You Stay Classy

Distance Traveled:   79,730 kms (BNE-MEL-SYD-BKK-PKT-BKK-CNX-BKK-PP-SR-BB-PP-HCMC-NC-TH-HA-H-L-MR-AG-SV-TF-AC-LL-ML-CZ-TF-CZ-SV-L-BP-ZG-SP-LJ-VN-PG-SZ-MN-ZR-GV-ML-FC-RM-FG-MN-VC-CT-RM-PDX-NYC-DC-PH-NYC-HP-NYC-LA-SF-SB-LA-BNE)

Time Difference: None!

Soundtrack: Michael Jackson, barbershop, Beethoven, Rihanna, Beyonce, Muse

Stacks: None!
Agent Rejections Received:  14

Three hundred and fifty four days. Sixteen countries. 92 towns and cities. Countless stairs and steps to bell towers, castles, mesas, hills, cathedrals, ruins. Mountains and deserts. Rivers and jungles. Caves and beaches. Lakes and volcanoes. Tigers, elephants, dogs, butterflies, camels and monkeys. The world's best paintings and sculptures. Art from most modern to most ancient and everything in between. Natural history, human history, culture shock. Tiny one horse towns to the world's largest cities. Every kind of food known to humans. Orchestras, choirs, barbershop, master pianists, jazz bands, steel drummers, rock concerts, traditional music of all kinds. Planes, Tuk Tuks, minivans, taxis, buses, sandpans, yachts, trains, cyclos, trams, cable cars, subway / tube / metro. Eating, drinking, dancing, swimming, talking, writing, singing, walking. ADVENTURE.

I was reminded of the phrase “Life Is A Journey, Not A Destination” when I arrived back here to Dad's place on Saturday and noticed a wall hanging which I had given to he and Lyn a couple of years ago, which said just that. How interesting it was to me to see an item which, in hindsight, had absolutely no application to the life I was actually living, but that obviously still resonated with me. I thought about how angry I became when I went to Washington DC and saw all these beautiful phrases about what a great country the USA was inscribed in the stone monuments which had no bearing on the actual social politics of modern day America, and realised that by preaching that phrase to others when I was living a miserable and untruthful existence, I had been doing precisely the same thing. Fortunately, and unlike the American government, I have now rectified that situation. The life I was living before seems cloudy, strange and nightmarish, and the life in front of me seems shiny, full of hope and promise.

I was happy to be overseas, and now I'm happy to be home, I think mainly because I'm happy, full stop. A whole bunch of crap I have been carrying around for years both mentally and physically gradually dropped away over the course of the last 12 months as I began to realise what I needed to make myself whole again and began making choices with those goals in mind. Now that I know what I want to be “when I grow up” (a writer) I will be pursuing that goal with as much assistance as I can render myself in terms of conducive lifestyle choices. Basically that means I refuse to go back to the miserable, soul destroying boys' club of the corporate world and will instead work probably in hospitality, life a frugal and uncluttered existence and write, write, write until someone wants my stuff. My next non-writing goal is to win a gold medal at the national barbershop contest with a quartet, so with all of the above in mind I have decided to move to the Gold Coast in order to better facilitate both my new hippie lifestyle and my singing aspirations, as there are other singers there I wish to be around.

Final shout outs need to go to my NYC crew - they know who they are - who made my time there so much fun and so memorable. To my hosts Denise and Sheridan in Santa Barbara for taking me in for my last three days and just letting me chill the fuck out, I shall be forever grateful. Of course I cannot forget the lovely people in London who allowed me to camp out in their lounge rooms for the entire six weeks I was in the UK, and the four couchsurfers I met along the way who let me into their homes for a few nights each and helped me navigate their cities. Finally to all the random strangers who will never read this, who helped me figure out the freakishly confusing New York subway, who helped me with directions / bandaids / advice and conversation along the way. Every person I remember is now inextricably woven into the fabric of my one year adventure. Last and certainly not least, to everyone who has liked, commented, shared my adventure with me online, who has eased my homesickness with news and emails, and who has had me in their thoughts for the duration – thank you so much. I never felt too far away, because of you guys.

