minimalist lifestyle & travel
I’m probably a bit late with the 2015 post—but hey, it’s still January!
I thought about doing a highlights post, but as I listed all my highlights from 2015, I realized that I can so easily fall into really cheesy/sappy descriptive language. Instead, here are 15 photos from the year and the stories behind them.
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I dreamt last night of going back to my high school and being unable to recall my locker combination. These dreams are always frustrating because they bring back the days of trying to remember my combination after a long break from school. Honestly, combination locks still give me that sense of anxious frustration today.
Not that this dream had anything at all to do with my second day of work here in rural Chile. The opposite actually—this is probably the most stress-free position I’ve ever held. Not that it’s a traditional job in the sense of getting paid. The work is hard, but it’s straightforward and consistent. I don’t feel like I’m being judged for performance along the way.
Today, we weeded all day, again, though in a different setting. This time, we were freeing hawthorne saplings from dense and tangled masses that had taken over their fence-adjacent territory. I swear I’ll get over my issue with spiders here (yes, I’m afraid of everything). I’m already getting used to the sensation of constantly having a layer of bugs crawling on my legs.
I’ve been listening to the audiobook of Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond during the days. It’s a book I’ve been meaning to read for a while, so it works out that I have plenty of time to listen while I work. It’s also quite topical, given that huge sections of the book concern why agriculture arose in particular geographical regions, along with a big focus on why Europeans were able to conquer the New World. Of course, this delves deeply into the topic of the Spanish conquest of the Incan Empire, which has been a constantly present subject throughout my travels in South America. Throughout my studies, I always had such an interest in human evolution and the progression of societies and civilization, so it’s very cool to read about (well, hear about) why certain things happened the way they did, rather than just what happened.
On another note, we got some groceries today! Our host picked us up plenty of vegetables, a ton of oatmeal, and a few more bags of pasta (we already have a ton, but I suppose you can never have too much?). So, we were able to cook up some roast potatoes, carrots, green beans, and onions for supper. It’s nice to eat something other than noodles.
So ends day two of work. I’ve got dirt under my nails that won’t come loose, even though I was wearing gloves all day. I feel sore like I’ve been doing squats all day. But, I’m feeling more positive about things than I have in weeks. Hopefully, that’s a good sign.
Thanks to Little World Lovable for the nomination! Click the link to read their post and read the other nominee’s blogs.
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Everything comes down to money: whether you have it, you don’t, you think of it as a means to an end, or an end in itself (hint: don’t do this). Throughout university, I saw money as the goal. Coming from a rural town where big money was a rarity, I was taught to pursue a stable life of financial security.
My first long-term experience abroad came when I moved to South Korea following graduation. For the first time, I had a regular income that allowed me to actually save money. After saving over $15,000 in a year, I was both hesitant in spending and completely unprepared (too disorganized to keep a strict budget). I found myself eating into my savings in Australia and New Zealand, and becoming saddened by the fact that I would come home with very little after working hard for that money for a year.
Today, I find myself saving to travel long term again. I’m not a pro-saver, but I manage to live frugally. That sadness of coming home with nothing turned into depression that I could have lived happily on the road for a couple more months if I’d been a little more practical. To that end, here is my guide for constructing and sticking to your own travel budget.
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Living and traveling abroad forces you to push your body to many limits. You are giving up a habitual routine to eat irregular foods at irregular intervals, hike through harsh and remote areas, and forsake sleep for a chance to experience a new sort of nightlife. It’s all in the name of appreciation for where you are. You want your body to be able to take it, but you don’t want to worry about being strict with your diet and fitness regiment.
I’ll always remember the first time I went hiking in South Korea. Chiaksan in Gangwon-do is a beautiful mountain park with two possible trails: an advanced route with a rough trail, or an expert route with endless stairs–both much steeper than anything I’d previously attempted. I went in a group and struggled at the end of the pack. I didn’t make it to the peak that time, the darkness descended and my slow pace was my downfall.
I committed myself to going back to Chiak, and in a few months I did, and I reached the peak. The entire thing was much easier once I’d incorporated a few healthier habits into my routine. But, leaving Korea a few months later meant leaving the routine I’d build over time. After a few weeks in vacation mode, I realized that my lifestyle was becoming unsustainable. I didn’t want to structure my time too much, or refuse myself any new experiences. Instead, I picked up a few small habits that helped me maintain my fitness and energy levels along the way.
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I’m lazy when it comes to planning. I pass it off as being laid-back, going-with-the-flow. But, honestly, I’ve had better experiences by doing just a little bit of research in advance. Through my time traveling, I’ve cultivated research methods that work for me with minimal effort. These may be decision-making tactics, the first sites I visit, or general tips I’ve picked up throughout my time abroad.
As it so happens, I’m planning two trip with very different goals for the coming year: one short trip and one longer backpacking adventure. Hopefully, this will be a series that follows my lazy planning techniques and also motivates me to try a little harder at being organized. Maybe I plan ahead more than you, maybe less–it all depends on personal preference and experience. Either way, let’s start at the beginning.
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Few things have a stronger association than surfing and Australia (except maybe surfing and California, but that’s another story). My arrival in Byron Bay, that hippy backpacker town several hours north of Sydney, was the first time I’d been thrown into this surfer-culture world. Amidst this place of wet suits, bare feet, and sun-bleached hair, I figured I had to be missing out on something good.
We were picked up, the only passengers on a small white bus, and carted to the Mojosurf office. There, we met up with the rest of our group for the 1/2-day surf lesson: a German man and woman, two German-speaking Swiss girls, our Aussie guide, and another German photographer. After a quick briefing, we headed back out to the bus and on to the beach. On the side of the road, we all stripped down to our swimsuits and squeezed into some wetsuits that smelled overwhelmingly of feet.
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