Guys, I really think I've found the perfect lifestyle. Backpack for a few months, move somewhere for a year. Backpack a few months, move somewhere for a year.
Backpacking, you get to see so many places--climbing pyramids, skiing, rock climbing, running, surfing, dancing, hiking, biking, horse-back riding, swimming...the list goes on and on--in the most incredible places, all over the world. The nature is different everywhere you go and it's absolutely amazing. You meet people from all walks of life and make new friends every time you walk into a hostel. You have weekend-long adventures and explore new cities as much as you can in the few days that you're there. You try typical foods and experience crash, hands-on courses, trying to learn whatever you can about the culture you're experiencing.
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| Colca Canyon trek in Arequipa during our backpacking trip through Peru |
Moving to a new country, you connect with the culture in a much deeper way. You find a home and a job you love, you set up new routines and you make new groups of friends that you'll spend the year with. You get to know the local dialects and slang, the popular songs at the time, the best clubs, the best and cheapest places to eat, the local dances and sports, the best places to practice all your favorite activities, and you get the chance to connect with every other aspect of the culture through the amazing people you meet. You actually live the culture...you live within the country's education, healthcare and social justice systems. You learn to act in ways that are considered polite in that country. You have the opportunity to show others around and to give something back to the community. You keep improving your accent and vocabulary until people question whether or not you're from there. You participate in every aspect of the culture, whether you mean to or not, challenging your own beliefs and ways of life every single day. You engage in an interesting love/hate relationship with the culture but ultimately come to love it unconditionally because it is what it is and you finally understand exactly what it is that makes it so beautiful. Once life there becomes too easy, it's time to grab your backpack and head to the next country!
I still have some time left here in Brazil (I have yet to perfect my Portuguese, my kizomba & my jiu jitsu) but, after this, I'll probably backpack Patagonia and then move to Buenos Aires for a bit before heading off to Chile.
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| Portuguese Class |
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| Jiu Jitsu Class |
I'll definitely enjoy every minute here until I leave but a message Lizzy left me the best message last night, getting me even more excited than I already was for my next backpacking trip. She said:
"I'm dying to backpack again...to grunge it up and not give a f^#*, to stay wherever, to deal with dirty toilets in a way that I was never ready to before...meeting the random people, enjoying every moment, including the struggles and the challenges."
Yes, my Lizzy. Yes. There are definitely challenges, dirty toilets and amazing people--and there is definitely a lot to learn from all of it.
At this point, I wouldn't be able to choose between backpacking and moving somewhere but, luckily, I don't have to. I'm just gonna keep doing both!
