34,146 miles. 26 flights. 17 airports (11 new). 10 countries (6 new). 1 year. Oh, and I moved to Sudan. And adopted a dog. Yeah, I'd call this a busy year. But as busy as this year was, it was also one of the ones I've enjoyed the most as I feel as if I've grown as a person and am actually "adulting." I've managed to cross off two of the places I wanted to visit (Andorra and Cape Town, replaced by Lalibela and Muscat). Outside of travel, I got back into the habit of writing snail-mail letters (39 mailed out since I arrived in Khartoum). I also started going to weekly yoga classes which has helped me relax and clear my mind regularly. I'm going to guess that 2017 will be another big year with a lot of travel and personal development, and I'm looking forward to it!
In the meantime, enjoy this video and my recap of 2016.
January. It snowed A LOT in January, and the big storm at the end of the month left 28 inches around my house. It took me days to dig my way out of there. But the highlight from January was a weekend trip to Toronto. To this day, people tell me I was crazy for going at one of the coldest times of the year. Yes, it was definitely very cold, but I told myself at the time that I was building up the cold because I knew I'd be moving to such a warm environment in just a few months' time. My 14-mile circle around Toronto brought me to some amazing locations, from the top of the CN Tower to Casa Loma, Canada's very own castle. I apparently didn't remember how tired walking that far makes me since I had done that in November 2015 in the Baltics. And just proving that I don't learn lessons, I did the same thing on the Iberian Peninsula in October of this year.
February. Somehow this ended up being a slow-ish month and consisted of a bunch of random, small things that kept my busy throughout.
March. In March I started to really mentally prepare for the fact that I was going to be moving to Khartoum. I made a massive effort to reach out to friends who I knew I wouldn't see when I went abroad, and I started reflecting on the aspects of the US that I didn't know if they would transfer to overseas life. I evaluated my TV watching (and squeezed in as many shows until May, but since then have mostly been TV-less except for news and movies) and admitted that I have an addiction to Sporcle. The latter definitely hasn't gone away, and now that Sporcle lets you actually communicate with other users, I feel as if I have nerdy friends who love weird things like NJ municipalities as much as I do.
April. April turned from mental preparations for the move to physical ones. I spent nearly $1000 at Costco getting supplies that I would need overseas (and would be difficult to ship), followed by $500 at Target and $400 at Safeway. I also spent a lot of time categorizing all my things and making difficult choices as to what items would come with me to Khartoum, which ones could be shipped and take a few weeks, and which ones would be put in storage until I got back. With my family visiting in April, I ran all my ideas for this past them to make sure I wasn't crazy, because a move overseas alone can be a daunting task when you're relying solely on yourself to get the logistics done. Separately, I also realized just how much I'd miss Virginia and the DC area, which after 6 years really felt like home. I may be Jersey born and raised, but I am a Virginian at heart now, and that's what matters.
May. May is when it all happened and I took the plunge into overseas living. Midway through the month I traveled to the city at the confluence of the Blue Nile and White Nile and began an adventure that I am incredibly glad I took. The first few weeks were obviously stressful, especially since I forced myself to follow the unofficial rule that "you don't say no your first month at Post." So I didn't. I went to pretty much every event I was invited to (and this extended into June), which helped me find a good group of people early in my tour that I now consider my core group of friends. It's a theme that has carried through since I arrived in May, but I feel incredibly lucky to work and live with such a great group of supportive people who I know will always have my back.
June. I really began to get into a groove in June, when that core group I wrote about for May really came into being. I embraced the unique aspects of living overseas, especially in a country as unique as Sudan. Sudan is both Arab and African, but is neither Arab nor African. There are US sanctions on Sudan that make many common things--like checking a bank account--a bit more difficult. Sudan is a conservative country, so music and movies are censored a little more heavily than they are in the US (and definitely moreso than in Europe). June was a big month for adjustments, but it was a good month all the same.
July. July started with the oh-so-fun activity of a week off of work for local holidays. Eid al Fitr happened to fall right around the 4th of July, but not right on it. As Sudan is a Sunday to Thursday country, all US holidays that fall on Mondays revert to Sundays. Thus, the 4th of July was celebrated on the 3rd, a Sunday, and Eid al Fitr, a five-day holiday, started on the 5th, a Tuesday. If you're reading between the lines, it means that I had the odd occasion of ONLY working on 4 July during that week, because all the others were off for holidays. By the end of the month, with two straight months in Khartoum, I knew I needed to take a little time away, so I went on a camping trip to Meroe. The pyramids of Meroe were fantastic, and with so few visitors, it definitely felt incredibly special to be able to see them, walk in them, and touch them. We pitched tents in the desert, I tried not to let my tent collapse on me, and had a sleepless night. But it was absolutely awesome and I can't wait for more camping trips in the desert.
