The Start of a 3 Month Adventure

IT’S DEPARTURE DAY!

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After a million goodbyes (including a surprise party complete with my very own Geo Tag filter on snapchat) I am feeling more ready than ever to get on this plane and go! Abby and I have been awaiting this moment since we booked our flight in February. We’ve stressed about packing 3 months into carry-on sized backpacks, we’ve saved, we’ve made plans, cancelled plans, reimagined itineraries, and said a lot of prayers! All the work is done and now it’s time to play.  We are patiently awaiting our 13.5 hour flight to board for Beijing where we will then catch a connecting 2 hour flight to Shealee’s hometown of Xi’an.

Could travel really be a consistent part of my life?

Besides close trips to Mexico and the Caribbean I had never really been overseas until a high school graduation trip landed me in Italy for 2 weeks. Until this opportunity I never thought I’d see the world. It was so inspiring and I was so grateful for this once in a lifetime experience to visit a place so far away. I never knew that this trip would plant a permanent travel bug in me. Four years later in grad school I was once more given an opportunity to travel to Europe to study abroad. I took it just knowing it would be my last trip overseas. However, something changed in me that year. My perspective on the world grew and my wonder for travel grew. Could travel really be a consistent part of my life? I read blog after blog about how to travel with little money and I decided to pursue it!

Even though these things seemed like my ultimate goal in life, they didn’t feel like living.

So here I sit in the airport terminal. All geared up for long term travel. I can’t believe I did it. I quit a nice job with wonderful people, a great paycheck, and the comfort of my hometown. Even though these things seemed like my ultimate goal in life, they didn’t feel like living. I’m so excited to see a new part of the world! To learn new things, meet new people, and be uncomfortably out of my bubble. To clear my head of constant technology use, and to just be outside… a lot. I don’t know what I hope to come back home knowing. It’d sure be nice to have my next step planned out, but I’m okay with also not knowing. It’s scary and yet somehow freeing to not know exactly what is next for the first time in my life. It’s a really beautiful time for me to trust in God like I’ve never quite done before and I do hope and pray that through it all I return looking a little more like Jesus.

Wander On,

Sammi Kaye