Adios

The trip of a lifetime, as I’ll probably call it in a few weeks time, is coming to a sad, drawn out end for me. Fourteen hours confined to a single flying seat really gives me a lot of time to reflect on my summer, and all of the crazy once in a lifetime experiences that I shared with Rob. I’ll probably never travel for so long again, never meet so many differently wonderful people, and definitely never eat more meals with another person for the rest of my life.

While it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the sudden readjustment I’m going to have to go through by coming back to Fresno then almost immediately heading back to Carleton, I can’t say that I’m not excited to return to school and even a little thankful for a break from the constant hustle and bustle of traveling. I’m sure however that after a couple of days of attending long awaited doctors appointments and boring hours wasted away on tv I’ll begin to miss the unbounded freedom of traveling. The change will really start to set in when I return to the uneventful and repetitive dishes served at the Carleton dining hall; my days of eating authentic international cuisine are over.

For others following our blog it must’ve seemed like we were traveling for years, but to us, it seemed no more than a matter of weeks. On one hand the days of Chinese bargaining seem antiquated after being in other countries where prices are not negotiable. On the other hand it seems like yesterday that we hung out with our hostel mates on our roof during our first week in Korea. My most depressing realization about this great trip was coming to terms with the fact that I couldn’t possible remember all of the fun, and weird, things that happened over time. Any city that comes to mind also brings with it a multitude of memories, which continue to come back the longer I think about it. If I only walked away with but a few of those great experiences though then I would still walk away beyond happy. I never could’ve fathomed the things that we saw and experienced, both shocking and wonderful.

Finally I am so glad and thankful to have been able to experience this awesome trip that could not have happened without my brother or parents. It’s hard to express my gratitude for allowing and helping me to experience what I will remember as the most eventful and eye opening summer of my life.

To everyone reading this, I hope that sometime you find the time to experience a trip similar, if not better, than ours.

Thanks for taking the time to read all of our posts. Goodbye!

– Alex Yeagle