“you two are adorably and sickeningly cute.”

A woman told Rory and I this in Brisbane (Queensland, Australia). We were sitting together outside, legs crossed, knees touching. We had just completed short jobs as shop assistants. He had welded together tables, I had rewritten part of the code that kept shop records so that their system didn’t crash so often.

We were enjoying a rather rare moment to stop and just enjoy each other’s company, which was a little ironic considering we had been by each other’s side every day for nearly five months. He was rubbing aloe on my hand, where I had accidentally brushed it against a hot stove earlier that day. I was leaning against him, eyes closed, breathing him in. We tend to ruin romantic moments by saying goofy things (i.e. the first night we spent together, I said “I hope you don’t mind that I’m a dude.” He responded with, “that’s okay, according to my wife it’s not cheating unless it’s with a girl.”), so when we don’t make a joke, it’s usually because of something serious that happened.

We’ve already had our share of small arguments, mostly over the safety of the other person. He wasn’t particularly thrilled about the prospect of us going to South America and having separate jobs. We had already been mugged once, at gunpoint, and his quick thinking and talking had saved us (sorry Paige and mom, I left that out in my phone calls). He’s always worried about me being out alone, since I’m so small and sometimes mistaken for a tall child. I don’t like when he compromises his safety for mine, or picks up slack because he thinks something is too dangerous for me. I don’t like feeling incapable of taking care of myself, although this stubbornness is sometimes quite foolish.

The night before, we had argued again about South America. The morning after, he made me breakfast in bed. We lay together for a while, wordlessly feeding each other fruit. He was the first to break the awkward silence. He said, and I’ll never forget this, “I do and say stupid things because I worry. I worry because until you, I lived in my own world, going through the motions and just filling time. I think I would have done this forever, but now I’m more than halfway around the world, actually experiencing life on an amazing planet after viewing it as a mere rock for a quarter of a century. I’m in love with you, and I would rather you left me than have you hurt, or worse, if there’s even the slightest chance I can keep you safe.”

I thought about this for the entire day. When we saw each other again at a cafe, he had a bottle of aloe for my hand. There were no chairs available, so we sat on the ground outside, legs crossed, knees touching. I thought about this single small act, then my mind branched out to the many other things he had done for me, small and big. The way he wakes up early every morning to shut off the alarm so he can wake me gently with snuggles and the day he saved my life. In that moment, I knew I felt the same way he did.

The woman walked by, remarked how adorably and sickeningly cute we were. I opened my eyes, but didn’t look at her. When I looked up, he was looking at me too. I smiled and said, “I’m in love with you too.” For a moment, he looked at me in a way I had never seen before, ever. Then his face relaxed, he grinned and said, “so…would this be a bad time to tell you I’m gay?”

Rory and I are alive, happy and well. We’ve given up the idea of finding work everywhere we go, as we’re running out of time and there are so many places we still want to see. I know I owe a real update, but I’m tired and we have a plane to catch soon, so instead I’m going to list the places we’ve visited up until now. Specific cities will have to come later, there are too many to even remember right now.

1. Italy
2. England
3. Ireland
4. Northern Ireland
5. Wales
6. France
7. Germany
8. Austria
9. Hungary
10. Ukraine
11. Poland
12. Greece
13. Thailand
14. India
15. Burma*
16. Bhutan
17. Nepal
18. Laos*
19. Vietnam*
20. China*
21. South Korea
22. Japan
23. New Zealand
24. Australia
25. Papua New Guinea
26. Solomon Islands
27. Bolivia
28. Argentina
29. Brazil
30. Venezuela
31. Peru
32. Colombia
33. Chile
34. South Africa
35. Madagascar
36. Morocco
37. Portugal
38. Spain

* I wasn’t sure whether to include these as we passed through these places.  We plan on revisiting them later.

We are heading to Egypt next. Our list looks something like this:

1. Egypt
2. Jordan
3. Saudi Arabia
4. Yemen
5. United Arab Emirates
6. Turkey
7. Russia
8. Iceland
9. Norway
10. Sweden
11. Finland
12. Estonia
13. Latvia
14. Lithuania
15. Kaliningrad
16. Belarus
17. Ukraine
18. Moldova
19. Romania
20. Bulgaria
21. Macedonia
22. Albania
23. Serbia
24. Bosnia
25. Montenegro
26. Croatia
27. Slovenia
28. Czech Republic
29. Slovakia
30. Denmark
31. Netherlands
32. Belgium
33. Antarctica

After that, who knows.  This adventure has been incredible, terrifying and wonderful.

Rory and I had initially planned to go back to Arizona for Christmas, but we got sidetracked by so many things over halfway around the world that we didn’t even notice the end of December creeping up on us.

It’s almost 2009 (in just a few hours!). Soon after, it will be January 8th, five months from the day we left. I already have a time frame in mind for when we come back, mostly to ensure that I will return. I wanted to spend a full year traveling, but my parents are right, it is more tiring when there is no planned or visible point to stop and gather our bearings.

We are leaving Oz in two weeks for South America. Another adventure awaits!

Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve updated, about two months. Where to begin.

I’m currently writing this post sitting on the plane en route to Auckland, New Zealand, and will hopefully upload it soon after landing. Rory is sound asleep next to me, the boy can sleep through anything, including the sound of the woman behind us sneezing violently every fifteen minutes or so.

We went from touring Italy to trekking through the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Ukraine and Poland. We flew down to Greece for about a week to relax. The visit was unfortunately anything but relaxing, and after the week was over we hopped on another plane and went to Thailand. While there, he ran into an old friend of the family studying there, who helped us attain entry into Bhutan.

We then went to South Korea, then Japan. I could easily move to either if I could learn the language. I loved everything, from the food to the fashions to the people who commented on my eyelashes.

Throughout Europe, we were mostly spectators and tourists. In Thailand, we picked up part time jobs as fact checkers and copiers for his friend’s employer. We got to spend hours studying translation guides, practicing phrases and trying to carry conversations with the locals. We continued this in South Korea and Japan, starting by talking with shop owners wherever we went. We were invited to parties, learned how to paint fish, spent time learning new trades, tried almost every kind of sushi and bought incredibly hilarious/cute/weird things. I already want to go back.

I thought I would write more, but I’ve been getting increasingly sleepy, and I’ll try to find more time after we land and get settled. I will say this, though. There have been many surprises along the way, and almost nothing happened as we planned it. We have had several brushes with danger, lost our passports, had to replace a laptop and I now have a left shoe without a right one. There’s still a part of me in the back of my mind that is on a constant adrenaline rush, full of terror and excitement.

-posted from the hotel, after remembering I had written this. We’ve been in Auckland for a little over a week.-

I’ve decided to put together a list of people who have inspired me to travel by doing it themselves. There have been many times since I first stepped on the plane that I have wondered how I’m going to do this. The first couple of weeks, we were in a hotel room and it didn’t feel right. I didn’t like going to museums all the time, and I didn’t like doing touristy things. I don’t want to feel like I’m on an extended vacation, I want to feel like I’m actually traveling, making it my life for the time being.

Most of the time I spend online now is looking up stories of people who have traveled, or who are traveling. The biggest thing I have learned so far is that you can make all the plans in the world, but they will almost never work out the way you imagined. Sometimes, that’s for the best. Rory and I were hesitant about making the tentative itinerary outlined in the last post, since we know it’s not going to happen like that.

When I start to doubt myself, I look at the following people. I take in how they travel, what they have done, and how they got there. Then I keep it in my mind as I look for a way that suits me.

Matt, of the famous dancing videos. This is his latest one, linked everywhere on the web, and still just as heartwarming on the 100th watch as the 1st:

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

The Lost Girls, “Three twenty-something New Yorkers who ditched their media jobs to embark on a yearlong, round-the-world journey in search of adventure and inspiration.” Most of the people I read about who travel, travel alone. Reading their story made me feel like it was ok to brave the world with a friend (well, former friend. Now boyfriend. Funny how things work out).

Gala Darling went from Australia to New York City for a few months. She explains it here, and she’s where I got the idea of subletting from. I look through her New York posts for when I think I’ll be in an area for an extended amount of time and a little less nomadic, such as if/when we arrive in London (possibly).

And, of course there are the wonderful stories posted on travelblogs, worldnomads and lonelyplanet. I will count myself incredibly lucky if I have even a fraction of those experiences. Secretly, I’m a little afraid of falling in love with traveling and never being able to come back to a sedentary life. I’m also kind of looking forward to it, if it does happen.

Rory and I have been essentially lounging around Milan for the past few days, not doing much. I window shop a lot, too terrified to actually buy anything. One productive thing we have done, though, is come up with a tentative itinerary for the rest of the year. We’re thinking of something like this:

• spend the rest of August traveling Italy.
• roam other parts of Europe from September to December (said other parts TBD)
• head down to Australia in December, go over to New Zealand after a month or two.

That’s it so far. Rory also wants to check out parts of Asia, South America and Africa. We’re planning on the southern hemisphere for the end of the year/beginning of next year since it will be summer for them.

We’ve also decided not to stay in hotels whenever possible. We’re mostly looking at short-term renting (if possible) and sublets. We want places with kitchens, residential neighborhoods, nearby grocery stores and delis, etc. Places that will feel more like a temporary home.

We’re also looking at part time and/or short-term jobs wherever we go. I don’t want to be a roaming tourist for too long.

image by Giampaolo Macorig

Actually, we’re in Milan now, but when I wrote the first sentence of this post (before being incredibly distracted and forgetting to finish it) we were in Rome. I’ve included photos of Rome by the fantastic Giampaolo Macorig as every one of my photos looks like it was taken by a three year-old.

