A New Challenge!

Remember how I tried to do Bootsnall's November blog challenge? One prompt every day about my travels in the past year. Well even if you don't remember (which seems likely to me, I don't think I'm that important to warrant that spot in your memory), I'm going to be trying their new challenge - One propt a week for the WHOLE YEAR. I didn't complete the November challenge, but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna try at this one - I've never been the type who blogs daily, but weekly I should be able to do (maybe).


Here's the first prompt:
This year, let’s not just resolve to “travel more” let’s resolve to have amazing indie travel experiences. Resolve to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. Resolve to walk on a glacier in Patagonia. Resolve to eat your weight in cheese in Provence. Resolve to dance the tango in Buenos Aires. Resolve to seek out experiences that immerse you into a new culture, challenge your beliefs, push your comfort

To be honest, I forgot to make a New Year's resolution... whoops. Reading this prompt (which I originally did much closer to new year's, completely spacing on actually blogging about it) made me think, though: What do I want from 2012? 

To be honest, I'm pretty sure it won't be quite as memorable as 2011, but taking part in the Arab spring, being on  five continents by mid-February, and making friends (and family) I'll never forget is not something that I can realistically expect out of every year. Nor did I expect it at this point last year, haggling over a carpet in Morocco and reading about the Tunisian protests in the news, never expecting that my return to Cairo would coincide with the world as I knew it being flipped on its head.

But that was last year. For 2012, I'm gonna try my best to not expect anything. Yes, I am making plans. Plans to go to Mardi Gras to visit my university one last time and reunite with my best friend from Egypt, who lives school in Seattle. Plans to teach English in Korea. Plans to save up some money and figure out my next step in life. But that is as far as I will let my expectations go.

Broadly, my expectations for an amazing, international year improving my language skills were fulfilled in 2012, but if evacuation and continent-hopping taught me anything, it's that things not going as expected does not mean things going badly. 

So, for 2012, I resolve to go into all of my plan-making with an open mind, to be as flexible as possible, and to roll with the punches.

What are you waiting for?

It's that time of the year again. The Christmas music has come out. I'm a big Christmas music fan. It just feels cozy to me. But I'm a bit bitter at the moment, it seems, and I'm noticing a theme in my thoughts about a lot of the songs that have been coming up. Two in a row in particular that came up were women singing about wanting a man (whether a specific one or just one in general) and all I could think is how these women are waiting under the mistletoe for a man to come and find them (or for Santa to bring him), and I got to thinking about how much of our lives we spend waiting.
I'm not talking about waiting in line for coffee, or in traffic, or whatever menial thing we might have to do on any given day. I mean waiting to do what we really want to do.
And thus I want to ask you, what are you waiting for?
Once you've come up wit an answer to this question, I want you to stop waiting and do it.
This does not have to be something giant. I know there are some things you need to wait for. But that person you'd like a date with? Ask them out. That novel you want to write? Write it. That raise you want? Ask for it. The result will be the same whether you do it now or later, and waiting is only going to make you unhappy in the meanwhile.
Even with larger things, stop waiting quite so long. Want to quit your job? Start looking for a new one now. Want a new car? Pass up that night out and put those $20 in the bank.
Basically, we need to prioritize, what do you want, and what are you willing to do to get it? You can save money a lot more quickly if you're motivated. So know what you're saving for, and when you've thought it out, you'll realize that your daily coffee could be $1000 in the bank at the end of the year. And that's just a coffee. Get a coffee pot.
Maybe you might read this and think I'm naive, but hey, I'm moving abroad in less than three months,  I've figured out what I want, and I've gotten it. So what are you waiting for?

Pictures, #3

A few more shots.

Please share/use if you like.

Please give me credit/keep the ©
I have larger file sizes if you like.

Fly Away
Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Vista
Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Porque Piedras Trae
Torres Del Paine National Park, Chile

A Few More Pictures

I'm trying to limit the number of pictures per post down so it doesn't take forever to load.

I didn't mention in the last post, but I have these in larger size also if anyone wants them. Just don't forget credit/leave the ©

=)

Out for a Cruise
Valparaíso, Chile

Vibrance
Valparaíso, Chile

Torres Del Paine
Torres Del Paine National Park, Chile

A Few Pictures

I've been meaning to put some of my photography up here. These aren't necessarily my favorites, just the first ones I got around to uploading.

Photography is something I love, so please let me know any thoughts you may have on my shots. And you can feel free to share/use them, but leave the ©/credit me please.

Unmarked graves of the unidentified victims of the Pinochet dictatorship:
National Cemetery, Santiago, Chile. 

Stairs to...
Viña del Mar, Chile

Relaje
Valparaíso, Chile

Prompt #23 - Tech

Prompt #23 of 30 Days of Indie Travel
Where would today’s travelers be without smartphones, GPS, iPods, iPads, or even the internet? Share one item of tech you can’t live without or tell us how technology has changed the way you travel.


Ok, so I know that over the last year and a half or so the iPad has become the cliche gadget of choice for, well, everyone, travelers included, but this is one of those times when the product really does live up to the hype. While I don't have an iPad 2 (nor any plans to upgrade), I feel like even the original product really does have exactly what a traveler needs. Translator? Check. Currency converter? Check. Lonely Planet guide? Check. Even flight trackers, Skype, and the super-important-when-your-plane-is-delayed Angry Birds. And, of course, and iPod. Battery life could be better, but I bring it everywhere.

Wherever you go, there you are.

This quote comes to mind when I think about my current complete lack of motivation. I spent a year on five continents, took part in a revolution, got a whole new family, learned a new language and greatly improved another, and now I'm in school. And it sucks, to be honest. But New Orleans is a great place,  and I wish I could enjoy my last month here, because for so many people this is a destination. So that's my goal for the next (almost) month. There is plenty of photographing to be done in this city, and I'm gonna do some of it.
If I ever write this paper so I have time.