The adventure continues...

and to the most unexpected of places!

I wanted to post an update on the events since we've been back and now that I am in action I have something to write about :)

We anticipated that the transition coming back "home" and not having a permanent residence would be challenging and I was very anxious to find work so we could figure out what the next chapter in our lives would look like. Well for 5 weeks it kind of looked like raggedy college kids home on winter break bumming off their parents and not really having their act together.  At least it felt that way a bit.  Ping-ponging back and forth between our parents' homes in Illinois wasn't ideal for me.  While it was certainly nice to spend some quality time with our families, we still were not establishing ourselves anywhere or having a sense of personal and private space - something I had been starting to miss for several months.

Since leaving Asia I had been working with a few different recruiters to find locum tenens (temporary) work for when I returned.  Once I had returned, I was in overdrive and really working hard to make something happen.  It was an exercise in patience and I was learning that every day is a new day with this sort of work.  There would be nothing, nothing, nothing, then there would be a handful of different jobs all at once that I might be a good fit for.

After just a week I had landed a family practice job in Eagle Butte, SD on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation!  My plan was to start working early in February and continue until the end of June.  I really was looking forward to a new adventure and gaining good experience in family medicine.  However, a strange turn of events lead to the funding being reallocated and the position was no longer being filled.  I learned this the last week in January.  Instead of packing my bags, I was starting my job search, again.  It was frustrating to feel like I was "starting over" once more.

In an even stranger turn of events (after thinking there may have been some opportunities in MI, WA, NM, CA, and even a correctional facility position in AK), a different recruiter called me offering me a position in family practice back in Eagle Butte, SD.  To say I was surprised is an understatement!  I wanted to be very sure that this job was certain and wouldn't fall through like the first time around, but again was excited about the prospect of the position.

Now though, that I am actually typing this from my hotel room in SD, I can assure you this job is real.  I am looking forward to the next 13 weeks working in an outpatient family practice clinic, developing my skills in a new way, and interacting with a unique and often under-served population.

After this, who know what will be next!  Hopefully the flexibility to continue to travel and work other locums positions is my goal, but for now, it is just one day at a time.  Wish me luck!

My "kitchen" consists of a hotel-provided microwave and maxi-fridge.  I have supplied the hot plate, rice cooker, and hot-water boiler.

My closet is also doubling as a spice rack

My second dresser drawer is being used as a culinary masterpiece drawer :)

Hotel cooking, here we come!!  My poor husband has no place to put anything though.  Hopefully I will be moving to more sufficient housing soon!

Mastering my skills!!

Lessons Learned: part two

As the year and our journey come to a close, it's time for more reflection on the things I've gathered and learned along the way.  Here are some more of my thoughts and ideas.

1. Be prepared to modify your plan; it will be good for you.  I've referenced and joked about this many times (before leaving this was the fortune tucked away in my Chinese cookie) and it has rung clear and true many times!  When we set out we planned to travel for 1.5-2 years, maybe more.  Now, 11 months later, we are looking forward to heading back "home" for a while (location still TBD).  We planned to travel south through the Americas then to Africa working our way north and then east again, yet we find ourselves already in SE Asia, having not set foot on African or South American land.  So the reason for all of this, you ask?  Well, put simply, our plans changed.  Traveling long term was different than we expected.  We started to miss places and things I didn't expect us too.  Our money (not surprisingly) didn't last as long as we hoped. Our ideas about starting a family changed.  We got a little burnt out.  Maybe some people will think "Duh" or "I told you so" or "you were crazy from the start" but of course none of that is important.  This journey has been amazing and the things we have learned by experiencing this ourselves are nearly immeasurable. 

2. We won't be backpackers forever.  Although our trip now is coming to a close, our traveling is not!  Expect us to be trotting around the globe again before you know it.  But don't expect that the way we travel or the budget we set won't change.  Sticking to a $50/day budget has been a difficult but very rewarding goal.  It forced us to have a more local experience and allowed us to travel for a very significant period of time, but tested my patience and occasionally left me frustrated.  How incredible it was that we traveled for nearly a year this go around!  But in the future I expect our travels to be in the 2-4 month range and possibly include a higher or progressive budget.  You will feel more comfortable if the living standards of your trip go up over the course, especially if you are taking a long trip.

3. I miss working.  Taking a long term break from work is probably one of the best things you can do for your self and your career.  I never hated working, but this long break has given me a nice chance to really reflect about what kind of work I want to do and what is important to me in a career.  Also, if you don't like working, maybe you just don't like the work you are doing.  I'm grateful to find purpose, worth, and happiness from my work.  I'm happy to go good work in the world.

4. A little language goes a long way.  Sadly, my Spanish did not become nearly as fluent as I would have hoped after our time in Central America.  However, we did speak Spanish nearly exclusively when communicating with native speakers.  Throughout SE Asia we have learned at least a few phrases in the local language and it has really paid off.  Numerous times we were complimented on how good our Thai,Vietnamese, and even Laos languages were (very untrue by the way!).  It was so nice to see a huge smile cross someone's face when we attempted to say a greeting or order food in their native tongue.  We couldn't get far and the conversations quickly defaulted to English.  I constantly reminded myself how graciously I was being treated.  In my opinion, it is far to frequent that I hear (more than just) gripes from English-only speaking Americans regarding people in the US, citizens or not, that don't speak English fluently.  I can't imagine how difficult this trip would have been if I was blatantly treated without respect or just ignored because I was unable to communicate in the local language; it would have been awful!  So if you are one of those aforementioned jerks I just alluded to, my recommendation is to cut people some slack, think about how things might be different if roles were reversed, and to be gracious. I promise it won't hurt you. And charade-ing is always fun.  Or funny.  Always fun or funny. 

