why travel?

You may  have wondered why we are taking this crazy trip.  I’ll tell you a few of the myriad reasons.

Although we have only worked for a few years, I can seen how rare it is to have both time and money.  While we’re lucky to have either, saving and planning for this trip has been our way of briefly having both.

By making this trip one large block rather than several years’ worth of small blocks, we are saving on transportation costs in the long run, and we are essentially redirecting our boring day-to-day expenses like rent, proper health insurance, transit passes, phone, internet, and zipcar.  I realize that the loss of income during this time amounts to a higher cost, but the savings from not having any bills on the home front really are significant for a trip like this.  Oh and we are very grateful to our parents who are taking care of our boxes and our dear cat.

Also, a trip like this offers so much flexibility that we can see both the major sites and the out of the way places in between.  With the luxury of time, we can have days packed with sites followed by gleefully wasted time.  Wwoofing is a large part of this philosophy because it draws you in to small out-of-the-way places and enforces a completely difference pace to the days.  So far I have been ready to wwoof and ready to tour and alternating between the two suits me perfectly.

Aside from the nuts and bolts of time and money, it has been empowering to make this trip happen.

It is amusing that we both really enjoyed the jobs we quit to take this trip and move home, but I like to think that we have not ruined our careers by doing so.  If anything, I think this makes us better job candidates than we were before.  Obviously by the end of the trip I will be more familiar with various languages and Jack will have experienced many architectural masterpieces.  But more than that, we are learning flexibility and communication by exposing ourselves to new things.  Wwoofing is a big part of this flexibility, because it places you in someone’s home and there are quantifiable tasks to be achieved, often by working in a group.

One last motivation for travel that comes to mind is the making of memories.  Changing your surroundings makes all little things more memorable and gives them a specific home in your memories.

Now, please forget what I said about “one large block rather than several years’ worth of small blocks” of travel because as wonderful as this trip is, it feels a like a sampler.  We’re already mentally listing the places that we’re missing and the places that need future trips of their own.