Now that I’ve gotten all the whining out of the way with my last 2 posts, I thought it might be valuable to also highlight some of the positive things I’ve experienced in my year off from working.
It might not be specific situations or circumstances, but overall moments and experiences where I had to remind myself that my lifestyle is a dream come true and that despite the struggles sometimes, there is so much to be grateful for and the world is still beautiful in spite of its human occupation.
So I thought I’d make a list. Because why not make it more digestible and easier to read?
1. Hot air balloons in Luxor
One recent example of something amazing I’ve done in the last year was getting into a hot air balloon ride above Ancient Egyptian relics on a random Friday morning with my brother and You. The morning was frigid so we welcomed the beautiful golden orange sunrise as we floated above the West Bank of Luxor and relished at the Nile river snaking through the land. Such a difference that incredible river still makes to towns all along its path, even now. We could literally see how it sprung life and carved out its own ecosystem as it meandered through the country and greater part of the continent. The views were stunning. 10/10.
2. Swimming with mantas in Indonesia
Admittedly, we went back to Bali for the second time this year thinking that it was going to be a place where we would settle. I’d say Bali had other plans for us but the truth is that the vibe this time around just wasn’t what we wanted it to be and after three months of me working online and volunteering at a lovely school in Ubud, I’d had enough and was ready to cross it off my list of possibilities for living. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t have an amazing time and get to do incredible things.
One such “thing” was swimming with manta rays off the coast of Nusa Penida. Of course you’re never guaranteed to see them because they are totally wild and not being lured in (thankfully) by anyone. But boy did we see them! Right as we arrived we started to see the black masses come to the surface. I jumped in the water so fast that I didn’t even have time to think about whether or not I was scared. By the time I realised the size of them in comparison to myself I was already surrounded and enveloped by their peaceful energy and graceful movements. This one experience made up for the 1+ years I spent in Cayman trying to see an eagle ray. Speaking of seeing amazing sea creatures..
3. Diving a volcanic beach in Bali
Some would probably argue that this doesn’t belong on a list but ever since I watched My Octopus Teacher it has been my dream to see an octopus on one of my dives. Yet I am not trained enough to be able to see them on my own and I’m sure there have been many hiding in plain sight in many of my 50+ dives. Still, it took Indonesia for me to finally catch a real sight of one.
Unfortunately the little guy did not come out from under the rock, but I saw his eye and his tentacle and I was so giddy about it that it didn’t even matter that he didn’t come out. It also helps that this was a stunning dive with the most colourful reefs and it was just off the coast of Amed, which is in northern Bali. It’s a black sand beach that is brimming with life and made me realise just how much of the reefs in Cayman were actually dead/dying from coral bleaching.
4. Hiking Kelingking beach in Nusa Penida
This can be a whole blog post of its own, and every time I think about it I cringe at the choice we made to leave our new friend on the beach in a hurry to catch the last ferry back to Bali. I know he will probably never forgive us, but at the same time what a great moment of self-preservation and perseverance to look back on.
The reviews of this hike are not really mixed: the word is that it’s not for the weary. I’m not a big hiker myself but what made this more manageable for me was that I didn’t have time to take my time and it was a pretty short hike. Treacherous, but short. We were told it would be one hour down and two up, which contributed to the rush, but in the end it took only about 20 minutes to go down and around 40 to go back up. Obviously, 3 of us had a certain level of fitness, with one friend being an actual hiker. But the other friend who we left behind was not. He was capable, no doubt. But we should not have taken on the challenge of doing this with such a short turnaround time, in the heat of the day, and with sunset around the corner.
There were so many variables contributing to why this was a bad idea, not least of all the crazy tide and overall roughness of the water that was 100% not swim-able. After all that work and sweat, it was extremely disappointing that we were not able to cool off in the sea. And all the attempts to do so proved more and more dangerous as the ocean displayed her dominance. Still, there is always a feeling of accomplishment when doing something challenging and it helps that the views were stunning the whole way through.
5. Working remotely everywhere
I know I started this post by saying I’ve not been working but that’s not entirely true. My gap year actually lasted only about 6 months because I happened to land a job leading a nonprofit based in the US that gives out Montessori scholarships for people who look like me. Knowing very little about the nonprofit world was certainly intimidating, but I leaned on my knowledge of Montessori and my experience of it in multiple countries and various settings and business models has helped me to contribute to the role in unique ways. Being competent with website building and mailing lists and being able to write well and copy edit has been most of the work outside of my Montessori knowledge, so that has been fun to tap back into, and I can do it from anywhere. Being able to work online has meant that I’ve had a lot more flexibility when it comes to my choices and being able to afford this nomadic lifestyle for longer than a year. It’s been amazing to connect with so many leaders and pioneers in the Montessori world and to be able to help and support the access Black people have to Montessori programs around the world. I worry that being away from the U.S. for too long will be problematic, if I’m being honest, but I also see that there’s a big desire for us as an organisation to look outside of the U.S. and I’m totally here for it.
6. I’m a business, man
The buck didn’t stop with finding online work. In my time in Florida, which extended far beyond what I anticipated (I’ll write about it in the next point) I also decided to buy some cars and start a rental car business. This was partially motivated by the feeling of “stuckness” I experience when I’m there without a car, as it’s impossible to be in Florida and probably most of the U.S. without one. It was mostly inspired by the absolutely horrid experience I had with Thrifty (don’t ever use them!) when I rented a car to attend a work conference in Orlando.
Now, we have 3 cars available for rent on Turo. Thanks to mum and also to brother unlucky for doing the day-to-day work to make this happen and keep it going. They’re the real MVPs!
For anyone going to Miami, tell a friend to tell a friend. We’ve got some nice vehicles available to rent!
