Month #5 - Jan's Homesickness & Yemi's Fernweh

Taking it all in...
Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa

Jan managed to leave an all-you-can-eat BBQ hungry because she passed so much of her food through the fence to the stray dogs lining the sidewalk in Iguazu, Argentina. She has a way of adopting stray dogs in each town. When they see her coming down the street, they run to her to see what leftovers she has secured. As happy as she is to put food in a stray dog's belly, the truth is that she is really missing our four-legged boys. While she is truly enjoying our travels, she has finally reached the point where she can't wait to get back home where she has no leg room in bed, is awakened at 6:30am to a cold nose reminding her it's breakfast time, and has a daily two mile walk scheduled, rain or shine.

Yemi is another story. "Fernweh" is how Yemi describes it. It's a word he learned while living in Germany that has no direct translation to English but is essentially the opposite of homesick. His only concern during our final weeks is that we live each moment to the fullest. He doesn't want to find himself sitting at his work desk four months from now wishing he had taken more advantage of each of our days on the road. He could easily travel another 3+ months by his estimate before he has a desire to return home.

We have started talking to recruiters in hopes of getting some job leads before we return to the States, but it's almost impossible to secure interviews without being there so we are just doing our best to network. We are also starting to organize things like short term health coverage and temporary housing. We plan to have everything done soon so that we can just enjoy the last month. It's going to fly by!

Oh, what a feeling, out on the run
Drinking up the rain, soaking up the sun
Laughing a little bit more with every mile. 
Oh, what a freedom, like your sailing the wind
Not looking back, not forgetting where I've been,
Smiling as I watch the years roll by. 
...
I'm learning how to take it day by day...
On my highway. 

-On My Highway by Jason Aldean

We love the motto on this t-shirt!

Month #3: Reflections of Life on the Road, Cambodia & Philippines

It's hard to believe that we are already halfway through our trip. It has gone way too fast and we are constantly wishing time would slow down.

Month #3 was very humbling for us. We pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone even further and had the opportunity to give a little back in all the countries we visited. We were very moved by the number of people we met from all over the world who were also taking time out of their travels and lives to give back to these communities.

SOS message from Earthquake-ravaged Bohol, Philippines

Cambodia melted our hearts and then tugged at it. Of all the countries we've visited, this has been the one we've gotten the most intimate with. The warmth and hospitality we received from the people was very inspiring, especially given their recent turbulent history and the abject poverty.  While in Cambodia we had the opportunity to teach English and help bring clean drinking water to remote villages.

Grazing cattle in Cambodia

We spent most of our time in the Philippines volunteering with All Hands sledging concrete and deconstructing wrecked homes and schools impacted by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit last year. We met the most amazing people here.  The other volunteers, most of whom are in their late twenties and early thirties, are spending an average of three weeks doing hard manual labor by day and having great times at night.

All Hands volunteers' morning commute - photo taken from the top of our jeepney

We are so thankful to have to ability to travel like this. We did work hard for two years to make it happen, but we also know how fortunate we are. We are constantly surrounded by poverty and know we are lucky to be traveling, to have have a great support system from our families and to simply be coming from a developed nation like the US. The lyrics to the song "Just Another Day in Paradise" hit home when it played during our trip as we were surrounded by those less fortunate than ourselves.

A child working the streets of Agra, India

We've adjusted to life on the road.  We can repack our bags in mere minutes and often don't worry about booking hotels (and occasionally even flights) until 24 hours before check in.  Jan is getting tired of squat toilets and had one occasion where she splurged on Pizza Hut to satisfy her Western food craving.  Yemi doesn't miss much except for our Tempur-Pedic mattress.  And of course, we both miss our friends, families and four-legged boys.

Month #2: Reflections of Life on the Road, India & Thailand

Month #2 went even faster than the first! We've gotten better at unpacking less and have slowed down our pace. We take slightly fewer pictures and cherish the small moments more. We no longer feel like we are on vacation; we feel like this is our life for the next few months. We are doing very well with our budget and most importantly, we are getting along very well.

The reason we're getting along??? :)  We were convinced this Thailand outfit had a back door that led to a brothel.

