Since I had blown my entire life savings in 2011 while traveling through South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand...from January 2012 to the beginning of July 2012 I was working an 8-5 job on the weekdays, and working a part-time gig on the weekends all to save up for my ultimate trip to leave the country and move to Australia. But the "corporate world" soon had me depressed and longing for world travel and in February, I took $1,000 and two weeks off to visit some friends in Europe.
I visited Amsterdam, Netherlands:
Barcelona, Spain:
And Aalborg, Denmark:
But after I returned to the States, I had to bite the bullet and work and save, work and save...
I lived in a condo with my two best girl friends, Sarah and Carolyn but other than that, was quite a social recluse, constantly fantasizing about where and when I was going to leave Tennessee next. In the end, I decided that I wanted to apply for a one year Working Holiday Visa in Australia. $175 and 24 hours later, my visa was accepted and I had up to April 2013 to arrive in Australia for my visa to begin.
So then I had to decide the hardest question of them all...WHEN?
I did some math and realized that I would have around $7,000 by July (which included selling my car and computers and other electronics). My family is famous for our annual July 4th party so I decided that I would make my departure date a week later on July 10th. I also realized that since I had a few grand, I was definitely going to make a few pit-stops along the way before arriving in Australia.
That's when I got to work looking at my flight options and ultimately decided on this schedule:
-San Diego for one day
-Oahu, Hawaii for one week
-Kauai, Hawaii for two weeks
-Oahu, Hawaii for two days
-Bali, Indonesia for two weeks
-Jakarta, Indonesia for one week
-Then arrive in Brisbane, Australia and figure things out from there.
The night before I left, I decide to throw a last minute going away party, which turned out to be the worst decision I could have made. Because EVERYONE I loved and cared about most in Knoxville showed up to say their goodbyes and give me their well-wishes...which made me realize just how much I had taken all of their love and support for granted over the past years.
But the next day I stemmed the flow of tears as I said goodbye to my parents, slung my massive backpack over my shoulder...and began my Epic Adventure of a Lifetime.
...And that's where my this blog began. At the very beginning of my adventure.
If you've followed along with my blog, then you know about my experience falling down the waterfall in Hawaii, or the thieving monkey in Bali. If you don't know these stories, then I've created links to all of my blog posts (in chronological order) below...
BEFORE:
HAWAII:
- My First Few Days in Oahu, Hawaii
- My Week in Oahu
- My First Impression of Kauai, Hawaii
- How I Discovered the Moodswings of Poseidon and His Ocean
- So Much to See and Do in Kalalau!
- A Native American Sweat Lodge in Hawaii
- Homesickness
- How to Fall Down a Waterfall
- The Ultimate Sea Kayak Adventure
- Our First Night at Polihale Beach
- Not the Best Experience at Polihale
- How I Learned to Hitchhike
- Saying Goodbye to Hawaii and Hello to Two Days of Travel
- Why HOSTELS Are the Key to Successful Travelling
- Surfing the Indian Ocean For My Daddy
- How to Party...Bali Style
- Monkeys in Indonesia...They Own the Place!
- The Wonder of Ancient Temples
- Ripcurl Anyone?
- This Post Has Been A Long Time Coming...
- Why You Should SERIOUSLY Avoid the Water in Indonesia
- My Jaunt Through Jakarta - The City Where Blonde Hair Is a Traffic-Stopper
- My First Week in Australia and the Generosity of Strangers
- How to Start a Life in Australia
- How Life Took Me From The Gold Coast to Sydney
So, to re-cap...
2012 has without a doubt been the best and most influential year of my life. And I can't wait to get back in the swing of things and update on the crazy experiences that have fallen my way while here in Sydney...
But in the mean time, I'll post this picture as a sneak preview...
-Little Blonde Traveler
