Just in time for the end of 2010 I'm closing this blog as I plant my feet back in East Africa for a different adventure and challenge. 2010 has been a roller coaster year of emotions, adventures, challenges, new experience and new beginnings. People travel for different reasons and this year was about me exploring all those things I never got the chance to do – I still unfortunately have not done them all but it seems to me that once a gypsy always a gypsy and you are never satisfied, always looking for the next challenge. South America, NYC, Laos and more of Asia are still on my hit list of places to be exlpored but Im grateful for the year (the year that just flew) that allowed me to see and experience so many things that many people in this world will never experience or undestand – from ashrams to temples, to rivers, to gutters, to slums, to palaces and travelling using planes, cars, trains, ferries, piki piki's, buses, trucks, camels, donkeys, feet and kites – I'm grateful for the adventure that has been so far.
The highlights of the journey this year are as follows (in no particular order):
*Teaching English in a slum school in Inida
*Visiting the Taj Mahal - AGAIN
*Spending a day in silence at the Golden Temple, Amritsar, Nth India
*Studying dance in Pushkar, India
*Attending the 1st ever Bellydance festival in Istanbul, Turkey
*Attending the Hilldrez Gypsy Festival in Istanbul, Turkey
*Roaming photography on the streets of Istanbul
*Becoming Godmother to my favourite cousins child in Greece
*Attending the Sacred World Music Festival in Fez, Morrocco
*Seeing Ait Ben Haddou Unesco Heritage Site outside Marrakesh
*San Juan Festival, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
*Being in Barcelona for the World Cup & Spain getting into the final
*Dancing in the rain at a street festival in Madrid
*Driving at night in London
*Studying and performing Tanzanian dance in Arusha
*Meeting my Indian sponsor child
*Meeting my St Jude's Tanzania sponsor child and seeing her everyday!
*Teaching my St Jude's standard 6 students dance routines
*Being in Stonetown, Zanizibar for Ramadan
*Seeing my shit-eater cousin from Italy after so many years
*My first ever safari on a school bus with St Jude's kids
*Attending Holi festival in India
*Attending the elephant festival before Holi in Jaipur India
*Attending my first ever real Indian wedding
*Travelling Spain with my Mum
*Seeing my first ever Masai
The list could go on and on but these are the one's that I remember most this year. Meeting my sponsor child from India was very emotional for me and living in Africa heart breaking.
In 2011 I wont be travelling as much but it's my intention to start travelling East Africa while I'm here to tick some more countries of my list. Thank you to everyone who has followed me on this journey in 2010. Sometimes when I havent written I've received emails asking what's wrong and that's when I realise Im not alone on this journey – you've all been sharing the experieence with me it's just that Im the one suffering the stomach bugs and empty bank account! :)
I hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for more madness in 2011. Have a Merry Xmas and Happy New Year!
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