deserved some pampering post journey. We had several issues finding lunch as it was Sunday and ended up eating double ice cream and snacks, while enjoying drinks by the pool, to suffice until our early dinner.

Well deserved. 

We left after breakfast the next morning, for central Sulawesi.

I have to say South Sulawesi was a cultural experience, but one we just could not seem to see eye to eye with. The people live their whole lives to make sure their parents have a nice funeral, and this is what their work and lifestyle was based off of. We accepted the experience and looked forward to the journey ahead.

Sayang

This blog is about the differences, struggles, and benefits of having a relationship abroad.

2 years ago I was a broken hearted 22 year old girl with her whole life ahead of her. I was a girl who had been crazy in love, and who had her heart broken, and had broken her own heart so many times that I thought I was done with it all. I left America assuming that my broken heart would be instantly fixed, and I would be ready to love again. Those instincts were insanely wrong and after my first month in Albania I realized I was on a serious journey to find myself, and once that journey was done I assumed I would find someone to love again. I locked myself in for 5 years of being single, abroad, and living life my way or the highway.

Towards the end of my time in Albania I started to feel comfortable living on my own, and being the 5^th wheel every once in awhile. I had life figured out, I had my routine, and while I was still very self conscious I was becoming far more confident with myself, and happy with who I was.

I arrived in Jakarta convinced I would remain single, but after just a month I fancied trying my hand at dating before I lost all knowledge of how to do it. Dating abroad is one thing, dating in Asia is a totally different story. It wasn’t that I was requesting or even desired a boyfriend, I just wanted some practice so I wouldn’t be out of shape when I returned to America. This is not how it was brought up when I was introduced to my current boyfriend. It was “I finally found a white man for you to flirt with!” As if I had been searching far and wide to find any soul on the earth to date.

I digress from this long and boring story of my past and move toward the point of this post. I am mostly writing this to help sort through my own thoughts, but also potentially to help those of you who care enough to understand my relationship, or possibly to help those of you with my same fears overcome them. Being in a relationship abroad is extremely different than being in a relationship in your own country for so many reasons. Top it off my dating someone from a different country, and doing long distance and you are in for some serious hardships.

our first weekend as a couple

1.  Moving around: So generally if you are living abroad it is not a permanent deal. You will have to deal with deciding where to go next, together as a couple. I loved having my freedom last time I made the choice. I watched my friends struggle to look into visas and work for their partners while I had no concerns about this. Matt and I have discussed where to live next, and I’m very lucky that he is open to just about anywhere at this point. Every time I mention somewhere he immediately looks into jobs there. I’d have to say I haven’t been as open, mostly because of my limited finances. When he mentions somewhere the first thing I think of is the dollar sign attached to a job there. It sucks, but at this point in my student loan repayment it is a major chain that I want to unlock in the next 5 years.

Then you have to take into consideration the difficulties of creating a life together, but also apart. I want to be able to still meet new friends and travel with others no matter where we end up, but I’m nervous that we will grasp to the comfort of each other so much that we will end up smothered and alone, bored in a country we know nothing about. I will definitely be looking into the expat community of the city we eventually choose.

2.  So visas….: Yeah I hate visas. With a passion. They have made me regret my decision to move abroad and have absolutely ended in tears at the pure complications of them all. There may be places I can get a job as a teacher and Matt could come and do some sort of independent work, but he may not be able to get a visa. Of course we have discussed the fact that if we were married it would be much easier, but this seems like a silly reason to rush into a marriage neither of us will be ready for in a year. Then lets talk about the silliness of visas in America and Australia. We looked just for “fun” the other day and my head started hurting just thinking about how complicated it would be. Something about having to get married 6 month after we arrive in the states for certain types of visas. Dual citizenship is even trickier. 4 years in Australia? No thank you.

3. The meetings: Meeting family and friends becomes quite the difficult task, let me tell you. We have both met each others family over skype, which was fine to start, but part of me would just really like to fly myself to Australia for one night to have dinners with Matt’s family in his hometown. But maybe flying to Singapore for one day will have to do. What?!? Yes. This is happening. And I will be arriving before Matt, which means I will meet them without him even present. Lucky for me, my rents are coming in a few short months and will have a whole afternoon with Matt before we leave for vacation. The person whose approval I desire most (My brother) won’t even meet Matt for at least another 15 months, and by that point I will have based life decisions on this thing. Okay maybe I’m freaking out too much about others thoughts, but there is a serious comfort in knowing that your family thinks that your new best friend is good enough for you to spend the rest of your life with. My brother generally knows whats best for me. (I'm not joking...)

right?

