A Year of Adventure

Just about a year ago I booked a last minute trip to Vegas to go see the Grand Canyon and since then I’m not sure my feet have touched the ground. I’ve taken 37 flights and traveled to 7 countries and 26 different cities. I’ve been to 5 of 29 states in India. I’ve seen two of the Modern Wonders of the World (one of them twice and on the other I ran a half marathon). I popped champagne on the edge of the Grand Canyon, pet tigers and bathed elephants in Thailand, swam in the Arabian Sea, ate a 12 course meal of traditional dishes in Hong Kong, drove a rickshaw in India and explored amazing ancient temples in Cambodia/India. I have been to 13 beaches and swam in 2 oceans and 4 seas. I’ve stayed in luxurious 5 star hotels as well as huts on the beach, with limited electricity, and just about everything in between. I’ve seen the sunrise across Asia, sometimes because I’ve still been out partying and other times because I’ve woken up to workout. I’ve seen extreme poverty as well as extravagance I could never have imagined within the same city/country. I’ve learned to haggle and shop at local markets (although I still am not a huge fan of haggling). I’ve attended 3 cricket matches including 2 World Cup matches. But perhaps most importantly, I’ve met hundreds of new people who have shared their experiences and opened my mind to what the world has to offer. I’ve traveled alone, with family and long time friends, and with new friends and each experience has been unique. But one thing has been universally true, I have learned something from each journey.

Almost 18 months ago, my rotational program was ending and it was time to decide what I wanted to do next. I had shared with a few people in the company that I was interested in an opportunity to work abroad. My focus was Europe (mostly London, Ireland or Budapest), Japan, Kuala Lumpur or Manila. This was happening around the same time that Tom passed away. The Friday after he passed, I was sitting at Jeremy’s for lunch with a coworker having a classic styrofoam cup of beer when the head of the program asked me to call her to talk about an opportunity in India. I quickly finished my beer and went back to the office to call her, she told me about the opportunity and we discussed my interest. I told her I would be out of the office Monday for the funeral but would reconnect with her when I returned to the office. India had never even been on my radar, but I got back to her Tuesday and said I was possibly interested in the position. She reached out the middle of that week to say the manager from India was in and that she wanted me to meet him about an hour later. I was in no way prepared/dressed for the interview but agreed to it anyway.  I had a 30 minute conversation with my now boss and by the end of the conversation we agreed we’d move forward with the process of getting things set for me to take the job in India, less than a week from when I first heard about the job! (In the end the process took another 6 months, but that’s a different story.) With everything that was going on I didn’t really even have the chance to think about things and comprehend what was happening. It is amazing how things work out and I know Tom was looking out for me on this one.

I never could have imagined what this opportunity would do for me. I knew that taking an international work role would be somewhat beneficial for my career, but never comprehended how much I would learn by doing so. I never thought it possible to grow/change this much in a year but anything can happen when you really open yourself up to new experiences. When I think back to my first trip to India, I was nervous to leave my hotel alone and now, this past weekend I traveled to a tropical island off the coast of India alone. I arrived in Havelock nearing dark on a holiday weekend without a hotel to stay in and no way to get back to the mainland if I couldn’t find a place (No worries, I had made friends with a few Israelis at this point and we were all in the same boat. I found a room…eventually). The next day I rented a scooter and just started driving until I stumbled on a sign for the beach and then wandered through a muddy jungle alone for almost an hour until I found my way out. The things that were so foreign to me a year ago (cows/dogs/goats in the street, cars/2 wheelers/rickshaws coming in all directions, etc…) are things I hardly even notice anymore. Moving across the world certainly draws you out of your comfort zone, and moving alone forces you to learn to make new friends all the time. Unfortunately, the nature of things means you also get very good at saying goodbye to people as well. 

I have no idea what the next year, or 2, or 5, or 10 will bring but I do know that the experiences I’ve had throughout the last year will shape what is to come. I will forever be grateful for what this year has taught me. I encourage anyone who gets an opportunity like this to take it. Don’t second guess it, don’t think about the things you will miss at home, don’t think about how the adjustment will be in your new home…just take a leap of faith and do it. I’m not saying it will be easy but I am definitely saying it will be worth it. There are still days that I think what the heck am I doing and think about giving it all up and running back home but then something happens that reminds you how amazing the experiences have been. Things will change at home and you will change but that’s a good thing and will just be a new challenge to face when the time comes. So here’s to a year of travel and hopefully to many more…I have another 7 flights, 2 new countries and 3 new cities planned for the next month so I don’t think it will be slowing down anytime too soon!