Home is where you get a chance to reflect on where you`ve been

I`m on my way to my 12th country in 2016, which is the most familiar because it`s home. After 4 months of living abroad and 2 months of living out of a backpack, I am on my way home.

There is the well-known saying that "home is where the heart is", but I`ve left a small piece of my heart in some many of the places I`ve seen over the last 6 months. It`s in Singapore, that became home for a small fraction in time. It`s in the Phillipines, where shared experiences with friends transcend a solo journey. It`s in Indonesia, where you can find love in the most peculiar places.  It`s in Thailand, where I learned that not everywhere are humans and animals treated equal. It`s in Myanmar, where people can be so happy with so little. It`s in Cambodia, where I learned that historically significant events are something you have to dig to find and not rely on mainstream media to tell you. It`s Japan, where sheer kindness can transcend any language barrier.

These experiences have also taught me a lot about myself, as any solo journey should. I`ve learned that I`m physically stronger than I knew. Being able to carry a backpack and other luggage through subway stations and rocky dirt roads really makes you question how much you need the stuff that`s weighing you down.

I`ve learned that I`m smart. Yes I may have grades and degrees that already told me that, but smart takes on a whole new meaning when you`re just looking to survive. Smart is about being able to navigate roads, understand different financial and bartering systems and to open your eyes to new ways of doing things.

I`ve learned that I care. With each country I visited I really took the time to get to know the authentic country and people. A lot of the places I travelled have a mapped out tourist route, that shows you the picture perfect side of the country. But when you care enough to get to know the real side of the country, you learn so much more.

Lastly, I`ve learned that I`m brave. I never would have thought of this as something that would come out of this experience, but the more people I met throughout my time who looked at me with shock or admiration when I told them I was travelling alone really made me realize that not a lot of people would do this alone. But hey if I had not have done it alone, think of everything I would have missed out on...