Globetrotting

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It’s 10:00 a.m. on a Thursday morning. I’m sitting at SFO waiting for my flight to Quito. The time has finally arrived. I’ve been dreaming about this moment for months, years really. If someone had asked me 5 years ago if I’d be quitting my job and traveling the globe, I likely would have laughed in their face.

The past few months have been a blur. I’ve gone through the motions of planning my trip, renting out my condo, putting my furniture in storage … all in preparation for this day. But not until this very moment does it all feel like it’s really happening.

The past few weeks have been spent with friends and family saying my goodbyes. It’s the longest stretch of time I’ve been away from my family. Eight months doesn’t sound like much but a lot could, and will, happen in those hours spent apart.

I’ve noticed there are two kinds of people in my life. Those who say be careful - the world is a dangerous place full of unscrupulous thugs waiting and wanting to take advantage of you. And those who say - this is an awe-inspiring, life-altering event. Soak up every minute of it! The latter, of course, are people my own age who aren’t married, aren’t raising children, aren’t taking the “traditional” route. And yet something still keeps them tied to their desks. Why do I feel the desire to drop everything and leave? What is it that propels me out into the unknown? A desire for change, knowledge, adventure? Sure. But also, there is a desire to be among people who are actually living the gritty, ugly, unpleasant life that we in America so easily overlook.

Most people say they are shocked when they land in a third-world country. Appalled by the smell, the taste, the sight of overcrowded cities, the lack of organized rules, the audacity of those who are supposed to be protecting and serving. For me, it’s the opposite. I’m shocked when I come back to the States. I’m taken aback by how clean and sterile everything looks and smells. Those millions of people milling around the dusty, crowded streets somehow seem more real to me than the people and places I’ve grown up around. Maybe my opinion will change when I’m surrounded by it for weeks at a time. Or maybe, just maybe, I’ll love it. Maybe I’ll find what it is that I’m searching for, maybe it’ll feel like home.

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Comments

[Bapsy]

Good Luck and wish you a very safe and happy journey. I will miss you. But hope you find what you are looking for and be happy always. Love ya.

[Pundir]

this is an awe-inspiring, life-altering event. Soak up every minute of it! :)

[Abaan and Ahmad]

We are loving having your mom with us even though very briefly
Dear Jenny, I will take time and relish your journal entries at a later time. But for now I am so impressed. I was telling mom that the best time I had on my 5-week travels in Europe was when I was with strangers and in beautiful places and that you are always protected and cared for by unseen angels. Love from both of us. Take care. A and A

[Ulogilv]

sounds like your mother to me!
"Why do I feel the desire to drop everything and leave? What is it that propels me out into the unknown? A desire for change, knowledge, adventure?" From the Bapsey I remember, she loved adventures and much as you seem to do...very quick to climb a tree, hop over a creek, or scamper up the side of a moutain, tho your father always had that worried look on his face as she did these things lol lol