The beginning

“So, Let me get this right...you are only twenty one and going all by yourself to a freezing cold country with very little sunshine, where most people can't speak English. Were you on drugs when you made this decision?" asked a rather puzzled co-worker of mine at my farewell lunch. She could not comprehend why I'd leave the comfort of my home, the unconditional showering of love from my friends and family, the security of having a job in hand and the glorious NZ summer to go to a land so unknown and far away. I don't blame her.. To many, this decision was bizarre. For me, it was just what I needed and wanted.

I was twenty one, I was done studying a degree I LOVED, a degree that taught me all about the 4 P's of marketing and Porter's strategies and the symptoms of schizophrenia but a that failed to teach me where to go from there.... I was done with University and at an interesting cross road, completely clueless about what to do and where to go...

When I was younger, I had thought I'd have everything figured out by the time I finished Uni. It was always going to be Bachelors in NZ-MBA in the States-Slaving in the corporate world for a while-Marrying the man I love and living the white picket fence lifestyle with three kids and four dogs and then working for the UN/setting up an NGO/freelancing lecturing at Universities all around the world and then writing a book on a life well lived. That was the “plan”...How naive I was to think that life could be so predictable?!

So I was done with Step 1 of my plan but was not ready for step 2. In my final year of University, I did some serious soul searching and spent countless sleepless nights wondering about the outcomes of this verdictless life. I watched a bazillion graduation speeches and TED talks and I realised that I didn’t want to rush into step 2 just because it was in the itinerary of my “plan”. I was not ready for a MBA..I wasn’ t even sure if that’s what I wanted to do in life..the free- spirited, people- loving, fun-loving ,tree-hugging, randomly- dancing, constantly- giggling, change wanting hippie in me was too scared, unwilling and unprepared to get into the rat race of doing MBA from Ivy league and then working for a company that focused solely on the numbers. That wasn’t me and I’m still not sure if that is me.

In addition to that, I realised I had a lot of growing up to do..I was 21 but I had lived a rather cozy and sheltered life. There is a song by Paul Young, “love of the common people”..about daddy buying you all the dreams you cling to and mumma loving you just as much as she can. That describes our family perfectly. I was brought up as princess, I knew I could achieve dream I had and would get unconditional love, no matter what but I also knew that there is a lot of adversity out there in the real world that I wasn’t exposed to and I wanted to learn to live in this big bad world. No plant ever grows to its full potential under the shade of a big tree, so it was time for the plant to grow a little, expose itself to the sunshine, brave the storms and reap its own fruits.

So I did what every lost, confuzzled, adventure-seeking, answers-wanting person does and I decided to go travelling...now I couldn’t do the whole backpacking thing. I’m a bit too “plan-loving” for that. I wanted to go away but I didn’t wanna roam around like an aimless wanderer. I wanted to use my time away in a more productive manner..and what better platform to do that than AIESEC?! I could finally go on that AIESEC exchange that I have coveted for the last four years. I remember watching a video of Serey from Canada going on exchange to Prague through AIESEC, that was what got me inducted into AIESEC in the first place and here I was, four years later, doing the exact same thing as Serey! Talk about a full circle! It’s funny how this internship came about..

I wanted to go to Europe..anywhere in Europe for an exchange just because I had never been there and I loved the diversity, the new cultural experience and the unexplored territories that the continent had in store for me.. Getting matched to an internship wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I had been applying to places for almost 6 weeks and got no positive response whatsoever..so there I was one day, on the verge of giving up..thinking to myself is this even worth it? That’s when the wisest man I know told me.. “it’s too early to give up..remember the nth call will be yours”..Apparently Edison is quoted to have said that he never failed, he just found 10,000 ways that didn’t work..That got me charged up..so I blared on “don’t stop believing” on the i-pod and listened to it at least a dozen times and found this internship in Prague, Czech Republic. The job description seemed great and something about the TN form had “you know you want to” written all over it..and so I did..I applied for that exchange in that hour of despair and hopelessness, guided by the positive vibes of my favourite Glee song and the rest is history  This internship represented hope and I would have been a fool to not take up this opportunity!

I thought a lot before starting this blog..whether to blog or not to blog..I love writing but I realised I have a tendency to TMI when writing and I also I have a tendency to start blogs, write a lot and then give up within a month or so..so I was a bit sceptical about writing about my travelling experiences..I did not want this blog to be just a travel blog..I’ve read lots of those and there are people who are much better at describing places they visit and things they do..I also figured that most readers don’t really care. I remember being at university, being buried in a pile of assignments and being stuck at my boring part-time job and reading about other people’s awesome adventures and looking at their amazing photos and being totally envious. The point of my blog is not to brag about the places I visit or things I do..I suck at being a tourist so my blog isn’t going to be about places and things but people and feelings(coz I’m fluffy like that)..It’s going to be about another journey...the journey of growth and development..of encounters and epiphanies..of wondering whilst wandering..a journey where I meet, where I learn, where I love.