I’ve been at home in New Zealand for six months. For the past 2.5 years, travel has been my biggest priority – I have thrown myself towards that without reserve and I have enjoyed every single adventure of being on. A while ago I wrote about a guy I met who changed everything. He was in my hometown, hadn’t traveled and I found him absolutely captivating. Despite this, I decided to go on to Europe last year and spent two months being an au pair in Spain, before traveling around Morocco, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Turkey and eventually back home. After a little jaunt in Asia, we decided to give things a go and I found myself settling into a “normal life” – even going as far as buying appliances online.
Things have been very different; I’ve been finding it unusual to be in one place for so long, but it’s allowed me an opportunity to enjoy things that I couldn’t do while on the road. I’ve been going to the gym, able to see my little nephew grow from a baby to a thriving and curious one-year old and spent some quality time with friends. I’ve had an opportunity to visit Queenstown and Arrowtown, as well as an opportunity to world on my business. Things have been good, but a part of me has had very, very itchy feet.
In three weeks I’ll be back on the road again, this time with my little sister. It’s going to be both exciting and scary – I’ll be showing her my favourite places, in a hope that she’ll get to understand why travel is so important to me. This trip home is the longest I’ve been in one place in almost three years, and while it’s nice to have a nice apartment to wake up in I am looking for the magic that travel brings.
The number of unknown people you’ll meet on the road, that wouldn’t be possible to meet if you’d stayed at home. The random nights, in random places I’m yet to experience. And of course that feeling when your feet first step off the plane and the air smells different and you know a new adventure is just about to begin. Even though we’re only going for one month, I can’t help but feel giddy about spending my free time exploring everything with a fresh curiosity.
After a while on the road, it’s easy to become jaded. For a temple to just be another temple and museums just start to feel the same, no matter how different they are from the rest you’ve seen. Going with my sister, someone who’s never traveled before, will afford me the luxury of seeing everything through her eyes – for the first time again.
And I can’t wait!
Have you ever stayed still after a long trip, or moved home after living overseas? What did you feel like afterwards?
I’m actually working on a post about what it feels like to come home after extended travel (though so far it’s been surprisingly easy). Couldn’t agree more about how jaded you can get – temple/skyscraper/mountain fatigue sets in quickly.