The Last Word(s)

I’ve just set foot onto American soil for the first time in almost 3 months. Since l’ve been away, there’s been a major oil spill in the gulf, the Twins have opened their new stadium, Greece and Iceland have wreaked havoc on the world economy, and Betty White has hosted Saturday night live.

You’ve all been very busy.

Here’s what I’ve been up to — a potpourri of facts ‘n figures from the last 78 days:

Countries visited: 20

Countries where I only saw the airport: 2 — Colombia and Kenya

Countries where English is one of the primary languages: 8

Foreign languages I attempted to speak: 7 — Spanish, Italian, German, Swiss German, French, Zulu, Korean

Flights taken: 30

Nights spent on a plane or train: 9

Modes of transportation: 21

* air: large commercial plane, small jet, prop plane, helicopter

* land: train, tram, subway, bus, cab, safari suv, van, rental car, rides from friends, bike, my own two feet

* sea: ferry, speed boat, rescue boat, zodiac, river raft, canoe

Times I ran to catch one of them: more than I’d like

Hotels stayed in: 20

Hotels stayed in twice: 3

* Ilaia in Chile

* Allegro in Switzerland

* The Peech in Johannesburg

Hottest climate: Singapore

Coldest climate: Antarctica

Furthest time zone from home: 17 hrs ahead, New Zealand (which I know because I never changed my watch from Central Standard Time)

Shots and medications: 7 — Malaria, Meningitis, Polio, Japanese Encephalitis, Yellow Fever, Typhoid, H1N1

Injuries sustained anyway: 7

* stabbed self with shopping cart in Chile

* got foot caught under garage door in Argentina

* banged into pole AND fell off bike in Belgium — incidents not related

* whacked knee with pulley in New Zealand

* got bug in eye in Botswana

* …and then made it exponentially worse by rubbing said eye with hand that had been covered in DEET

Personal items lost or destroyed: 6

* cash card and favorite face wash (disappeared in Chile)

* cord for charger (voltage meltdown in Switzerland)

* handycam (fell into Okavango Delta in Botswana)

* toothbrush and lipbalm (dropped in toilet — but not at the same time)

Animals that charged, chased or harassed me: 5 — cats, dogs, monkeys, elephant, annoying guy at a 7-11 in Sydney

Most memorable meal on each continent:

* South America: 14-course extravaganza with Sara and Dave at El Invernia de Gualterio Bolivar (Buenos Aires)

* Antarctica: cold chicken and rice out of an aluminum tray

* Europe: fish ‘n chips with my mom on our first night in London

* Africa: watching a young homeless girl eat my leftovers (Maun, Botswana)

* Asia: home-cooked Indian feast made by Ruqxana during cooking class (Singapore)

* Australia/New Zealand: kangaroo and emu pizza (Sydney)

Things I wish I hadn’t eaten: 3

* terrine in France

* potted ham in the UK

* chikanda in Botswana

Most memorable drinks on each continent:

* South America: Vino del Pinguino — wine served in a penguin pitcher at La Dorita (Buenos Aires)

* Antarctica: vodka on glacial ice

* Europe: pinot noir from a bottle covered in mold (Beaune)

* Africa: my first glass of wine after getting clearance to drink while taking malaria meds (Botswana)

* Asia: cold Singha on a steamy evening (Singapore)

* Australia/New Zealand: complimentary end-of-the-day Mayan hot cocoa from a small chocolatier called SHE (Governor’s Bay, New Zealand)

Days I tasted more than 20 different wines: 3

Days I drank too much wine: no comment

Guided tours: 7

* walking in Singapore and Zambia

* biking in Buenos Aires and Brussels

* wine in Beaune and Sydney

* safari in Botswana

Favorite natural wonders: Victoria Falls and the New Zealand countryside

Favorite manmade wonders: The Dom Cathedral and Sydney Opera House

Favorite wildlife: penguins in Antarctica; giraffes, elephants, and leopards in Africa

Friends and family I saw on the road: 19

People I met on the road: too many to count

Things I’ve learned:

* How to live out of a suitcase.

* I suck at reading maps.

* The importance of perserverance (something that was necessitated largely due to the aforementioned discovery).

* Joy is everywhere.  And so are McDonald’s and Starbucks.

* I can figure out any public transportation system, anytime, anywhere, in any language. Bring it on.

* Small acts of kindness mean a lot.

* People assume I’m either from California or China.  No one ever guesses Scandinasian from Minnesota.

* Everyone has a story to tell and something to teach you.

* You aren’t supposed to swirl a sparkling wine.

* The world is smaller than you think, but there’s more to see than you could have ever imagined.

* My family and friends are avid Facebook users.

* Life isn’t about perfection or everything going the way you expect it to.  It’s about the experiences you have.

* I’m accident-prone.  REALLY accident-prone.

* What I’m capable of.  And that maybe I haven’t pushed myself hard enough yet.

* Going this long without a haircut is not a good look for me.

* It’s hard to do anything alone — especially traveling the world all by yourself.

Which means there are a ton of people I need to thank.  Because without their help, there’s no way I would’ve been able to trek around the planet:

THANK YOUs

* The Buckners: for being the Buckners.

* My mom: for joining me in London, and for resisting the urge to call me constantly to see if I’m ok.

* The Johnsons: for being my airport transportation and temporary home.

* Trisha, Sara, and Jana: for helping me do errands from abroad.

* The Rippes: Dave and Sara for entertaining me in Buenos Aires, and Melinda for hosting me in Sydney.

* The Farrells: for letting me stay with them in London.

* Cesar and Jill: for driving my mom and I to Windsor castle and keeping us fed and watered.

* Brad: for being my blogmaster extraordinaire.

* All of You: for sending funny and inspiring emails, indulging my new addiction to skype, and humoring me by reading my blog.  Incidentally, just because I’m home doesn’t mean I’m done posting things.  I still have photos, videos, and stories to upload. And beyond that, it may still live on in another form.  Either way, stay tuned.  It will be the gift that keeps on giving.

After all, this isn’t the end of my journey.
It’s just the beginning of what’s next.