William’s mid-trip reflections

Wow! I had never expected before this year that I would be traveling outside of the U.S. for longer than a week or two! I have learned so much from our experiences: from how to communicate at restaurants when the waiter doesn’t speak English to navigating airports and train stations. I have had a wonderful time growing in knowledge of the world and different cultures. Along with learning these applicable lessons, I have a much better grasp of the history of different countries and regions. For example, I had never known that there was such a huge and bloody war in the Balkans just ten years before I was born.

One of my favorite aspects of this trip is having authentic meals from the country where the meal originated. We couldn’t have had a more authentic moussaka than the one that was gifted to us by the Greek owners of our apartment in the tiny city of Kalambaka.

I also loved the opportunities that we had in Tanzania, learning about wildlife and visiting villages. I even got to lead a short English lesson with the Maasai children!

The other main part of the trip that stands out to me as being an extra special experience is visiting and learning from the locals. We have had amazing and influential conversations with our apartment owners, private drivers, baristas, and waiters at restaurants. Each new conversation brings a new perspective to what we have been learning. 

Traveling for a year comes with a cost though. Things that I took for granted back at home I now know that I will never see them in the same way again. The most obvious parts of life back at home that I miss are friends and family, teachers, playing sports, and making music. I am very sad to be leaving these things for such a long time, but I know that they will be right where I left them once I get back. Some other stuff I miss from home are the special restaurants we can only find in Seattle, such as Tipsy Cow (best burgers ever!) and Sip Thai (Thai food…we will be in Thailand having authentic Thai food, but Sip Thai is special). I am excited to walk around the Redmond Town Square, which we had gotten to know so well, and have avocado toast again at our favorite coffee shop, Five Stones. However, I know that the benefits and amazing experiences from this world trip outweigh the temporary departure.

Back to food again! Two of my favorite foods so far have been Italian food and one particular meal that we had in the Balkans (in Kotor, Montenegro). In Italy I had the best pizza and pasta in the world! I never knew that a simple Margherita pizza could be so delicious! In the Balkans, I had the most tender and juicy steak of my life at a restaurant in Kotor, called Marenda. Most Balkan food, however, is very salty and meat heavy, so it is hard to eat a lot of it multiple nights in a row. Italian food can also get to be hard to eat night after night. After three weeks of eating pizza. and pasta, we were all ready for a change. 

At the moment, I am really excited to see the Moes in Vietnam, our aunt (Auntie Emma) in Bali, and the Davises in New Zealand. It will be super fun to be around friends and family again in these parts of the world that will be new to all of us! Also, I can not wait for all the amazing food we will be having in Southeast Asia. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. 

I have had a really great time traveling the world with my family and am excited to keep experiencing the world.