Yesterday I had a 'mock interview' for teaching. It went well but the guy told me that I should beef up my resume with some information about my interests. ' List the countries you've been to' he suggested. I laughed a little thinking that it'd take up half the page. Then I couldn't stop trying to mentally list the countries I've visited. So here they are, for my reference and, just to brag.

New Zealand                     The Netherlands

Australia                            Belgium

Singapore                          Poland

England                             Czech Republic

Hungrary                           Austria

Ireland                               Germany

Scotland                            Italy

Slovakia                            Switzerland

Wales                                France

Spain                                 Portugal

 

Exactly twenty. Not as many as I thought, actually. I'm hoping to get Turkey, Greece, Cuba, Belize, Argentina, and Chile on there in the next few years.

 

 

Daydreamer.

My desire to go back to Europe has hit me like a sledgehammer. I have spent hours over the past few days looking through my photos of the sixteen months I spent living in Europa and reading gleeful status updates from mid-2009 (thanks to the new fb timeline). I know everything wasn't sunshine and slow motion field running over there, but I had some of the best times of my life sprinkled in amongst the angst. My life right now? Reallllly not exciting. Don't get me wrong, I am not unhappy, not by a long shot - I am headed in the direction I want - I guess I am just a greedy little green grass dreamer.

2013.

 Segovia, Spain

Christmas markets in Bruges, Belgium

We talked about the day ahead and shouldn't we just run away instead? We started to believe our dreams.

Where did my travel dreams go?

I have now been back in Australia (after my *I'm moving to Europe* phase lasted only 18 months) for over a year. Something kind of strange has happened to me. It used to be that dreaming of travel and planning for travel were pretty much my only passions, the only things that could really cheer me up after a bad day and the things I looked forward to in my future.

Recently I have realised that when I try to imagine possible future travel adventures I just feel tired. I think of staying in a hostel dorm and wistfully fantasising about an eight hour sleep, I think of dragging my suitcase/backpack up never-ending flights of stairs, I think of struggling to work out the public transport timetable in an unknown language. And it all makes me feel tired. I have lost my ability for escapism. My friends tell me that is all good: it means I am settled, content.

No. It is an identity crisis. I thought I knew who I was - the girl who was always dreaming of new places, of adventure, of the rush of culture shock. But now I'm the girl who is seemingly settled into a life with no career, no partner, and no big dream. How effing boring. When did I stop panicking about not knowing what to do with my life?

This Summer I will be away from uni for at least three and a half months. Maybe during that time I will figure out what it is that is making me content. Being content with no obvious improvements to my life is really confusing me.

My Photo of Paris