We made it to America del Sur!!!! So posting on this page will probably be a lot lighter while we´re traveling. I´ll still write on here at times when I have something not directly trip-related to say. But you should definitely add www.laaventuraproject.com to your Google Reader or bookmarks and keep following me over there! Thanks!
“And I try not to worry, but you’ve got me terrified. It’s like you’re in some kind of hurry to say goodbye…” -emo song lyrics courtesy of Death Cab for Cutie
Goodbyes are strange. My life has been full of them since these phenomena called “adulthood” and “wanderlust” have taken me over. First I moved to New York for college: goodbye party #1. During college I went to Kenya for a summer which I think also warranted a goodbye party: #2. College graduation of course came with #3, a “Goodbye-to-New-York” party. Then I went into the Peace Corps, so #4 was a big shebang. After returning from the Peace Corps, Zach and I lived in Ohio for awhile then we moved to Arizona. That was my #5 and his #1 for goodbye parties, and don’t even ask about the stories from that night!
Anyway, I’m a spoiled brat with my goodbye parties. My friends make fun of me for how many I’ve had, so this time I decided not to have one. I’ve just spread the goodbyes out over the last couple weeks in Ohio. It’s weird. With some people, it doesn’t bother me too much. I’ve done it so many times. But with others, like my BFF and her hubby, who we’ve had so much fun with for the past few weeks, it’s hard every time! I get so spoiled by being in the same state as her for a few short weeks but then it’s time to leave again! Makes me sad. Also, grandparents. Every time I say goodbye to them for a long period of time there’s just an apprehension about it, you know? One of the harder things to do in life, I’d say.
I’m not really sure where this post is going. I guess I’m just processing all the goodbyes of the past few days. The good news is that “my” goodbyes are officially over since we are out of Columbus and staying with Zach’s parents in his tiny town until our bus to Chicago leaves on Wednesday. So my goodbyes are done, and his are just beginning! Mwahahahah!
For more info on what we’ve been up to, and to read our awesome packing list, click here.
Do me a favor. Start here. Meg’s post about doing things we’re afraid of is so well written and TRUE.
There was a short but bright rainbow in the sky tonight. A sign of good luck for the start of our journey tomorrow! It’s been a weekend of goodbyes and wrap-ups. Packing sucked. As usual, I found myself with a way-too-big pile of “essential” clothes and a way-too-small suitcase. Trying to convince myself that I don’t need these, I really don’t need these, I don’t! Who cares about variety? The car is packed to the gills with camping supplies, clothes, food, and camera equipment. But I’m sure we’re still forgetting something. The rest is in boxes in a closet here. So of course I’ll come back, because after a year of only what I stuffed in one suitcase, I’m gonna want to see the rest of my clothes again!
It’s been a year. A seemingly quiet one compared to last year, but I still can’t believe all that’s happened. I’ve learned how to live with someone in a real, day-to-day, “in this for the long haul” relationship, survived our first real fights, and found myself more in love than ever. I’ve worked two new jobs and started my own business. I’ve learned to snowboard, tried rock climbing, hiked long distances, cliff jumped from 50 feet, and climbed my first two mountains. I’ve been to Mexico for the first time. Biked many miles, saved many dollars, made new friends, started to integrate into a whole other family. Tasted western microbrews and Spanish wines. Shared so many homemade pizzas with couchsurfers from around the world. What a year.
The next one is going to be even better. A circular journey that will take us through two continents and back. The western US, Ohio again, all of South America, and back to Ohio by August 2012. After that, who knows? These next six weeks we’ll be living out of the car, couchsurfing, exploring new national parks, and going to Burning Man. I do have several goals for our time on the road:
1. Study Spanish every day.
2. Hike or run every day. Work my way up to running a 10k.
3. Dumpster dive.
4. Keep the car clean and organized.
5. Take amazing photographs.
6. Keep up this blog.
7. Eat healthy.
8. Enjoy myself!!!!!
So tomorrow we begin. First a quick stop in Las Vegas, for Zach to sell some of the scrap copper wire he’s collected at work. Yes, we really are that poor. And as Zach said “What great story doesn’t start with driving to Vegas to sell something?” Lol. Then to Death Valley NP in California, where apparently the highs can be over 120 degrees this time of year. Yikes. Now it’s time to share a bottle of wine in hopes of being able to sleep tonight. I’ll catch up with you again from somewhere in California!
