Jobless, Homeless & Wandering

I just turned 31, and if you had asked me a year ago, none of these things were on my list to accomplish for the next year. I would have said exactly the opposite, actually. A year ago I was 3 months into a new job and a new city, both of which I liked. After nearly five years of living in New York City, knowing that at some point I would leave, it felt nice to be in a city that could become my permanent home. Last February I was planning my career, buying furniture for my spacious apartment, making new friends, and getting to know Seattle.

This February I put all of my belongings in storage, and flew to Chile with only a backpack and a friend (Hi Chantal!). I'm going to be gone for at least two months, maybe longer. First stop is Chile; to see the coastal hipster city of Valparaiso; the Atacama desert, one of the driest places on the planet; the Colchagua Valley aka Napa in the southern hemisphere; and lastly, the reason we chose Chile in the first place, Patagonia. All in, we'll be in in Chile for 28 days.

A few people have asked me why I'm spending so much time in this (seemingly) random country. Why skip over Brazil and Argentina? Why not spend a week in each country and see more of South America? I don't have a great answer to that except to say that if I tried to see the whole world I would drive myself crazy. There is just too much. When I started planning I was almost paralyzed with choice. I knew I wanted to travel, but EVERYWHERE sounded awesome. Eventually I decided I wanted to go fewer places and spend more time in them. Less time traveling, more time experiencing.

Once I decided my goal was not to see the most countries during my time off I began to narrow in on the ones that really called to me. People travel for different reasons; food, culture, history, relaxation, activities. I travel to be closer to nature. I’m drawn to the places that don’t look real in pictures, the places that feel different when you step into them. My favorite countries are all wildly different on the surface; Thailand’s turquoise beaches, Peru’s dense jungle, Iceland’s stunning glaciers. But they all bring me to a place where I feel more fully connected to the world.

Enter Patagonia.

After that I’ll be going to New Zealand for two weeks by myself, because it’s been at the top of my list for too long to not take this opportunity to go. Then I’ll be moving on to Bali for a three week yoga retreat. Because after all of this movement, I want to see what happens when I stop moving.

And after that? I don’t know. I’m waiting to see how I feel before I decide if I want to add another destination or head back home.

I guess that’s where the wandering happens.