I have gritted my teeth and applied my left brain to the task of indexing all of my blogs in case someone would like to re-visit a specific one or recall something about a particular country at some stage. Please see below for the list of all. They are all linked.

Til The Next Journey...

*LOVE*

Natalie



BLOG INDEX

9^th October 2011
LaunchingEat, Write, Eat (and Kiss) Your 2012
Australia: Melbourne, Sydney

15th October 2011
Money Money Money
Thailand: Phuket, Patong.

22nd October 2011
Two Steps Forward...
Thailand: Bangkok, Chiang Mai

30th October 2011
Desperately Seeking Supervision
Thailand: Chiang Mai, Golden Triangle

9th November 2011
The Culture Shock Club
Cambodia: Phnom Penh

13th November 2011
Gods of Emo
Cambodia:  Kep, Kampot, Sihanoukville, Ream National Park, Siem Reap

20th November 2011
Waste Not, Want Not
Cambodia: Siem Reap, Tonle Sap, Battambang

27th November 2011
Trains and Boats and Planes
Cambodia: Kampong Chnang, Phnom Penh

4th December 2011
System Re-Boot
Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong Delta, Ninh Chu

11th December 2011
Ahoi hoi!
Vietnam: Nha Trang, Tuy Hoa, Hoi An

18th December 2011
I Am The Rain Goddess
Vietnam: Hoi An, Hue

28th December 2011
Children of the Revolution
Vietnam: Hue, Hanoi, Halong Bay
UK: London

6th January 2012
Rocking the Kasbah
UK: London
Morocco: Marrakech

15th January 2012
Hillsongs and Hijabs
Morocco: Marrakech, Sahara Desert, Dades Valley

22nd January 2012
Agadoo-doo-doo
Morocco: Gueliz, Agadir

29 January 2012
Que Pasa, Bitches?
Spain: Seville

5th February 2012
What is Six Times Seven?  Nope, Not There Yet
Spain: Tarifa

12th February 2012
Me Gusta
Spain: Algeciras, Gibraltar, La Linea de Concepcion, Malaga

19th February 2012
Happy Festivus!
Spain: Cadiz, Santa Cruz de Tenerife

27th February 2012
Glittery Cockroaches
Spain: Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Mount Teide

4th March 2012
Fool On The Hill
Spain: Cadiz, Seville
UK: London

12th March 2012
Full Of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing
UK: London, Birmingham

25th March 2012
At The End Of The Day
UK: London, Hampton Court

9th April 2012
Yeah, Nah
UK: London, Warwickshire

22nd April 2012
Travelling Tastebuds
Hungary: Budapest
Croatia: Zagreb, Split, Hvar, Dubrovnik, Mljet, Korcula, Makarska

29 April 2012
City of Music, City of Dreams
Slovenia: Ljubljana, Bled
Austria: Vienna

7th May 2012
My Favourite Things
Czech Republic: Prague
Austria: Salzburg

13th May 2012
U Bahn, Me Bahn
Germany: Munich
Switzerland: Zurich

21st May 2012
Run To The City Of Refuge
Switzerland: Geneva
France: Lyon

27th May 2012
No, This Is Amore
Italy: Florence

3rd June
Venus In Firz
Italy: Florence

10th June 2012
The Adventures of Crazy Pig Stupid and the Fire Giraffes
Italy: Florence, Pisa, Rome

17th June 2012
Hoc Est Meum Italia
Italy: Rome, Tivoli

24th June 2012
Romancing the Cone
Italy: Rome, Fuiggi, Naples, Amalfi Coast (Minori), Venice

1st July 2012
Magic Mountains
Italy: Cinque Terre
USA: Portland

10th July 2012
Keep Portland Weird
USA: Portland

15th July 2012
These Vagabond Shoes
USA: New York

22nd July 2012
The Madhattan Tea Party
USA: New York

12th August 2012
Freedom. 20% Off.  Limited Offer!
USA: New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia

26th August 2012
How Sweet It Is
USA: New York, Cape Cod

9th September 2012
Fat Bottomed Girls
USA: New York

16th September 2012
Life, The Universe and Everything
USA: New York

23rd September 2012
Howl and Other Noises
USA: New York, San Francisco