4. Friends: Matt helped me come up with this one and it is very true. Our circle of friends is quite small. He has his friends from work and Australia, and I have my friends from work. On occasion we have merged the two groups which has been fantastic, but it is hard to discover more about each other when you hang out in the same crowds and do the same activities every weekend. Trying to make time for the relationship and my friends has been a serious difficulty for me, and I also secretly worry about how my small group of friends would be split in half if me and Matt broke up (but this won’t happen, right?) You would think making friends abroad would be easier, and it probably is in other cities, but in Jakarta getting around is tough, so to make it to other areas with new people can be difficult.

5. The other difficult thing for me is that Matt hasn’t really seen me in my element yet. I find it really hard to express to him the homesickness I feel sometimes, and whenever he talks about things from his childhood/college years I just want to go and see the places, or meet the people. Additionally I just want to take him to a bluegrass concert, have him taste my favorite beers, cheese curds and visit stone arch with me. I go into huge rants about my favorite bars, the barn, and my running trails quite often.

So now to start with a new idea. The benefits of having a relationship abroad.

1. The best thing is by far that you get to explore and learn about a new culture. I’ve learned loads about Australian phrases, climate, food, holidays, politics, traditions, schooling, and past times. I get to do this all without the hassle of having to live somewhere. Though truth be told, I might not mind doing this for a year or two. I was lucky enough to attend a dawn service (a very traditional Australian thing to do on ANZAC day, similar to veterans day in America) with Matt, his friends, and my boss. This was an excellent experience to have. The even better part is that when I visit said country I will have free places to stay and a person who knows all the best restaurants, and sights. And he can contour the vacation to match my enjoyments (beer, and hiking.)

2. Travel buddies. So far Matt and I haven’t had much of a chance for this one, but I have to admit I’ve always been jealous of the couples I travel with who get to split costs of rooms, can split meals, and constantly have that partner to lean on when things go utterly wrong. I really wish our vacations lined up more, but we will have to make the most of what we have. The one short trip we went on was excellent and I’m looking forward to more. And just think about all the awesome pictures you’ll have to hang on your walls someday and all the great stories you can tell.

3. The seriously hilarious discussions and arguments you will get into. We argue a lot, but mostly it’s in a joking way about pointless things like the rules of pool, or what certain foods are called, or how things should be pronounced.

4. Physical connection. I hate to say it, but we all need this. And it has seriously been lacking in my life. Sometimes you need someone to cuddle you, even when you are an independent girl living in a foreign country.

5. It is a chance to love and be loved, and do you ever really need a reason for that? Yes, it is a very risky venture, but those are generally the best once.

no way!

I asked Matt for his opinion on this topic. In response to what made our “abroad” relationship hard, and he responded that not hearing my voice and terrible phone reception in Indonesia were rough. Such a practical one he is. Lol. He says the best part is having someone to rely on 100% of the time. I’m not sure our 3 hour cab rides make that exactly a true statement. But as he says “normally overseas you are alone against the world.”

In Bahasa “sayang” means so many things. Honey as a noun, dear or darling as an adjective, and love as a verb. We have far more challenges than this blog even begins to cover, and we certainly aren't perfect, but there are far more smiles than tears, and everyday I think about the randomness of finding each other on a random island off the coast of Indonesia. I’m happy to have found someone who is willing to work on all the challenges to reach the benefits of this life we have chosen. Saya cinta kamu, sayang!

Karimun Jawa

My trip to Karimun Jawa was quite relaxing and absolutely spent with excellent people. I was able to go on the trip with some of my co-workers, which is always a plus because they are Indonesian which means we are less likely to get scammed. It is also way cheaper to travel in large groups than pairs or singles when you are in Asia, so the trip wasn't a major slice into my travel budget. 

