Layovers are awfully inefficient. They take you out of your way and waste your time sitting on the tarmac and sleeping on chairs and floors of varying degrees of comfort. And often, the only reason you take them is because it’s cheaper to burn more gas: The inscrutable airline pricing algorithms at their finest. (Though to be honest, I can’t blame them. It’s a smart business move.)
After finishing exams in China, I planned to go to a wedding in Germany then head back to the States: Layovers, galore. I decided to play a game called travel across the world without any layovers. If a less expensive route required a layover somewhere, why not make a trip out of it?
And that’s how I’ve convinced myself that 40 days of traveling was actually the financially responsible thing to do.
Fun fact: Apparently the word “layover” isn’t typically taught in Chinese English classes – I had to explain it to a good number of Chinese friends with otherwise extensive English vocabularies.
So it’s goodbye, China. I feel like the descriptor “best decision of my life” is better saved for romantic and spiritual pursuits, so let’s just say it was a pretty good one. Besides being a ball, living in a very foreign country taught me how figure-out-able foreign places are. Yes, when I left on that plane out of Florida I had no clue where I’d be staying in China or whether I could get around with my limited Chinese or if I would get arrested on the spot for using a VPN. But everything worked out, and things that were challenges at first had solutions. I feel like I’ve jumped off the highest platform of the high dive. All the others? No problem. That’s not to say that I’m a total travel expert or anything, or that I won’t get us hopelessly lost if we travel together one day. Actually, I will confidently take quite a few wrong turns, as my Europe travel buddy Andrea will tell you. I’ve just become unafraid to “go”, perhaps even when I should be. And to anyone reading this: If you have the chance to “go”, do take it.
But there’s the rub – it’s hard to leave! There are so many people I’ll miss. I’ll see a lot of you again, I’m sure, but it’s not the same as when we’d see each other regularly.
Fortunately, I had great folks to keep me company and exciting places to keep me busy taking it all in, so fortunately it hasn’t been TOO hard to leave. A few highlights:
Outdoor top roping was something I’ve always wanted to do, so when my friend pitched the idea, I answered with an emphatic yes. I now appreciate the bravery of both lead climbers and my friend Leandra, who who trusted me to belay her.
People who can sing mash up songs. I can’t sing so I mash up friend groups. In Bali, scooters are super cheap to rent and somewhere between fun and terrifying to ride so, naturally, that’s what we did.
Since rumor has it that one day I’ll look a whole lot like the husband from the couple (far right), let me mention that this photo doesn’t do him justice – he’s still working on the selfie face. Here’s a proper picture of us before we set out surfing.
More pictures and stories to come, but for now, enjoy a glamour shot of this pigeon I went through great lengths to herd into the crystal clear pigeon-infinity-pool overlooking Barcelona’s finest view of the Mediterranean.
Words & Things 