Hi all! This is an easy post, but important. We finally got our fundraising underway for La Aventura Project. I figured the easiest way to share this is just to copy and paste the same letter I sent out to family and friends detailing what we’re doing and what we need. Of course you should also click over to the La Aventura Project website (link in the right sidebar) to see the trailer and more. And please, please ask questions if you have them! I’m feeling the vibe of a lot of doubts expressed by non-supportive silence by certain people who are close to me. And it really hurts. I’ll probably write more about that later, but for now, here’s the letter:
Dear Family and Friends,
Greetings! I hope you all are well! What is going on in your lives??? Since I’m fairly bad at keeping in touch, I wanted to write to you about what is going on in my life at the moment. I’ve been living in Williams, Arizona (near the Grand Canyon) for almost one year now with my amazing boyfriend Zachary Minnich. This is the first time for both of us to live out west and we’re loving it! The many mountains, creeks, and canyons to hike and explore keep us endlessly entertained and active. Most of our time is spent working, however. We both work in Flagstaff, Zach as an electrician and me as a server at a nice restaurant. We are saving as much money as possible for travel. We both have the same desire to see the world.
That brings me to our other main activity right now, which is planning a year-long backpacking/filmmaking/volunteering adventure in South America. On October 27, Zach, our good friend Melissa, and I will be departing from Chicago and flying into Colombia (which I assure you has become very safe and pleasant for tourists recently). We plan to work our way around the continent in a counterclockwise direction through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Venezuela. We have budgeted $17 per person per day for an entire year of travel. In order to live cheaply and really learn the language and culture of these countries, we will be doing lots of volunteering, mostly through World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (www.wwooof.org). We so look forward to building relationships with locals this way, and to learning about and contributing to sustainable agriculture on our planet. We also will be finding other volunteer opportunities at orphanages and schools along the way, couchsurfing (www.couchsurfing.org), and camping. To finally put my film degree to use, we will be filming our experience every step of the way, telling our personal stories and searching for everything else worth documenting. Because it’s hard to predict what will happen on a journey like this, it’s hard to say exactly what our film will be about. Right now the working title is La Aventura Project and we are focused on telling the personal narrative of our journey and showing how travel and exposure to different cultures affects three 20-something Americans. I am hoping to tell our story and eventually edit a feature-length documentary to show in film festivals.
And now the part you probably knew was coming and that I hate to write…the request for money. Although Zach, Melissa, and I have all been working hard and saving, leaving on a year-long trip is quite expensive. We are each trying to raise $7000 for travel and living expenses, plus cover our loans and US obligations for the year, plus purchase some filmmaking equipment. Our film equipment alone will be about $6000 once we have everything we need. We are so, so close to having the money ourselves, but we need just a little bit of help. We are trying to raise just $5000 to split between the three of us to assist with equipment and travel costs. We really feel that this project will make the world a better place by enabling cross-cultural learning, challenging and growing ourselves, and telling what is sure to be an awesome story through film. We believe that world travel is the best education you can get, and that explorers and artists have and continue to change the world for the better. If you believe this too, and can spare even $1 to help La Aventura Project, we would greatly appreciate it. We are accepting secure, tax-deductible online donations via indiegogo.com. Our project link is www.indiegogo.com/LaAventuraProject. You can get some awesome perks for donating! Please also visit our website, www.laaventuraproject.com, where you can find our film trailer and blog updates throughout our preparation and travel. If you know anyone who would be interested in our project, please pass along those links! And if you have any questions, please reply and ask away!
Thank you all so much! And for those of you in Ohio, Zach and I will be back in early October and would love to see you before we leave!