The past ten days have gone by in a whirlwind. Leaving was surprisingly easy, partly because there wasn’t much to be left behind, and partly because I announced to airport security, “I am going to set off the alarm, since I have nipple piercings and I’m wearing an underwire bra. If you are going to attempt to grope me or ask me to show them, let me know now so I can take down your names for the following complaint and lawsuit.” and we passed without even so much as a pat-down.

image by Giampaolo Macorig

Rory and I have mostly been dealing with the time changes and adjusting to speaking in Italian. We have whipped out our iPhones for translation purposes more than anything else so far. The first thing I learned was how to order food.

We have done the touristy things, seen museums while drunk off of red wine, checked out all the places visited or mentioned in Roman Holiday, played volleyball on a nude beach, shopped at the local markets, jumped around from Rome to Florence to Venice to Milan. I visited my first gymnastics coach, Galina, who told me that this year could have been my year at the Olympics, had I possessed a matching drive to my skill and potential. I quipped that my entire life seems to be built on potential and possibilities, with rare moments of actual achievement. She asked what I wanted from life, and I couldn’t really answer. More on that later, possibly.

image by Giampaolo Macorig

Something that had me worried was the beginning of Rory and I’s relationship just prior to us leaving. There’s the chance that things will not work out between us while we are abroad, which would just make everything harder to deal with. Things are going great so far, however. The only real changes with our relationship involve waking in his arms and being able to kiss him whenever I want. I like that we can have our (probably annoying) new lovestruck relationship bliss while discovering a country as beautiful as Italy.

image by Giampaolo Macorig

I have been conversing with my parents about future plans. For one, they want to meet us somewhere. Also, Mum has pointed out that living a completely nomadic lifestyle in hotels, tents and/or trains is going to wear us out quickly. As such, Rory and I have been offered their new flat in London for when we want to take some time off and stay settled for a bit.

Paige has been emailing both of us regularly with updates about the house and the new roommates. Mostly, she asks when we’re coming back since now no one in the place stocks the kitchen or fixes electronics, haha.

One last thing: I found the livejournal account I made a few years ago, and have decided to use it for more personal posts because of their privacy filters and use of OpenID. My livejournal username is kirst3n, if you would like to read or follow.

It’s been a great night. The party is still continuing at my house, with all of our friends hugging us and demanding post cards from wherever we go.

Rory and I made separate lists of places we want to visit. Mine are mostly in Europe and Asia. Most of his are in Australia/New Zealand/Antarctica/Africa. This is going to be even more interesting than I expected.

Speaking of interesting, there has been a new development. Namely, I have a new boyfriend. It might seem strange that I landed in a new relationship the night before leaving the country, but it’s ok. My boyfriend was already coming with me.

Following my last blog post, I received a slew of phone calls, text messages, IMs and emails regarding my decision. I kept my plans mostly secret, even from my closest friends, as I didn’t want to announce that I would be leaving, only to change my mind. However, in doing this I have apparently caused a few people to feel alienated, and there are many questions I have yet to answer. I am going to try my best to answer them here.

• This is not something I came up with in the past few weeks. This idea has been in the back of my mind for the past three years (and I almost went for it last year). It was only a few weeks ago that I realized that the timing works now. If I wait, I will probably never do it.
• I will be on a plane (that goes to another plane) to Rome, Italy on Friday, August 8th. It felt right to first go to my birthplace. I know this doesn’t leave much time (two days from today, in fact), but I am trying to see all of my friends and tie up any loose ends before I go. If we know each other in person, you are already invited to a party at my house on Thursday night.
• I don’t know how long I will be traveling. I am thinking in terms of semesters as I have one year of school left: if the semester lasts until December, I might as well travel for that long. If I decide to start school again in summer, I might as well take until the end of the spring semester in May, etc. So I may be back in December, May or possibly a year from now. Who knows.
• No one has influenced my decision, except myself. I considered leaving last year, after Jonny and I broke up, but I realized that I wouldn’t be going to see the world, I would be running away from my problems. I picked now because I have no current long-term attachments, I am between jobs and I have no personal issues that will linger in the back of my mind. It’s not perfect timing, but it’s the best I can ever hope for.
• Rory is coming with me, for at least part of the journey. He quit his job and dug into his life savings to do so. He wants to accompany me partly to ensure my safety, and partly because he always wanted the same opportunity but was never able to go for it alone. He and I have become extremely good friends, and I am comfortable with this.
• Every aspect of this venture will be paid for by me. I made sure to save as much money as possible ever since I started working, and I am extremely good at managing and saving my finances. The people who have been speculating that my mum and dad are going to pay for this are sorely mistaken. If I run out of cash, I will either come back or go into some debt.
• Sabrina, Jake’s sister is going to be moving into the house in my place. Originally she was going to live in my room, but she found that she had too much stuff to fit so we cleaned out the fifth bedroom and she’s moving in next week.
• Neil, Marianne’s boyfriend and Rory’s best friend is moving into the house in his place. I don’t know what the living situation will be like when Rory and I return. Neil and Sabrina might stay, they might not. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
• I have made my twitter private, but I will still try to update it as often as possible. I may update brightkite with location updates when I remember. I can assure everyone that most of my time will not be spent online.

I think that covers just about everything. If anyone has additional questions, feel free to ask and I will try to answer to the best of my ability.