The beginning

It was exactly one year ago I arrived in Kigali, Rwanda. I remember stepping off that plane after a grueling 32-hour journey, admiring the flat-top trees and green hills as I walked across the tarmac. I couldn’t’ believe it: I was in Africa. I had no idea that this would be the beginning of the best year of my life so far.

I will be honest that when I was young, I thought about traveling the word, but not in the same way I do now. Rwanda ignited something in me. I am obsessed with world travel now. My heart races when I just look at a map. If you count my trips to and from Ottawa for school, I have boarded 21 planes this past year. It still amazes me how different my life could be if I had chickened out and not boarded that plane to Rwanda.

I probably would not have gone to Hong Kong. If I had not gone to Hong Kong, I almost guarantee I would not be sitting here in southern Thailand.

I would say time has flown by, but I would be lying if I did. It has to a certain extent, but at the same time, it also feels impossible that I could have done so much in just a year. I have seen giraffes, zebras, and baboons in eastern Africa. I have been within inches of a group of 15 gorillas. I have gone whitewater rafting on the Nile in Uganda (and nearly drowned in it!). I have danced with a group of inspirational African women who I don’t even share the same language with. I have kayaked on the Pacific Ocean in San Diego, California. I have seen the Hong Kong skyline from a helicopter in the sky. I have seen the biggest outdoor bronze statue of Buddha. I have enjoyed a boat ride through a fishing village near Hong Kong. I have prayed at a Buddhist temple in Asia. I have eaten Pad Thai where it was first eaten probably hundreds or thousands of years ago. I have touched an elephant. I have been in the Andaman Sea. I have seen the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen. Most of all, I have met incredible people who have taught me so much about the kindness of strangers. All this makes me the luckiest person in the world.

If I have done this much in one year, I can only dream of what I can do in a lifetime. Still, I know that I can’t be greedy in my lust for the world. What I have seen and done so far others will never get to experience. I will always be grateful for whatever powers that be have granted me.

Next week I am having dinner with a woman I met on a travel networking website. She is over fifty years old and has been to 108 countries. Her goal is to visit 150. Besides being a globetrotter, she is also a single mother. Her kids are older now, so she is traveling again and is going to be in Phuket for one night. I am so excited to meet this inspirational woman. I can’t wait to hear her perceptions about culture, peace, war, the human spirit, and the world. Who knows? I could be her 30-something years down the road! I sure hope so. But I know I’m still one lucky girl if I do not.