5.  The world has the best food!  Thankfully there is no one place that has the best food.  Mostly, everywhere has the best food and it is all the more reason to go everywhere and try all the food the world has to offer.  And that's coming from me, a somewhat very picky eater who didn't even try everything!  I didn't eat any bugs (intentionally), but I did eat chicken feet.  I thought about going for pig brain in my porridge, but didn't have the balls to do it.  Didn't eat any balls either.  But I had favorites everywhere we went!  My short lists includes:  street tacos, pupusas, chicken soup from everywhere, pho, fried noodles from everywhere, more pho, tamales, nacatamales (same same), pad thai, agua fresca, horchata, coffee coffee coffee (I drank coffee more ways than I ever even knew about), bun cha, gado gado, fresh spring rolls, baleadas, crushed black pepper encrusted burger, and more pho.

What we've been up to, in pictures

Walking around Kuala Lumpur (KL) neighborhoods

Whale watching in KL

Petronas Towers, KL

Visit to Batu Caves, Maylasia - Caves and Hindu temple

Experiencing local art

Admiring the view 

Having a very Merry Christmas

Visiting a mosque in KL

Chapter 1 comes to a close

As this year comes to an end, so does the incredible journey I've shared with my (now) husband.  Fifteen countries, 80+ hotels, and thousands of memories later, I am as happy and in love as can remember being.  For many, the end of the year is a time of self-refection and resolutions to be made.  For me, this entire year was an opportunity for self-reflection and in the end I don't have any drastic resolutions, just one I've grown to learn: know you, and be you.  I've been happy to share my thoughts so openly in this forum and appreciate the encouragement and love from so many followers: old friends, new friends, stranger friends. This is part one of a few summary blogs I'll be sharing.

(* Disclaimer - this is written as much for me as for you.  For me to come back to to remember my thoughts, to find my inspiration again when I need it.  I'm not intending to be self-righteous or preachy.  Also, this is not sufficient to treat mood-disorders of any kind.  Please consult a profession regarding more serious mental-health issues or concerns.)

1. Know you, be you.  As I have mentioned previously, people responded in all sorts of ways when we started talking about taking this journey.  I never had doubts about if this time of traveling would be something I perhaps shouldn't do or something I would come to regret.  Now, on the tail end of things, I feel nearly bursting at the seems wanting to share my message: follow your path!  And don't be afraid to modify your plans, it will be good for you :)  It can be challenging to move from knowing your path to walking it.  You are the only one who can walk your path.  Even one step on your path brings you closer to your goal.  Spend time with yourself, know yourself, be yourself.  Every day that you are trying to be someone else or live someone else's dream, is one less day of you being you.

2. Be happy.  I think if you can do the above, happiness cannot help but follow.  I have by no means been happy of every moment of every day during this adventure.  We've had lots of struggles!  At times I've felt sad, hurt, misunderstood, angry, even resentful.  I've been tired and hungry and grouchy.  None of these emotions are permanent of course, and my soul, my heart, and my mind have been so happy much of the time.  It's something I've worked on, too.  Happiness can take work but it's worth working for.  If you don't feel happy, you can try to change all the things in your life that might be bringing you down but eventually you will find this a futile endeavor and you might not be any happier.  Sister Hazel circa 2000 had the right message: "If you want to be someone else, change your mind..."  Decide to bring (even more) happiness into your life.  And listen to some Sister Hazel and Pharrell Williams; it can't hurt.

3. My husband amazes me.  I believe it was Bill Murray that had a(nother) moment of internet success this year when a video surfaced of him advising the single generation of today to travel the world with your partner for a year, and if you still love him/her in the end, then you can marry that person.  We were half-backwards here as we were married during our time traveling, but in the end the result is the same: we survived and even thrived together as a pair and I feel certain that little can shake us as a team.  I was pretty amazed by husband long ago, that's what led to him being my husband, you see.  Now though, I have seen him in so many different lights and he shines in almost all of them.  I've got more to say about this but it's so special and personal I think I'll share it in a card with him instead of here.  I think you'll understand.

4. The world is wonderful.  Your news source, your family and friends, and even people you don't know may try and convince you otherwise, but I can't be convinced.  Kindness and beauty can be found everywhere in world, even in the dark corners.  If you haven't been able to realize this perhaps fear, ignorance, misunderstanding, or anger is blocking your view.  Find a different vista point and let the people of the world show you their hearts.  Show yours back.  You might not realize it, but you are making the world a kinder place.

5. You are living your life every day.  I recently read a friend of a friend's post on Facebook where along with the smiling and proud pictures of graduating law school the person said something to the tune of, "I can't wait for my life to finally begin!"  Of course graduating law school is an amazing accomplishment, something to be proud of that undoubtedly took hard work, time, financial resources, sacrifices, and support.  I felt happy for this stranger.  But what really struck me was the statement that now, finally, life can start.  Every day is our life.  Life has started!  Of course there may always be things to look forward to, next chapters that seem better than the one you are on.  But today is your life.  For me this doesn't mean do every crazy thing you ever wanted to do because it might be your last, but like every other day, this one will come and go and this one is the only one you are living.  Embrace it, live it, share it.