We took an overnight bus to get to Jepara, and let me tell you this was probably one of the most scary experiences of my life. The driver was, I'm sure very experienced, but also took as many risks driving on this one trip as I have taken in my entire life. Given it was an overnight bus ride I slept not a wink. For those of you familiar with the Knight Bus on Harry Potter, this is what it was like. For those of you not so familiar here is a video clip:

Once we arrived in Jepara we spent some time laying on the curb being pestered by an old Indonesian man trying to find out all of our religions and who among us was single. Then we were trasferred to the ferry dock to sit and wait for a few more hours and eventually hopped the speed boat to the island. 

watching the sunset

Here I very easily fell asleep, though was in and out throughout the whole trip. We arrived on the Island, had dinner and went for a swim, which ended in not 1, but 2 injuries. There were many sea urchins in the water and the dock were were close to wasn't exactly meant for swimming. We all passed out quickly and easily after the power and aircon was turned on at 6:00. 

outside our bungalow. please ignore my crazy hairstyle post 24 hours of traveling.

I woke up almost instantly after the power was shut down at 6:00am due to the sudden influx of heat. We got ready and set off for our snorkeling journey. As soon as we reached the boat it started pouring rain, and we forced our minds to accept the fact that we were going to get wet anyway, however most of us were freezing. 

right before it started to rain

Finally being able to hop in the water felt like jumping into a hot tub. I quickly removed my fins since they were squishing my toe injury from the previous trip. This may have been a bad decision because I ended up cutting my opposite foot on some coral. This forced me back onto the boat where I was inked by a squid! Not even lying! The kid on our boat caught it with his bare hands!

A squid. inking.

Anyway the benefits of the snorkeling were some awesome fish and kick ass underwater pictures. We also stopped on an island where some of the bravest of us (yours truly included) got to travel with sharks! 

That night involved lots of fun large group games and an early night with the plans for the following day being beaches! Unfortunately we woke up to more pouring rain, and ended up spending the day lounging around reading, listening to music, discussing life, and attempting to nap. That evening when we to the local square for dinner, and I have to admit I was quite happy to have something to eat besides fish and rice. I had some chicken sate. It was a nice little area with warungs and a nice grass seating area. We also got to shop for some souvenirs. 

The next morning we left of the ferry, and had lunch at the port. We spend far longer waiting for our driver than we were supposed to, as he had decided to scam us and tell us we were leaving on a private van at 12:00 rather than a public bus at 3:00. Needless to say this trouble ended in us losing out on money in the long run, and almost a fight by some of my dear friends. Then were were off to Semarang, the third largest city in Java. 

Labuan Bajo

The rest of our time in Flores was spent in Labuan Bajo, the capital city. We spents one day just figuring out where to stay, where to eat and what there was to do. John and Eileen signed up to dive, as they were told it was one of the best spots in the world to do so. Ange and I planned out our 3 days: one snorkeling, one trekking to a waterfall, and the other trekking a crater lake. Needless to say our plans didn't fully work out.

The treetop was an excellent restaurant to eat both lunch and dinner at as they offered the lowest price on beer and western and Indonesian vegetarian options.

Sunset from treetop 

We were able to find a boat to rent for 40 dollars total and found snorkel gear for a reasonable 3 dollars. Our night was spent in a fanned room on top of the hill, and though I have no real complaints, the hotel was not worth the 9 dollar apiece price. We went down the road and were able to rent a bed in a hostel for 6 dollars each. The hostel man (Gregorious), was super kind and he hooked us up with the boat for snorkeling and later in the week a ride to the airport. The hostel was full, but people come and go so often that you can meet many from different countries. Gregorious also kicks out those who are just there to party, however did allow us to play cards and have a beer in the room one evening. WiFi is from across the street, and unreliable.

Our day of snorkeling was a huge success, except we both ended up sunburnt. I saw so many new fish and began naming them on my own. The green and yellow fish became known as "packer fish." They all had such radiant colors, and we were even able to see a small shark. I also got to swim along side a fish that was only about half a meter smaller than I am. Kanawa island was absolutely the best of all the places we had snorkeled (in all of Indonesia), and was much more clean than the other locations. We took cooling showers and ate at the Mediteraneo restaurant across the way. The sea bass was excellent, the dessert was awful.

The next day was what I will refer to as a "blue balls day of traveling." We got super excited and almost reached a point of satisfaction, but ended the day in more pain, without reaching a climax.

