I've been reading loads of travel blogs recently and have been slightly shocked by how relatable everyone's stories are. It's as if I've written parts myself! I guess the effects of travelling is just something that only another traveller can understand and it doesn't matter how different you are, the experience of travelling will always unite you.
Over the next few days I will post a couple of quotes from these fellow traveller's blogs. Here is the first, from a Peace Corp volunteer after service in Vanuatu, my home from home:

"Saying goodbye here is so hard because we may not ever see these people again. It's sort of like planning an infinite funeral. We can send letters and photos, but it will probably all be very one sided, with few replies. We'll fly across the world with an invisible thread connecting our hearts forever to a tiny, largely unknown island in the South Pacific. No matter how many stories, pictures, speeches, and examples we share with people back home, it will be impossible to convey how much this whole experience has completely rocked our world, changed our perspective and given us a new pair of life goggles."
(Bittersweet Goodbyes, by Sheridan: http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Vanuatu/blog-541005.html)

When i read this I nearly cried, it is exactly how I felt, how I still feel about the 'bittersweet goodbye' Whilst I was happy and excited to go home, doing what I believed was the best natural progression, saying goodbye was a huge challenge The thought of never seeing these people, that I considered, ever again was heartbreaking I think of them everyday, and pray that one day I will see them all again

Saying Goodbye to Travelling?

The prospect of never travelling again is completely soul-shattering, but it is something I have to get to grips with. I mean, to be honest I’m being a bit dramatic, it’s not that I’ll never travel again, I will but not for a very long time! I have to be sensible now because I have allowed myself to fall into a deep pile of debt. I have no one to blame but myself and, as well as this, my desire to travel meant the sacrifice of many experiences at home. I just need to concentrate on work and university next year without planning my next travel venture because it isn’t going to become a reality for a long time.

It is a really sad prospect, mainly the thought of not being able to go back out to Vanuatu for another year or more. I really hoped to be able to go in the summer holiday, but that just doesn’t seem to be an option, even a trip in 2012 doesn’t seem to be on the cards. I really didn’t want to have to leave it til any longer than 2012. For one most of the children I really care about would have moved on and two I promised them I’d be back. It’s such a predicament.

However I can't give up on the hope to go back, I will and I will continue to travel, but not until I am in a far more stable position financially- so it is not goodbye to travelling but gudbae long naoio mo lukym yu bakegen in no long taem (goodbye for now and see you again soon).

Review of the Years

2009

The end of 2009, for me, was like the end of an era. The end of University; finally breaking free from that student bubble I had lived for the best part of my life. A sad event, if I’m honest. I thus made sure that I made the most of the year, meaning glam-packing as much as possible. After ‘The Epic African Adventure’ I was off to Malaysia on a back-packing trip with an impressive 28ltr backpack, and despite this, I still managed to look glam! A couple of weeks after my return I was back in the motherland, this time with the whole family. Within a month of returning preparation started for Vanuatu, (yes, the glam-packer did make it to Vanuatu, surviving village life, in fact favouring it to London city life!).

Besides all the travelling, I was finally feeling the rewards of my ‘superfluous’ degree. After slogging my guts out writing all those words I got the best result EVER for the dissertation. I was awarded a 1^st and a Pearson’s Education Dissertation prize. I think, if I remember correctly, I had the best dissertation of the department. That result, more so than the actual overall 2:1, made for a very proud graduate.

After much discussion and some gentle persuasion I decided on the Masters route. The journalism thing hadn’t worked out, I did the entry test with no preparation, and although I had a respectable score it wasn’t enough for that specific institution. However, I was slightly elated with the results, the thought of starting the course made me feel somewhat trapped, so I was glad. I later chose the Master, which was to be taken after the 6 months I would spend volunteering in Vanuatu.

2010

2010; a year full of ‘changes’, man, 2010 has been such a monumental year. I began the year with THE BIG CHOP, waving goodbye to all the processing and straightening and all the other time and money consuming thins related to my hair.

After so much frantic and anxious preparation I was finally ready to jet off to Vanuatu 20^th January 2010!

Vanuatu turned out to be the best thing I’ve ever done IN MYLIFE! Nothing gets better then spending 6 months on a remote Island in the most obscure country, teaching the most lovable endearing children in a small under-resourced village primary school, living amongst the ‘happiest people in the world’, adopting their culture and customs. No amount of words can describe how fabulous it was. After the placement I reluctantly moved on to Auckland to spend a couple of days with a friend I had met whilst working out there 2 years prior. Next stop was Fiji. Fiji was, well Fiji, lots of Bula and Fiji time, great great fun. The last stop on the way home was L.A. At first I didn’t quite like it, but I think that was more to do with reverse culture shock. L.A is a city of extreme materialism and Tanna, Vanuatu is the exact opposite. But, after a day or two and a couple of rides on the public bus I had fallen in love with the place. I would go back there any day, definitely a better experience than New York.

Once home, home sickness and reverse culture shock struck hard! In a confused frenzy I decided to defer my Masters entry, meaning another year out. I think the thinking was I was gonna save enough money to fly back out to Vanuatu A.S.A.P! That didn’t happen. I then decided that maybe teaching was my calling and tried desperately to get a job as a Teaching Assistant, which proved harder than I though it would. I mean, in Vanuatu I was qualified enough to take a full class fulltime, but at home I couldn’t even work alongside a qualified teacher as an assistant. The whole process was totally soul shattering. And to top it off, at a time in my life when I had no commitments; no job, no studies, no relationship, to keep me in the UK and away from travelling, I couldn’t travel. I had no money. Such a catch 22, I bet that as soon as I save enough money to travel again I will find something to hold me back...Like, my new J.O.B. Just when I though all hope was gone, I got the call, a week later I had the job. Teaching assistant at the infant school attached to my old junior school, a place full of fun joyful memories. The job doesn’t start till Wednesday 5^th January 2011, but I’m ever so excited, and slightly nervous at the prospect of becoming as attached to the children as I did to the ones I taught out in Vanuatu. Nonetheless excitement is definitely the dominant emotion.

Does this mean that I’ll be hanging up my travelling sandals to become a teacher?...Only time will tell, but I doubt it.