Sincerely,
Carrie Hoffman
“What’s the difference between exploring and being lost? The journey is the destination.” –Dan Eldon
How does one become a nomad? Especially after being raised in the USA? Sure, we have mobility between cities and states but we are definitely not a nomadic culture. In fact, I think very few cultures are nomadic in the sense I feel nomadic. I want to constantly be on the move, exploring new cities, countries, continents. I know there were small signs as I was growing up, like when I declared at age 11 (half-joking, half-serious) that I wanted to be “a hobo” when I grew up. The fact is, I’ve got the itch and I’ve got it bad. It’s now been over a year that I’ve been back in the US, 10 months that I’ve been living here in Arizona. The mountains, deserts, rocks, and beauty of the southwest is great, and we’ve had amazing day and weekend trips out here. But I’m getting to that inevitable point I always reach, where I just feel done with it. I’m done working, done coming home to the same house, I’m ready to GO! Unfortunately this point usually hits a good few months before my actual departure date, and this time is no exception. Zach and I have a little over two months before we’re bookin’ it out of this town. This is necessitated purely by finances; if they were not an issue we’d be long gone by now.
We have such insatiable wanderlust. Our happiest times have been on the road, on the trail, approaching a new city or mountain or anything NEW. There is nothing like the thrill of constant movement. We can’t stay in one place for long without feeling stuck and beginning to desperately plan a new adventure. And now, we are so, so close to get-up-and-go time. On August 22 we will pack the car and drive to California–camping in Death Valley, Yosemite, then Lake Tahoe before swooping down upon Black Rock City to experience another world at Burning Man. From there we’ll head back west to spend a week in San Francisco and NorCal wine country. Then Salt Lake City to see all the Mormons, and a good two weeks in Colorado for lots of hiking and brewery tours. Iowa City and Chicago will be our final stops in the midwest before arriving back in Columbus. This will be our longest road trip yet and it is only the prequel to our big adventure, the escape to South America. We’ll be back in Columbus for a few weeks, just long enough to pack it up and say goodbye to friends and family before our flight to Medellin, Colombia, on October 27.
It takes a certain kind of person to really understand wanderlust. We’re lucky that although our families and many of our friends don’t get it, we’ve found a vast network of other wanderers through Couchsurfing and are sure to meet more at Burning Man and in South America. Honestly, I would be fully open to the idea of NOT coming back to the US after a year down there. Who knows what opportunities may present themselves? The ultimate dream is to find a way to travel indefinitely. Maybe that dream will change someday, but for now we are embracing it and chasing it at full speed. We’re young. What better time than now to live out of a car, a backpack, a tent, to watch the man burn, to hike the Andes, sail the Amazon, and create countless other stories?
TentSurf 2011 was A BLAST. I’m still recovering. We camped on Sandy Beach in Rocky Point, Mexico for 4 days with about 50 other couchsurfers from around the southwest and Mexico. I might write more about it later, but for now here’s a photo recap.
The beach! This is how far away our tent was from the ocean.
Zach does an Axel Rose impersonation with seaweed. (Credit: Mike Huang)
Jumping off the booze cruise boat. Look at that turquoise water! (Credit: Mike Huang)
Whole group of crazy Couchsurfers. (Credit: Mike Huang)
Flying a tent at the end of the event.
Zach and me with our good friend Jeremy. (Credit: Jez Seidner)
And with that, it’s back to naptime for me. Mexico took it out of me and I’ve now got a nasty bug. I’m just dreaming of the even bigger adventures we’ll be having a few short months from now!
(I meant to post this yesterday but by the time I got home from working a double the Internet was slow and so was my brain. So Happy Late Mother’s Day!)
Reasons My Mom Is Awesome (A Short List)
1. Cookies!!! Growing up in my house there was NEVER a shortage of homemade baked goods. I didn’t realize how lucky I was to ALWAYS have homemade chocolate chip cookies in my lunchbox until every kid always wanted to trade me their fruit roll-ups for my cookies at lunchtime.
2. My mom gave up her career in order to stay home and raise us. I never had to go to preschool, day care, or a babysitter after school. My mom was always there waiting for us to come home and out playing with us in parks all summer. She sacrificed so much to be there for us! I know being a stay-at-home-mom is one of the most demanding jobs in the world, and I’m so grateful that my mom was one!
