From the Eifell Tower to Rio De Janeiro

Once again, I am living for the future rather than for now. That isn't to say I'm  not enjoying and making the most out of 'now', I am having the time of my life. But I'm living for, planning for, imagining and heading towards 2012 with as many thoughts as I will allow myself. This seems to be a re-occuring theme within my life... when I've finished school I will... when I've finished uni I will... next year I will...when we get married we will... after we go travelling we will...

2012 will be a year of exploration, a time for James & I to have some amazing experiences and adventures, and an opportunity to shape our world view into something slightly broader, before we bring a little James or Brenna into the world.

We are already proving more indecisive about 2012 than we were about getting married. Our list of plans and ideas for our wedding changed with the wind. We had as many plans than there were weeks in the year, and only finally settled on what we would do a few months before the date we had set. And 2012 is looking the same.

Today I am imagining sleeping in the shadow of Jesus in Rio De Janeiro, playing in the Valley of the Moon in Argentina, walking in the footsteps of Gods along the Inka Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru, dancing all night at a Carnival in Brazil and learning Spanish in a Favela, cooling off at the beaches of Vena Del Mar in Chile and eating my way through tortiallas and salsa and guacamoli from the North to the South of South America.

Last week it was Helpx-ing our way through Europe, with some touristy items in between, before that it was a year in Scottland, soaking up James' family history, occasionally with the thought of just staying home and having a baby instead, or buying a camper van and travelling Australia, a while back our plan was to live somewhere in Asia for a year.

Talking to a very wise past colleague has taken us on the trail to South America. As from her advice, Europe is very familiar, the places you go to are places you have seen on television or read about in books, the people you meet and the lifestyles are not so dramatically different to Australia to be life changing. It is no less amazing, yet South America or India or Africa may open your eyes slightly more to the realities and the differences of life. This excites me.