Readjusting to Western Society: What Asia Had Done to Me

After spending nearly seven months in Asia, mostly in developing countries, I needed to reacquaint myself with the way things work in the Western world. I’ve been in Europe for a couple weeks now so I’m pretty much back into the swing of things, but those first few days in Dublin were difficult. In no particular order, here are ten ways Asia has molded my thinking:

Let's Get Real: Jealousy and Envy

This Let’s Get Real post is going to sound a lot like a rant, but it needs to be written… 

"I'm so jealous of you!"

"Oh my God, no fair! I wish I could travel the world."

"I wish a dog attacked me, so I had money to do what you're doing!"

Seriously?!

Annapurna, You'll Be the Death of Me

This will be a long post, but it will be informative. I’ll try to break it up so it can be easily used for instructive purposes as well as entertainment. Just scroll through and find the bits in bold  As always, thanks for reading!

150 Days, 150 Blessings

I will concede that my 150 days on the road thus far have not always been easy. I've shed some blood, sweat, and tears along the way (hell, just in the scuba course alone). I've been homesick and physically sick. I could go on, but why dwell on the negatives when there have been so many positives? I have been truly blessed with this opportunity to travel and I think it's important to focus on that. So in honor of my 150th day of travel I have drawn up a list of 150 blessings. Sure, some of these items may not have felt like blessings at the time (monsoons), but whether I loved them or hated them at the time, these things have made my trip. And now, without further ado...

Let's Get Real: 'Travel Mode' Phenomenon

Some people change when they travel; I just become even more who I have always been. When I’m at home I feel like I need to put on a face, be who others want or expect me to be; but when I am on the road surrounded by strangers I have the freedom to be whoever I want. No one has any expectations of me because no one knows me.

Surabaya: That Time I Went To An Islam School

My English lads left Jogjakarta for Mt. Bromo the same day I did the cave tubing. I half-heartedly looked into going to Bromo as well, but instead decided to just meet up with them in Bali. From Jogjakarta I took a train northeast to Surabaya.

Jogja: Caving and pizza... Can life get any better? (I submit that it CANNOT!)

There was a caving/tubing excursion advertised at Edu that I wanted to do, but it required a minimum of two people. The dentists were the ones to recommend it otherwise I would have asked them to go with me. Instead I wandered around Jogjakarta for the day. I had plans on going to the palace, but it was closed to visitors in the days leading up to Ramadan.