The promise of adventure

When I first moved to England the appeal was clear: new places, new people, new opportunities, and all around a new city and country to conquer. The mystery of my new home was what made it so exciting and totally worth the risk. It's the promise of adventure that made me want to do a year abroad in college and leave everyone I knew. And in that year, boy I was right, I got more adventure than I could have ever asked for. From living with roommates from all over the world, to dating a Cypriot soldier, to going to Dublin for St.Patty's day, I never knew what to expect out of tomorrow.

The same appeal is what made me want to move to Korea. I admit at first I wanted a clean slate and a fresh start more than adventure, but after a month or two my appetite for discovery was undeniable. I went to Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and explored my amazing new home, Korea. I wanted to do something new every weekend, learn something about this foreign place, and to soak up the culture. Everything was inspiring and new, and going to bed each night knowing I would learn something totally new and unfamiliar the next day, was exhilarating.

Well, as I have become more accustom to my life in Korea some of that sense of adventure has faded. There have been a few weeks recently where I don't seek it out anymore, because this place has become home to me, not a place promising the unknown. Don't get me wrong there are still new things I learn each week, but its much harder to surprise me than it was when I first arrived.

Luckily, that promise of adventure is right around the corner. With my TOAL being less than 30 days away, I am being filled more and more with anticipation and excitement. I know that each day I am in Vietnam, Cambodia, or Thailand I will see something fantastic or learn something exhilarating about a foreign culture. I can just see it now: my mom and I riding a scooter along a street in Hanoi stopping off at a local market and grabbing a snack before our next destination. I see us exploring the mountains and beaches of Hoi An and sparking up a conversation with fellow travelers. I see us making friends with a tuktuk driver in Siem Reap who we get to know over our time in his city. We might hear about his struggle and his life growing up, and our lives will be connected for a few life changing days. I can see us exploring the jungle of Thailand, laying on the beach of Ko Chang, and zip lining through the forest of Chiang Mai. There is too many adventurous, enriching, and promising possibilities to even account for.

There is something to be said when life gets you all riled up, makes you open your heart, and you are incredibly ready to discover whatever mysteries this world has to offer. The promise of adventure brings out the little kid in you that used to dig for buried treasure at the beach, or who pretends that they are superwoman who can do anything! The promise of adventure replaces daydreams with otherwise mundane thoughts about the grocery list or chores to be done. And before you know it, you find yourself smiling and not even realizing your doing so. It makes you hopeful and ready for anything. I'm ready to continue exploring the world.