The Last Post

Two more nights. That’s it. After 11 months of sleeping in new cities, eating exotic foods, meeting interesting travelers, touring ancient ruins, bringing toilet paper with us wherever we go, and carrying all our shit on our backs, the trip is over. And to use the word “trip” to describe this year seems to fit perfectly.

Showing off her vertical leap in the Uyuni Salt Flats. I have a picture of me doing the same thing but I barely got my feet off the ground. Pretty pathetic.

Two hours after getting hit in the face with a stick while playing stick ball with some friends in Thailand. Definitely the scariest moment of the trip. Luckily I was drunk so I didnt feel the pain.

Sometimes difficult but most of the time exhilarating, this trip has been the best year of our lives. Upon return this Friday we might not look all that different to our friends and family, but we certainly feel different. We are forever changed by this experience and will carry the memories and lessons we learned with us wherever we go.

Besides being bit by bugs all over the world, Andy and I were also snipped by the Travel Bug. I did very little exploring before this year and now, as I sit in my overpriced hostel in Lima, Peru, awaiting my flight home Thursday night, I can’t help but think of all the places I haven’t been and where I want to go next. I’m not talking about taking another year off, but I do want to see more, risk more, DO more. Andy, when thinking about her year and what she learned, talked about her love of reading. She also mentioned how she is inspired, upon returning, to take time for herself to be creative with either a painting class, dance class or French horn lessons. Back in the Bay, some ideas we’ve had to change up the routine is to limit the amount of TV we watch, cook more, create a book exchange and book club amongst friends, and play more board games.

Yeaay! We dont have to carry our shit everywhere starting Friday!!

When going over this last blog post, Andy said she wanted to include some things we learned about the world, as well as how to be a better traveler. So we sat together and came up with these two lists.

Top ten things we learned about the world:

1. We learned how terribly poor the air quality is around the world and that littering is commonplace.
2. We learned how small the world actually is. We ran into someone Andy grew up next to in Connecticut and someone who was college roommates with my friend from NJ.
3. We learned that everyone knows Arnold Schwarzenegger is the governer of California.
4. We learned that the world is filled with cigarette smokers and that smoking in public is accepted.
5. We learned that everyone we talked to hates Bush and the American policies. People weren’t anti-American, they were just upset with the war.
6. We learned that there are many people taking a year off to travel and that Americans receive little vacation time compared to the rest of the world.
7. We learned that landscapes and fauna repeat themselves.
8. We learned that the pace of American society is faster than most places we visited. You’d be surprised how many people sit in parks all day, every day.
9. We learned that, despite the lack of security around the world, we felt safe pretty much everywhere we went.
10. Overall, we learned that the world is filled with friendly, good-hearted people willing to lend a hand to someone in need.

Top ten traveler tips:

1 - Always ask for a discount, even if the price seems non-negotiable.
2 - Things to always keep on you: toilet paper, snacks, camera and a few layers.
3 - When purchasing any kind of transportation/tour/travel activity, ask lots of questions to be sure you know what you’re getting. And don’t get upset when what you receive differs from what they told you.
4 - Always check your bed/sheets/room/shower before agreeing to stay in a hostel.
5 - When buying bus tickets, check other companies for different prices, reserve seats on the opposite side of the sun and away from the bathroom, and watch your luggage get loaded and during stops.
6 - In the third world, if a restaurant’s ambiance is pleasing then the food is probably not that good and normally more expensive. Flourescent lighting, plastic chairs and locals normally means quality food.
7 - When a taxi driver tells you a price, always half it and work up from there.
8 - Skype is an inexpensive, easy way to call home from anywhere in the world using the Internet.
9 - Some random useful items: can opener, wine opener, bungee chords, eye patch, earplugs, headlamps, a spork.
10 - Did we mention to always ask for a discount? With a smile of course!

Happy as a clam during a stop at an icecream parlor during a hike through the woods of Coroico. Seriously, this homemade helado store popped up out of nowhere. If you think my smile is big, you should have seen Andy.

A few days ago, Andy and I sent an email to all the people we met while traveling: Germans, Kiwis, Swiss, Windy City citizens, New Yorkers. We had over 50 people’s email addresses! As we went through the list of people we were sending our thanks to for making this trip so wonderful, we began telling stories to each other. “Remember when this…” or “Remember when that…” We have so many stories that only the two of us will know. We experienced this year together and we’ve watched each other grow and change and flourish.

Andy and I spent more time together this year than we ever have and it reiterated to me why we chose to spend our lives together. She looked at me the other day and said smiling, “I can’t believe I’m not sick of you yet.” I looked right back and said, “Ditto.” It’s funny to think about my fears before we left on the trip. I was worried that Andy and I wouldn’t get along and we’d drive each other nuts. Presently, me feelings couldn’t be more different. I love her more now than I ever have. This year has opened my eyes to how funny, smart, energetic, friendly, compassionate, interested in learning, and magically amazing she is.

Andy all suited up for her trip into the Potosi Mines in Bolivia.

Eric all suited up for going on a boat to see dolphins in Argentina.

And our next adventure awaits us back home. Andy is teaching again at Prospect Sierra starting in September and I am looking for a job that inspires me. I will settle for nothing less. I already have one option on the table that looks to fit that one requirement, so things are rosy. Also, upon returning home, I plan on continuing my writing ways. M.L. Spinrad and James Austin – two writers and friends from the Bay Area – have been offering me support all year via email and the three of us have agreed to continue working together. I couldn’t be more excited for the possibilities. (If you know anyone in Hollywood who wants to read screenplays written by a loveable guy, let me know!)

Presently, as we drink our instant coffee, eat our stale bread and wait to leave smoggy Lima, what we feel most is happiness – just an overwhelming sense of gratitude for everything. For our life back home, for each other, our lasting memories and overall experience. It’s the wildest trip we’ve ever been on and believe us when we say we’ve been on a bunch of crazy trips in our lives. Our only hope is that the fun doesn’t stop here.

For those looking to continue reading about my life, I have started a new blog discussing my life back home, people I encounter, things that rile me up.

http://talkinboutmyview.blogspot.com/

Thank you all for reading. This blog has been one of the best writing experiences I’ve ever had and I appreciate your feedback and comments more than you could imagine. Without you, the blog would have been just an online diary.Hope you enjoyed the pics of Andy and me doin’ our thang! So, I guess this is goodbye. Goodbye!

"Goodbye," says Andy.

"Goodbye," says Eric.