240 days

I have been away for 8 months now and I wanted to share with you some of my experiences. Travelling and working in countries so different from my own has changed the way I see myself and the world. I have done things that I did not think I was capable of. I have experienced things that I can not put into words. I have been challenged and become stronger. I have questioned everything I believe in and the things that are important to me. I have learnt that there are many ways of seeing the world.

Countries visted

Canada, Cuba, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru.

Highlights

• Working with children

I have had the oppertunity to work with some awesome kids in Nicaragua and Ecuador. This has been a highlight for so many reasons. I have been able to experience and learn a new culture through the eyes of a child. I have also worked with fun, inspiring people from all over the world. 

• Exploring the worlds wonders

On this trip I have climbed volcanoes and reached peaks of over 5000 meters. I have dived under the sea with sharks, turtles and millions of fish. I have experienced the bitter cold of Canadian Winter (and the beauty that accompanies it) and the heat of the desert. A definate highlight was camping on volcano Acatanango and watching a nearby volcano erupt through the night. The Amazon and the Galapogos were also amazing. I have treked to ancient cities and waterfalls. I have been pushed physically, but been rewarded by how incredible beautiful nature can be.

• Exploring different cultures

Travelling has opened my eyes to different ways of seeing the world. I have experienced different languages, customs, traditions, dress, music . I have also questioned my own believes and what makes me both different and unique from the people I meet

• meeting amazing people

I have met the most amazing people on my travels and have shared so many amazing experiences.

• different types of transport

Travel is always an adventure

The more difficult parts

• Always saying goodye and living out of a back pack

It feels like I am always saying goodbye to people that I grow close to and leaving places that I have grown to love. Everything I own fits in my back pack. While this is liberating, at times I feel like a tree without roots

• The bus crash

I was in a bus crash in Honduras. he bus rolled several times before landing on its side. It was 11pm a night in one of the most dangerous cities in the world. 

• Missing friends, family and the comforts from home

Hot showers, familiar food and my mothers hugs. Also missing important moments like my niece being born and her first year of life. 

• The suckiness

Sometimes things just suck and it feels like there is not much you can do to change it. The fact that you are teaching a class of children that do not have a classroom. Or the 2, 3 and 4 years old that you meet at the park who look after eachother because there mothers are selling mandarins on the highway. The fact that some of the children I work with will go to bed hungry or live in homes made of scrap metal.