3. Humor. Our house was always full of silliness and jokes, mostly coming from my mom. We laughed so much!! Hiding dad’s desert, mimicking baby Tim, and telling silly kindergarden stories at snack time are all things I’ll never forget. We definitely had a house full of laughts.
4. Music. My mom instilled a love of music in me from an early age. She always encouraged me to practice for my piano and then clarinet lessons. We even played clarinet duets in church sometimes. The love for music also extended to more laid-back activities such as dressing up and having disco dance parties all through the house.
5. Dusty. It only took 13 years of begging to get my mom to relent to getting a puppy. Granted, it was kind of a bribe to make us not be too sad about moving from Iowa to Ohio, but it was an AWESOME bribe. I’ll always remember the day we went to Petland (I know, I know, horrible to get a puppy-mill puppy there, and I swear I will adopt in the future but I was only 13!) to “just look” and fell in love with a little fluffy white dustmop. I could see my mom’s heart melting as she held her and she even thought of her name! I know my mom does do most of the work for little Dusto nowadays and it makes me so happy that she got her for us and now loves a dog she never actually wanted.
6. Support. My mom has always supported me in everything I’ve ever aimed to do, no matter how crazy or outside-the-box. My mom was always at all my concerts and plays growing up. My parents let me choose my own college and generously paid my tuition. They supported me when I decided to study film, go to Kenya for a summer, and eventually join the Peace Corps. Although I know she wishes I would settle down a bit, I am so thankful that my mom understands the allure of traveling and respects the volunteering work I have done. I know she will always support me emotionally and have my back in a crisis. I’m so appreciative I have a mom who lets me follow my dreams.
I love you Mom! Thanks for raising us with so much love and teaching us great values!! I am so lucky!!!!!!
A few weeks ago Zach and I had the privilege of attending an authentic Vegas wedding-chappel wedding. It was the wedding of a Peace Corps friend of mine and her girlfriend. They went all out with the Vegas “theme-wedding” idea and had a “Pimps and Hos” wedding. So this was not only our first Vegas wedding but also our first gay wedding and first wedding where we got to dress in costume. It was basically just one of those ridiculous situations where we had no choice but to throw caution to the wind and go all out, because when would we have this chance again????
The whole weekend was crazy, as Vegas is supposed to be. Highlights included: a night-before cocktail party in the “bridal suite” at Hooters Hotel and Casino, walking down the strip and into casinos with our own bottle of wine (cause it’s perfectly legal to BYOB everywhere!), our couchsurfing host bailing on us at the last minute and having to find a seedy motel, stuffing our faces until we literally couldn’t stand up straight at the Circus Circus buffet, wandering the strip watching all the insanity, Zach telling all the Mexicans handing out hooker cards “Quisiera hombre!” then of course, THE WEDDING!!!!
Post face-stuffing. When you pay $13 for lunch you must get your moneys worth. We didnt eat again for 24 hours.
Scandalous!
The wedding took place at the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel. Half the wedding party dressed as pimps and the other half as hoes, with my friend, the bride, in an awesome white tutu wedding dress and white boots. The officiant was dressed and acted as Shaft. It was super funky and fun. They wrote their own vows and despite it not being your typical, traditional wedding in any way, it was still super heartfelt and very them. It made me wonder whether the fact that they’re a lesbian couple whose marriage is already not accepted by many people or by their own state government helped them feel enabled to throw out convention for the wedding and just do exactly what they wanted to do. It was refreshing to watch and was probably the most unique wedding I’ll ever attend.
Of course the best part was that we guests also had to dress up. In the spirit of embracing the opportunity, Zach and I did some thrifting and went all-out. I pretty much couldn’t sit down in my dress or walk in my shoes. I would NEVER EVER EVER have been comfortable wearing this outfit anywhere other than Vegas. The fact that I had some alcohol in my system and another bottle of wine in my hand also helped. Zach was gifted his pimp cane and chain by the wedding party since they thankfully had extras. As for his robe…well that was definitely from the bathrobe section at Savers and is definitely part of a Santa costume.