7. Spending time with family
Getting back to the last point about spending more time in the U.S. than intended; it wasn’t for good reason and yet it was. I was in the throes of the first ever Miami Acro Fest, just about to learn standing reverse h2h, when I got a dreaded phone call from brother unlucky. My dad, who was in Jamaica at the time, had had a heart attack. I won’t bore you with the details but the next few weeks were pretty much filled with nonstop hospital visits and being with him as much as possible. He’s only alive today because my brother and a close family friend in Jamaica were able to coordinate an air ambulance to Florida, where he finally got the urgent care he needed. This has forever changed the way I look at places to live as having access to good health care is not something to gamble with. Still, it’s a blessing that I happened to be right there in Florida at the time and that I was able to support and be there as much as possible during a scary and life-changing time.
I wish I could say it’s enough to make me want to live in the U.S. again but you probably already know from my previous post that this is not the case. If I could move my family with me somewhere, I’d literally never go back. It has given me pause, though, and makes it that much harder to choose to be away still.
Compromises. Still trying to figure out which ones to make.
8. Taking my brother to Egypt
Ever since as far back as I could remember, I’ve thought that my first time going to Africa would be with my brother. I didn’t think it was going to be Egypt, but wherever it was I would say it didn’t matter as long as we went together. I was able to convince him to come visit me in London and from here the trip to Egypt is short and cheap so we thought why not.
Now despite the circumstances I laid out in my last post, we absolutely made the best of our time in Egypt had a total blast overall through humour and camaraderie if nothing else. We were also each equally speechless after seeing the tombs and Karnak Temple and were grateful to be in the presence of such incredible history. Going to Egypt as the first stop in Africa was all about the history and relics, so from that standpoint it was absolutely amazing. Everything else is noise.
9. Skiing in the Alps
The first time I went skiing I was probably around 9/10 years old. It was one of the Christmases that we spent up in a log cabin in the mountains of a state on the east coast. I have the home video somewhere with all the specifics, but I want to say it was in North Carolina. We were young and fearless and the class my parents paid for was only useful up until the point where we found our wings and were off down the slopes with not a care in the world.
Skiing in the Italian Alps was nothing like this. The “beginner” slope was so steep that I couldn’t see over it and I went down full speed despite doing what I thought was a pizza the whole way down. I didn’t fall but I also didn’t stop until I came to a flat part near the kids slope, just before another precipice. At that point, I decided to take off the skis and exit stage right. It was 100% one of the scariest feelings I’ve ever had to be going down with zero control and no idea what to do about it. I bid not to ever go skiing again unless it was with an instructor. Since we were there an entire weekend with His family, most of whom I was meeting for the first time, giving up and being a weak heart was not an option. I paid for an instructor the next day once my nervous system was calm enough and I managed to gain back enough confidence to finish the day without one. I’m still only at a 50/50 on whether I actually even enjoy skiing but I did end up going again in Colorado when I visited my brother a few weeks later. It was this that made me realise that the beginner slopes in the U.S. are nothing compared to the ones in the Alps. Jury is still out on whether I’ll be hitting the slopes again any time soon. But once again this was a lesson on persevering and I’m proud of myself for overcoming because I was truly, truly frightened.
10. Seeing 2 world wonders
The first, obviously, is the Pyramids in Egypt. The other is Christ the Redeemer. Brasil happened so suddenly that I sometimes forget completely that we went. For some reason I also didn’t really take any pictures of the trip, except for when we went to see Cristo. For some reason this statue overlooking Rio is considered to be one of the wonders of the world, but if you ask me it doesn’t deserve to be on that list. I’m not even saying this because I’m anti-what it represents, I just don’t feel there was anything special about it in any way and I’m pretty sure the Big Buddha in Phuket is bigger if size is what this is about. If not, Buddha is still more impressive as a statue in general. I will agree, however, that it’s cool to see Christ looking down over the city, but I actually think what makes this impressive at all is just the city itself and how beautiful the landscape is on its own. I never really thought about it before but if you ask me, that’s what makes the pictures look so amazing.
That being said, I have to admit that Rio is probably one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen. All in one you’ve got rich culture, beautiful mountains, lovely beaches, and a bustling city. The views are spectacular and young professional meets beach football quite seamlessly across the street from each other.
I wish we’d had more time to see other places in Brasil but I’m not mad that this was my introduction to the massive country. I’m also not opposed to going back, and I’ve got my eye on Bahia.
11. Going back in time
Ok I obviously didn’t really go back in time, although I guess you can say I did when I visited all the museums in Vietnam or crawled through the tiny tunnels they used in their guerilla warfare. But I’m not talking about the blast from the U.S.’s horrific past. I’m talking about the Gili Islands.
These are some tiny islands near to Lombok in Indonesia, which you can walk around in their entirety in maybe an hour. That’s not what makes them a blast from the past though. On these islands, there are no streets and no cars. You get around there in one of three ways: walking, riding a bicycle, or horse and carriage. A few people have electric scooters, but other than this nothing is motorised. Can you imagine the silence? Is was deafening! It made me realise how much sound pollution we are exposed to on a daily basis just through transport b and was such a welcome change from the bustling streets of Bali. The islands were so nice that we went there twice—and I’d happily go again.
Overall, looking back at this list and the crazy year I’ve had leaves me feeling humbled. When I set out to write about my year, all I could think about initially were the negatives of life on the road. I had one after the other lined out to complain about, and didn’t think I’d be able to find any positives. (It must be a hormonal time of month.) I’m glad I forced myself to think harder about what life has given me over the last 365 days, because no matter how hard life is, there will always be little moments of bliss speckled throughout that can turn any night sky into a beautiful tapestry of lights.
Stay tuned for part 2.