Delhi, India was a culture shock for both of us. The sensory overload we experienced is hard to put into words and is something we won't soon forget. We can still hear the incessant honking and stray dogs barking in our sleep! This might not sound appealing but we felt alive the whole time there.

The wedding we attended in Karnal, India was a once in a lifetime experience. The countless ceremonies, endless partying and incredibly kind and welcoming people will definitely be a highlight of this entire trip. The groom, Anmol, and his family made us feel at home...well, as much as you can feel at home when herds of stray buffalo and handicap donkeys are wandering down the roads! :) We hope his family will visit us in Florida someday so we can try to repay the hospitality they gave us!

Yemi with Anmol and his nephew, whom Jan nicknamed Chit Chat

Thailand, a much needed reprieve after the craziness of India, almost felt like coming home. We know the culture, love the food and feel comfortable getting around. Familiar is what we needed after India! We spent New Year's in Koh Lanta, an island in the South of Thailand. Despite our wishing lantern burning to ashes on the beach after an unsuccessful take off, we are very excited about 2014. Our only wish is that it goes slowly and we can continue living in the moment even after we return home.

There is no shortage of long term travelers in Asia. Aside from two American couples we met in Koh Lanta, we have yet to meet anyone traveling for less than one month. "How long are you traveling for?" is often the second question after, "Where are you from?"

People are perplexed why Americans don't travel long term like the rest of the developed countries in the world. Our work hard culture and terrible PTO benefits don't support it, but foreigners are baffled that we don't seem to mind. Many Europeans and Australians get one year off to travel and can return to their positions. This is in addition to the year off that most college students take before entering the workforce. The average traveling span of the people we encounter on the road is 9-12 months. This includes people young and old!

We are looking forward to the next four months. Yemi misses his niece and Jan is anxious to be reunited with her four legged boys. We have so much still ahead of us! Our schedule is going to get a bit hectic in month #3 as we crammed another country into the mix. However, after relaxing on Thailand's beaches we think we have some extra energy to make everything happen!

Thailand, our home away from home

Month #1: Japan, Indonesia & Malaysia

It's hard to believe we are over one month into our trip. It seems like we just left the US last week!

Our first week in Japan was a whirlwind. We had a lot of adrenaline and were thrown into a non-English speaking country with a LOT to explore. Each day was jam-packed... We woke up as early as 2:45am and went to bed in wee hours of the morning on some days. We loved the food and we were in constant awe at how well organized the country was - Japan has thought of everything and has implemented each idea seamlessly throughout the entire country.

Next we headed to three distinct areas in Bali, Indonesia. We stayed at some resorts, ate three meals a day with our toes in the sand and relaxed, finally feeling like we were on vacation...like a honeymoon should feel! We enjoyed the food, culture, yoga-inspired hippies in the cafés and had a blast getting lost on our scooter.

Lastly, we traveled through three distinct areas of Malaysia. We didn't have many expectations for Malaysia as it's not part if the "banana pancake trail" and we didn't know anyone who had been there. The country had lovely beaches and a unique fusion of food from China, Malaysia and India. It also had an incredible array of shopping malls and modern amenities in Kuala Lumpur, the capital. We took some time to slow down a bit and even caught a couple of movies here.

We both have things we miss about America, but aside from our families and four-legged sons, we don't think about it too often. Jan misses having regular hot showers and a hair dryer ("natural" hair doesn't suit her well). We both have learned to value decent deodorant that works in sweltering humidity and we are lucky enough to have a friend bringing us more this week.

Life on the road is pretty easy. We unpack as little as possible and have gotten good at navigating through new towns. Sure, not everything has been prefect. Some of our clothes shrunk the first week on the trip (Japan's dryers are HOT!) and this week our laundry was returned to us smelling like an ashtray. The compact camera we purchased for this trip is absolute rubbish. And have you heard of Delhi-belly...well, there's also Bali-belly, Langkawi-belly, Georgetown-belly and....you get the idea. We've gotten to know each other a little too well in certain arenas. :)

We have five more months on the road. We are having a hard time articulating the experiences we are having because they are occurring non-stop. However, it's fair to say this has already been a trip that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

Thanks for following along!