The shoes stayed off more than on my feet. I thought I was gonna break an ankle when I walked in them.
Pimp-a-licious
We had a ton of fun, although we both still agree that Vegas is a no-more-than-once-a-year place to us. It’s waaaaay too tacky and materialistic for more often than that. We definitely had a memorable weekend being there for this wedding though!
I recently started my new job. I worked two weekends “in training” before getting the go-ahead to give my 2 weeks notice at my receptionist job. So now I’m in the midst of my last 2 weeks here AND working weekends at my new job. It’s crazy exhausting but I LOVE my new job and can’t wait to be there full time. I’m working at Criollo Latin Kitchen as a server.
I hate it when people judge me because I’m a college-grad who’s still serving tables. I got one particularly condescending response from a current co-worker when I told her I was leaving. Of course she didn’t say it to my face, but to my friend Matt, who in turn told me. She flat out told him I was “stupid to leave a job with benefits” and should “stay and advance my career.” Totally sounds like me, right?
So now, I present to you, my list of reasons why I ACTUALLY LOVE restaurant work.
1. Travel is my priority right now. I don’t want to start a career and get tied down to it. I don’t want to have a job I will feel particularly bad about leaving if I decide I want to say, go backpack through South America for a year. Restaurants are used to high employee turnover rates and are usually full of cool people who will encourage my adventures and are often planning their own. For me right now, work is a means to end to support my travel habit and independent filmmaking, and not much more than that.
2. Tips tips tips. I can make SO MUCH MORE $$$$ than I can working at a desk job, or even an entry-level film job. At my old restaurant, Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers, I averaged $20/hr in JUST TIPS on a bad night. Criollo is going to be even better. With $30 steaks and $150 bottles of wine on the menu, I’ll hopefully average about $30/hr just tips for dinner shifts.
3. Benefits are not an issue. Obama’s health care reform included an awesome idea to make parents’ health insurance cover their children until age 26. So I get to go back on my dad’s health, dental, and vision, and it’s all WAY BETTER than my $3000-deductible insurance from my current job. Yay Obama-care!!!!!!!
4. Flexible schedule. I can work different days each week, pick up shifts when I need some extra cash, and request days off whenever I need them. None of this “you have 10 vacation days a year” nonsense. If I NEED a few days off, whether I’m getting sick or I’m going to Mexico, I can get a few days off. I get paid for the days I work and don’t get paid when I don’t. Makes sense to me.
5. No desks!!!! I HATE sitting at a desk all day!!! How utterly unhealthy!!! Of course serving is the exact opposite…you NEVER get to sit down and are running around the restaurant for up to 12 hours a day. But being active, busy, and up talking to people all day is just so much more fun than sitting at a desk staring at a screen until your eyeballs burn out of your head and you turn into a big fat blob of mashed potatoes. Ick. Moving makes the time go faster AND burns more calories. Hurrah! Plus, I swear my back hurts more now just from being in the same position all day than any of my muscles ever hurt when I was serving.
6. Learning opportunities. At Mellow Mushroom I learned all about microbrews and now I can say I really understand and enjoy good beer. Criolllo is much classier and thus is all about fine wine and liquor. So now I’m going to get to learn all about that stuff. And in the interest of “learning” all of Criollo’s servers get to do a mandatory weekly wine tasting. Hoo-yeah! Last week we tasted tequilas rather than wine. Did you know that expensive tequila actually tastes good to sip? Shocker!
7. Future. Zach and I definitely have nomadic tendencies. He now has tons of experience as an electrician and I have tons as a server. With these skills we can find jobs anywhere. Criollo is definitely gonna class me up and hopefully after this I’ll be able to find work as a fine-dining server or bartender. Mucho peso, baby. Plus, I could see myself being happy as a restaurant manager if it was at a cool place like Criollo. And Zach and I have been known to dream about “our bar on the beach” in some expat-friendly area of some developing country. So I AM developing skills for my future. And that future, hopefully, will never involve a boring desk job again.
What do you think? Am I extremely naive and shortsighted? Or can you see where I’m coming from?
Carrie, Onwards! 