Travel by the numbers and other musings

I can hardly believe it, but three months ago today I arrived at my first destination- Vienna, Austria. I therefore feel it's time for an update on the trip overall that's less about what I'm getting up to day-to-day but how this whole thing is panning out!

Here we go. Let me know if any other numbers might be of interest, and I'll continue to share any further musings that arise...

Plane rides: 16
Train rides: 11
Boat/ferry rides: 11
Airlines flown: 10
Books read (not including travel guides!): 12
Mosquito bites (cumulative): 40 plus, easily!
Longest time without a shower: 3 days
Family members travelled with: 2
Times I have said I'm Canadian: Several
UNESCO sites visited: 14 (I thought I was doing great here...until I found out there are 897 more to see)
Dollars spent: About $4,500
Biggest local currency exchange rate to the dollar: $1 = 2080 Madagascar Ariary

-Carrying my entire life on my back has made me realize how little the average person needs to get by. However, even though I only ever have a maximum of three outfits to choose from, I still manage to agonize for far too long about what to wear. How did I make it to work every day with my entire wardrobe available to me each morning?

-There's something about traveling that makes travelers feel compelled to have seriously deep conversations with one another and spill their deepest and darkest within moments of meeting. I suppose it's a 'ships that pass in the night,' sort of thing, or strangers on a train. Then we remember about Facebook...

-I am not yet liberated enough to let go of my eyeliner, and I miss my high heels and my Marc Jacobs bag. There, I said it.

-If you don't know how to drive a stick shift car (which I don't), learn. It's often all that's available overseas and is much cheaper than hiring an automatic anyway.

-Toilet paper, baby wipes and plastic bags are sacred.

-Patience, patience, patience. I don't know why it takes four people half an hour to examine my passport, or why taxi drivers just pull over to have a chat with their mates when I'm paying them to get somewhere, but these things are the gateways to all the things I want to do and see, so I must just chill out, max out, relax all cool...and wait.

-I appreciate even more how lucky I am to be both British and American and the opportunities that affords me.

-Sometimes, out of nowhere (like, when I'm buying soap or something), I miss home (both my homes, East and West) and all the people that I love and I get all teary. Then I remember I wouldn't be here without them and feel so lucky. Then I get panicked about having to go home at all- what am I going to do with my life?! Then I remember that I MUST live in the moment. Then, after this rollercoaster of emotions, I pick out the soap and move on.

-Sometimes time flies and sometimes the minutes seem to go on forever, but it goes just the same and it's all I can do to just BE!