One year on the road

346 days.

On 24.03.2018, I boarded my flight to San Francisco.

On 29.04.2018, I flew to New York to meet my parents and sister.

On 13.05.2018, I continued to Peru, South America.

On 23.09.2018, Emily and I flew from Peru to Bolivia.

On 28.09.2018, we crossed the border to Chile in a van.

On 23.10.2018, my mom and I took a bus to Argentina.

On 29.12.2018, I was on the ferry to Uruguay.

On 27.12.2018, I flew to Brazil to meet Judith.

On 03.03.2019, I am on my way home.

Actually, Uruguay and Brazil were never planned. I never thought I would have enough time to go that far. In general, I did not plan what to do, where to go, and how long to stay in any country. I didn't even have a guidebook. The entire travel route, development, and planning of the trip were based on stories from various other backpackers and the internet.

I was sure that I wanted to go to San Francisco to improve my English. I was also sure that I wanted to go to South America. To be honest, I had more respect for San Francisco than for South America because my English skills were lacking and I absolutely hated English class in school. But when I arrived in San Francisco, I was so surprised because there were so many different people from different countries at different language levels, that my fear was taken away in just one day of school.

When I thought about going to Peru, it was completely different. I was excited and looking forward to it. I wanted to experience something, learn Spanish, and somehow I never wasted a single thought on whether I would actually master the language, what transportation options would be like, or what the crime rate in Peru/South America was like.

While traveling, you always think about what could have been done differently, where you could have saved time, what you didn't like, what was unnecessary, where you could have saved money. And again and again, it becomes clear to me that when you travel for a year, it doesn't matter about the time, not everything can be amazing all the time, and that sometimes you have to take a 24-hour bus ride because that's also part of traveling. Emily and I sometimes wondered where our money was going, but in retrospect, everything was worth every penny. Even the overpriced spicy stuffed pepper in Arequipa that cost me a fortune, but I could only eat one bite of it because it was so spicy that I instantly felt sick and started sweating.

Actually, I wouldn't do anything differently and I would approach it the same way again. Certainly, I would travel with Emily for such a long period of time anytime. I am grateful that I didn't have to use the health insurance. I am also grateful that I only had bedbugs once.

Without my parents, who supported me in my endeavor and continue to support my ideas, I might not have dared to bum around South America for a year instead of starting a degree or apprenticeship in a sensible way.

What exactly lies ahead for the future is not yet clear, I first have to realize that I really speak Spanish now, that I have been up to 6200 meters in altitude, that I crossed the Andes in a van, that I was in the jungle for five days without a shower, that I climbed an active volcano, that I walked on a glacier, and so on...

Now I just want to enjoy the time with my friends and family or maybe already plan the next trip.