Osaka, Japan
I meant to do this post at the beginning of the month, but I have been so busy and have been having such a great time that my internet usage has been limited to only a few minutes a day! I haven’t even had time to set up my Christmas tree yet, but I hope to do so during the few hours I have free on Sunday, as my mum arrives on Monday to spend a week with my brother, sister, and me. Life is good.
I’ve decided this year to give a small package to one of the readers of this blog! I have often sent out postcards but, you know, tis the season and all that. I have a few bits and bobs from my travels which I will put together to send out to one person.
To enter the giveaway, please comment here, telling me about your best adventure of 2011. Remember, adventures don’t always take place abroad; some of the best adventures I’ve ever had have taken place in my hometown! Please limit your entry to three sentences.
I will select a winner at random by December 14th, so please check back on the 15th. Hopefully this gives the package enough time to arrive by Christmas/Chanukah/your holiday of choice! I can send to anywhere in the world, so don’t be shy.
I’m looking forward to reading your comments!
17 comments
My best adventure this year was a road trip with my sisters to Pittsburgh. We haven’t traveled anywhere together since they have their own families so that was a treat!
Huge windstorm in Vancouver in November – me and my boyfriend went there despite the cold and twirled in the wind and froze to death and watched the waves (Vancouver doesn’t usually have waves!) – it was romantic and gorgeous – birds were floating everywhere above us.
This year, my friend and I had a whole 2 months to spare (during the summer holidays) and so we hopped on the MTR (in Hong Kong) and travelled to all the stations. It cost a bit more than expected but we really got to know where we live a lot better. It was amazing seeing that 2 stations away from where I lived, there were people living on the streets… such a culture difference!
Hmm, I think the most significant adventure for me this year was teaching grade 8 language arts for 4 months for my final practicum. Hard, frustrating, infuriating at times, those kids pushed me to my limit. But man, I LOVE teaching and I can’t wait to get a job in January!
Probably a road trip to the south of Oman with two friends. We drove 14 hours each way over a three day weekend just to see the fabled greenery of Salalah. 8 hours of the drive each way was completely flat through desert passing only a few other cars or petrol stations.
wow…what to choose- this whole year (living in Bangladesh) has been an adventure! Probably one of my favorite things was taking a trip outside the city- the roads were crazy awful- But then we got to this wonderful old mansion. It was a dreary drizzly day, and as I explored the grounds of this old house it was like stepping back in time.
My best adventure was packing my bags as a 16 year old and moving to Germany. All the mini adventures like missing trains and running through stations, trying more new foods than I can count, getting lost in big cities without the clue how to ask for directions, and the moments where I actually understand what someone says to me or when I realize I cannot properly convey in English because I am so used to hearing German. And the moments where people have no idea that you are actually American not German. This all is my greatest adventure of 2001.
My best 2011 adventure was visiting my friend who I haven’t seen in a decade in Beijing. Getting reacquainted with her and seeing all the beautiful sites there was great. The best part was she surprised me with cake on my birthday when we were at the Great Wall!
My greatest adventure of 2011 was hiking out of the Grand Canyon and reaching the top because that experience made me feel overwhelmingly accomplished, and self- confident, as if I could handle anything. The hike itself was extremely memorable too; passing all the smiling strangers, watching the sun rise and beam off the canyon walls, and really truly being grateful for life. I was so present in every moment of that 5 hour hike, feeling serene and happy.
My best adventure was marrying the love of my life in Buenos Aires, Argentina and then taking the honeymoon of my dreams in Brasil! 🙂
My favourite adventure of the year took place in a remote valley in the middle of Bolivia. One of my tasks as a volunteer was to deliver aid packages to villages that were struggling through a drought, and on this particular day our truck broke down and my team became stranded in a tiny settlement where only Quechua was spoken! We ended up needing their help instead, but my favourite part was getting to spend extra time with the people who live in this remote region. 🙂
I’m studying abroad in Morocco this semester and my best adventure here was a bit of a misadventure in which my friends and I went hiking, but on the trail we planned to go on there were some scary looking monkeys, so we turned around and took a different route. With this new direction we ended up and a wide open, beautiful field with our only company being a shepherd and his herd of sheep. We spent the afternoon just lying in the field enjoying the view.
Spending the summer doing day trips with my sister in areas around our hometown. Areas I had often overlooked (or wasn’t even aware of for that matter). Hiking in trails for hours, marshlands, historical site, art galleries, local wineries, sleeping under the stars….. It gave me a new appreciation for my hometown
I have been reading your blog for a while now, which I discovered from reading a post somewhere on livejournal quite a a long time ago! I guess this is a good opportunity to finally comment and say hello!
My best (and eventually worst!) adventure of 2011 was finally moving in with my boyfriend on Prince Edward Island. We did so much exploring along the shores and in small island towns! His job working in greenhouses fell through and we had to move back to Nova Scotia after only a couple months unfortunately!
My best adventure of 2011 was spending the summer in small town in Northern Florida where I spent 8 weeks studying a foreign language, which happens to be my heritage language. The town in northern florida was extremely smalltownish but I had the opportunity to swim with gators, kayak, and simply enjoy the little gems the USA has to offer.
It was definitley one summer for the books 🙂
Thank goodness I made it in time!
My best adventure of 2011 was a three-week trip to Japan. I’ve been in love with Japan since I was a kid, but to school and work, there was always that old issue of either no time off or no money to take a trip. The longest vacations I had taken in years were for a week at a time, but this year I finally got to take my dream trip to Japan, and was able to stay for 3 full weeks – plus I was there to help one of my oldest friends pack up to come move back to the states. I got to be with a friend I love and missed for three weeks during beautiful Autumn weather and travel all across Japan with her. It was the best vacation I’ve ever taken.
My biggest adventure this year was going on tour with my boyfriend’s band. So many amazing experiences packed into just a few weeks: hanging out in the VIP section of a music festival, finally getting out of BC and seeing more of Canada, acting as an unofficial band photographer, seeing first-hand how much time and effort goes into creating and recording great music, being able to say “I’m with the band”, and of course dressing outrageously, having a great time every day, and forgetting all about our “real-world” responsibilities. It was such a surreal and incredible opportunity, definitely one that I will vividly remember for the rest of my life.