We thought to rent a motorbike and drive to the nearby village and waterfalls. Ange was very confident she would be able to drive us both, but we crashed 5 meters from the rental shop, and opted to pay quadruple the cost to take a car. After the driver and guide failed to understand our desire to go to the village ( after trying to show us one single building and pretend it was the village) they took us to Cunca Rami waterfall. The hike was brutal, all downhill and rocky, followed by walking through muddy puddles and rocks.. I wish to god I had taken my hiking boots though they would have been soaked. We counted our losses because it was worth it for the view, and the refreshing swim.

Cunca Rami Waterfall

On the way back we decided to go barefoot. Our feet were very dirty, our flip flops were muddy and we had to walk through mud fields anyway. However eventually we reached the rocky area and my toe nail got caught on something and began to bleed. This wouldn't have been such an issue except that they I hit the same toe on a rock. My feet had had it, and I still wasn't at the top of the steep hill. Ange yelled words of encouragement, but I was done. I did push through to the top, where the Indonesians did some first aid and got directions to the real village.

Part way to the village we were told we could not go sue to rain. However we knew this was just a rip off. We yelled and screamed and swore at the guy in charge, and then eventually returned to the city blue thighs, toes, and balls in all. We had had enough. The next day was for relaxing only.  It was perfect because john and Eileen felt the same way after their dive. They needed a break.

And so our last day in Labuan Bajo was spent wandering around, finding the cheapest beer, sitting and drinking while playing golf and cribbage, and eventually walking (me limping in tow) to the local night market for fresh fish,rice, vegetables, and juice for 4 USD.

We left early the following morning for the airport. I ended the trip more than a little homesick considering all my family was together back home for my brothers CD release party and I was leaving some super awesome friends behind to continue their journey on to Bali.

(sorry for the lack of pictures...whoops!)

Pure Luck?

Recently I’ve been talking a lot to people about how lucky I am. Little things keep happening in my life to make me realize all the wonderful people I have been lucky enough to meet along the way.

I received packages from home for my birthday showing everyone’s immense love and care for me. Yesterday I got to have a brief conversation with my friends from Albaina on Skype. Today I got a letter in the mail from my friend who is teaching in Washington. It was another reminder of all the amazing people I have crossed paths with. My mother just messaged me (literally as I’m writing this) to remind me to feel the hugs from Wisconsin and the love from all over the world. I’m the luckiest girl in the world!

How lucky am I that I was born into a family that taught me responsibilities and morals, and above all supported all the decisions I have made thus far….

How lucky am I that my high school boyfriend chose to go to the University of Minnesota and that by visiting there I fell in love and couldn’t imagine myself staying in Wisconsin.

How lucky was I to meet Becky randomly through some people from my welcome week group? And how lucky were we that her roommate happened to be moving out just as I needed a new one. If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be friends with the majority of the hen house crew.

first night I met becky!

How lucky am I that Daryn’s roommate decided to move out the year I was so frustrated with looking for a place to live and he just happened to mention I could live there if I wanted to?

How lucky am I that in that house I spent my most difficult years? I had my best friend constantly there as a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, and a smile to laugh with. Nothing could ever compare.

go gophers!

How lucky am I that just when I thought I had made a decision about where I wanted my life to go, I got in a car crash and realized that I wanted none of it.

poor civic....

How lucky am I that my professor suggested Dave’s ESL café for teaching abroad jobs and that just a few months later I had acquired a job in Albania? There I met great friends who convinced me that my journey would not soon be over, and who shared in multitudes of unforgettable adventures.

last day in tirana

Angie and I talk constantly about how lucky we are to have been made roomies, and that we are so happy we didn’t end up with complete psycho-paths. You really never know who you are going to meet in these teaching abroad experiences.

island adventures

Matt and I keep mentioning how crazy it is that we just both happen to be living in Indonesia, and that he just happened to have no plans for one random weekend in November and decided to say yes to coming to an island he had never heard of, with a random friend. Not to mention how lucky we were everyone was exhausted and went to bed so we could hang out, talk about dreams, drink beer, and look at stars together.

:D 

I’m about to shatter into pieces everything I just wrote, because truth be told, I don’t believe in luck. I’m lucky to be where I am today, but it did not happen by pure luck. Life is composed of choices. Your choices and other’s choices. Every morning we wake up and we make a decision about how we are going to live that day. We decide what kind of mood to be in, what to eat, what tasks to complete, who to talk to. It is crazy that our decisions can affect ours and others “luck” so much.

Thanks for all the awesome decisions to all I’ve met along this path of life. Lets keep up the awesome work!