T-minus three days until we leave for Southeast Asia! Wow time flies. I remember getting ready to leave for Costa Rica this past July and my emotions were absolutely crazy. I had just quit my full time job (that I had for a year) just a few months earlier, I moved home to my parents house in Carlsbad that summer, and my relationship with Kyle was pretty new as well.
Fast forward to now, this trip is a lot different. I haven't had many changes to my work or living situation, I've actually settled back into Carlsbad quite well. I had a part time job at Lululemon over the holidays, I've been growing my photography business and teaching private yoga classes, and I have been going to a yoga studio called Mantra that feels like my second home. Although Kyle is up in LA, I still get to see him a lot since we have flexible schedules which is awesome.
Although the transition into traveling again feels easier this time, this trip is going to present many new challenges. The flight is going to be 12 hours to Tokyo, then another 7 hours to Bangkok. When we went to Costa Rica is was a mere 6-7 hours of flight time. Also, Costa Rica was only 1 hour time difference. This time, a whopping 15 hours time difference from California.
Also, let's talk about the language. Thai and other Asian languages are going to be interesting! At least in Central America they spoke Spanish, which I took in high school and had a slight knowledge of! This time around, I'm COMPLETLEY lost. So, that will be fun.
Another main difference between my two trips is how many places we will be going. I backpacked around Costa Rica for 3 weeks and then I went to Nicaragua for 4 weeks. Doing my yoga teacher training in Nicaragua gave me the chance to slow down in terms of travel and settle into a little home away from home. This trip, we will have a slow pace, but over the 10 weeks away we plan to see a lot and most definitely won't be settled in one place for a whole 4 weeks.
I think if you are not pushing yourself towards new things in life, you won't be able to grow. With the trip this time being easier in terms of just getting back from an international trip, it also presents new challenges. I think being realistic though is a key component. For example, as I sit here with my Acai bowl at my yoga studio, I am typing on a teeny tiny keyboard and using an iPad mini. On my last trip I toted my MacBook Air with me. Although it is a MacBook Air and decently light, I am cutting down how much I am taking with me drastically. Carrying a huge backpack in tropical heat is not fun. I repeat, NOT fun! When thinking about how much I actually used my laptop to blog or edit pictures on my last trip I decided I could easily size down and bring only the iPad mini. Hopefully I will get getting more blog posts out there compared to my last trip!! I won't promise anything just yet though. My point was, I am being realistic and learning from my mistakes on my last trip.
All in all, I am really excited and nervous for this trip. It is going to be an entirely new adventure with my best friend Hannah. Just having Hannah, who I've known for 5 years now and is a sister to me will be comforting when I miss home. My relationship with Kyle is stronger than ever and I am confident that we will make it work being 15 hours apart. It will be hard, but I fully believe that our love is stronger. I am so incredibly lucky to have a guy that supports my dreams and goals.
At. The end of the day, when I take a deep breath and center myself, I need to always choose love over fear. When we are fearful of the future, we manifest that for ourselves. I want to be empowered, confident, adventurous and strong, approaching everything with nothing but love in my heart.
I am really excited that our trip will begin with nothing but lots of LOVE! One of the first places we are going once we get to Thailand is The Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai to work with DOGS! Yes, Dogs not elephants (although we will see the elephants too!) The park has over 400 rescue dogs that need care and attention and we will be working and staying on the park grounds for 7 nights. Volunteering with dogs in Costa Rica was one of the highlights of my trip there and I am really excited to work with the pups in Thailand too.
I want to hear from people who will be following my travels on this blog, what do you want to hear about? What kind of things do you want me to write about? Pictures? Reviews of food and hostels? I want to be writing things that people are interested in!! Please leave a comment below if you have any ideas!
Me at the Costa Rica Dog Rescue. This sweet girl was my favorite and I wanted to take her home!!
Love and Peace,
Meagan
