“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” – Paul Theroux
It's been 9 days since I've been admitted into the medical hut for observation; waiting on my immune system to win the battle against infections. In this lengthy period of solitude I have accomplished many things. First off, I have finally closed out all grants, turned in all completion reports, and wrote out my Description of Service (DOS) document. As the Peace Corps office has been waiting on these reports for a while, I'm sure they are jumping for joy (or at least can stop crying inside) that I'm finally finished! Secondly, I have successfully taught my parents how to use Skye. It's only taken 2 years to do this. Thirdly, all office personal has gotten to know me- whether they wanted to or not. I have imposed myself in everyones office for longer than I was welcome since, apparently, I no longer understand non-verbal cues. Fourth, I've had a week long date with the Internet, giving me time to catch up on the world. What I learned was that a girl named Carly Rae Jepsen is blowing up in the states for an absolutely terrible song "Call Me Maybe"- can someone explain this phenomenon to me?, that John Mayer has come out with a new album, that the Maui Film Festival was a hit, that Miley Cyrus is getting married, the 3rd season of Glee has finished, and that American politicians have no control when it comes to mudslinging. And lastly, I have prepared myself for life after Peace Corps- specifically in regards to travelling.
Since I moved to Swaziland two years ago, I've had a general idea of where I wanted to travel after my service. I knew I wanted to surf along the coast of South Africa, make my way up Africa, then fly out of Spain but the details were unclear. Throughout the past two years my remedy for especially depressing days in Swaziland were watching movies related to Hawaii, surfing, or the ocean, AND bringing out my travel books and mapping out my assault on Africa. As you can probably guess I had a fairly solid plan.
Then COS Conference happened. The flight PC found for me to return home was unbelievably and disturbingly cheap. A flight to Sacramento was more expensive than a flight to Maui, which made no sense considering they would've had me fly through Canada to California to Oahu to reach Maui. But I digress. The cash in lieu amount given, forced me to rethink my plans. A flight from Spain to Maui would cost about $500 more dollars than I received and that did not include the flight from Africa to Spain. In a rut and unsure of what to do, a friend recommended I research flights through Asia. Turns out Asia to Hawaii is quite affordable! So that was it. Plans changed in a heartbeat. My travel throughout Africa would be truncated as my desire to explore Asia grew with every passing minute.
Within the past 9 days I have done an extraordinary amount of research. I know a general outline of where I want to go, what would be awesome to see or do, and most importantly the places I must avoid for safety's sake. And though I know a general idea of what I'd like to, I have no set plans. That's the beauty of travelling. You meet people along the way, locals take you off the tourist beaten paths, you learn about secret treasures and you go where the road takes you. In planning my next adventure I was reminded of something Paul Theroux said, "Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going." I'm excited and more than that, I'm ready for the next chapter in my life.To fully appreciate a place is to take everything in, including the good and the bad, being adaptable to all sorts of situations, and being able and free to change your plans if and when something comes up.
For me that starts on July 27th on a surf expedition in South Africa leading me to Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, and hopefully through Ethiopia then to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Japan bringing me home on December 17th. But this is just an outline and it's bound to change when I'm on the road. Oh to be healthy and on the road again!
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