another august in edinburgh

I love Edinburgh in August.

Here we go again!

hamburg weekend: guten tag germany!

In November I took a trip to Hamburg to see some of Germany for the first time and meet another friend I met in Thailand.

Downtown Hamburg

im going to wichita

- You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place - Miriam Adeney 

Kansas field at sunset

When I was 16 I left the bubble of my life in small town New Zealand and took a leap of faith into the utter unknown. Looking back at this time I dont know how I even managed to get to that point. It seems like a completely different person when I think about it, and I guess it was. I don't remember the specifics, but I had heard about the AFS exchange and decided it was for me. I'm not sure I actually intended to follow through but I tested the idea on my parents and when they didn't shoot it down it seemed logical to keep testing the boundary, until before I knew it I was on a plane flying away from all that was comfortable into what could have become anything. 

making friends in a new place

- An invisible red threat connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance - 

This might seem a little bit lame to write about, but I wanted to share my experiences of making friends in new places. When you're backpacking, friendship comes quickly and easily. The majority of people you meet are open and friendly because they want the same from you in return. Everyone wants to have an amazing experience and the people you meet are part of that. And in future, you welcome them with open arms if the chance comes up to meet again. Unfortunately, its a whole other story when you move somewhere to live. 

New Years Eve in Edinburgh with friends (yay!)

those yet to come

One of the best things about travelling is the anticipation before you leave.

Before you leave everything is still unknown. You might know your destination but I dont think you know much else. How you will feel when you get there, what it will look like through your own eyes, and most importantly, the people you will meet.

There is a quote I love, though I don't know the source:

- I'm in love with cities I've never been to and people I've never met -

Before I travel I like to think about how other people, right now, are going about their lives, unsuspecting that soon they will play a part in mine, and I in theirs. It might be a small part, a chance meeting for half an hour, or half a day. You might never meet them again, or even think of them. Or it might be the start of a friendship that will last long after the travel has ended.

There are people I have met on the travels that I will never forget whose names I do not even remember;

- the pilot who took me under his wing when I got stranded at St Louis airport for a night and they wouldnt give me a hotel room since I was only 17

- the tiny woman, who couldn't speak a word of english, who guided my dad, my brother and I for four hours through the rice terraces and hill villages of China

Then there are those who I still talk to and think of regularly, and hope to see again sometime soon.

So here I am, just over a week out from indulging my wanderlust once more. While I am excited about the places I will be going, I am most excited about the people I will meet, because it is the people who really make the journey.

After all (google does give an origin for this one, possibly dubious...):

- There are no strangers, only friends  you haven't met yet - William Butler Yeats