August. This month was dominated by the Olympics, and I stayed up until 8am to watch the opening ceremony live-ish. Besides the Olympics, it rained in Khartoum and Sudanese drivers in the rain are worse than DC drivers in the snow. I also really perfected the art of ordering off of Amazon, because receiving mail (and especially packages) in a foreign country is absolutely amazing. It's one of the things I look forward to. And since I don't receive enough mail otherwise, ordering things online (that I mostly need/can use, like knives) means that I have a more steady stream of things arriving for me. Win-win, in my book!
September. September turned out to be a very odd month because of the second Eid holiday. Eid al Adha is also a five-day holiday, and this year it just so happened to fall from a Sunday to Thursday. Add in that my regular weekend is Friday/Saturday, and I ended up with an oh-so-difficult nine-day weekend. So I did what any normal person would do. I booked a last minute flight to Cape Town and decided I was going to enjoy the cooler air, not-brown sights, and get in some outdoor activities. I hiked Table Mountain--which was everything I was hoping it would be and more--toured the Cape Town Stadium, visited the Cape of Good Hope, and walked around the city doing whatever I wanted to do because I had so many more freedoms there than I usually do in Khartoum. I was incredibly sore after my four days in Cape Town, but it was so much fun to cross a place I've always wanted to visit off my list!
October. After just two weeks back in Khartoum I took off again, this time for a three week vacation to the Iberian Peninsula. Most of the time was spent in Spain, and time was spent in Madrid, Malaga, Granada, and Barcelona, as well as Tangier, Morocco; Gibraltar; Lisbon, Portugal; and Andorra. Not bad for three weeks! One of the great things about this trip was that I got to see my family, who up until that point I had only talked to over FaceTime and Skype. Being able to see them in-person was really nice. But I also spent a significant portion of this trip traveling alone, and Andorra was by far one of my favorite places. Even though it was a bit chilly--especially compared to what I'm used to--the hiking in Andorra was absolutely fantastic. It was easy to get lost in the nature and the old bridges, some of which date back to the 1300s. I got back to Khartoum from this adventure a dog owner. A few local teachers found the puppy I named Xeno, and even though I've only had him for two months, it's amazing to see how much he's grown!
November. It was back into the groove of things in November, which was fine after the excitement of September and October. Plus, I had to contend with having a dog that needs to be house-trained (still working on that). This was my first Thanksgiving in 20+ years that I didn't spend with family in NJ, and it was a little hard. But remember that core group of friends I talked about? Yeah, they provided a nice family for the holiday. Thanksgiving in Khartoum was everything I imagined and hoped an overseas Thanksgiving would be.
December. And then I somehow finally made it to December. At times the year seemed to drag on, but there was definitely a lot of excitement in 2016, even ignoring the obvious (Brexit, Trump's election). I capped off 2016 with a week of holiday parties in the middle of the month, and a quick weekend jaunt to London over Christmas to see my parents. It was actually my first time ever in London, and it was a nice city. The fact that there is a Chiptole in London also doesn't hurt its standing in my book (hey, it's been 7 months since I had it, so the craving was there)! In addition to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, we saw the Globe Theater, a few markets, Millennium Bridge, the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the London Eye, and Trafalgar Square. The touristy downtown part was smaller than I expected, but that made it good because it allowed me and my parents to walk it! I also got to see Platform 9 and 3/4, which just proves that Harry Potter will probably always remain a part of my life.
So that was my 2016. I'm actively planning some 2017 travel that will probably put me higher in mileage and flights, and maybe countries, than 2016. I guess it all remains to be seen!
*For a comparison of 2015 and 2016:
Miles: 40,814 / 34,496
Flights: 24 / 28
Airports: 19 / 17
Countries: 10 / 10
"Want To See" Locations: 2 / 2
2016 Countries:
Andorra, Canada, Egypt, Morocco, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, United Kingdom, United States
2016 Airports:
ADD, AGP, BCN, CAI, CPT, FRA, IAD, IST, JED, JFK, JNB, KRT, LHR, LIS, MAD, YTZ, YYZ
In the meantime, enjoy this video and my recap of 2016.
February. Somehow this ended up being a slow-ish month and consisted of a bunch of random, small things that kept my busy throughout.
March. In March I started to really mentally prepare for the fact that I was going to be moving to Khartoum. I made a massive effort to reach out to friends who I knew I wouldn't see when I went abroad, and I started reflecting on the aspects of the US that I didn't know if they would transfer to overseas life. I evaluated my TV watching (and squeezed in as many shows until May, but since then have mostly been TV-less except for news and movies) and admitted that I have an addiction to Sporcle. The latter definitely hasn't gone away, and now that Sporcle lets you actually communicate with other users, I feel as if I have nerdy friends who love weird things like NJ municipalities as much as I do.
June. I really began to get into a groove in June, when that core group I wrote about for May really came into being. I embraced the unique aspects of living overseas, especially in a country as unique as Sudan. Sudan is both Arab and African, but is neither Arab nor African. There are US sanctions on Sudan that make many common things--like checking a bank account--a bit more difficult. Sudan is a conservative country, so music and movies are censored a little more heavily than they are in the US (and definitely moreso than in Europe). June was a big month for adjustments, but it was a good month all the same.
August. This month was dominated by the Olympics, and I stayed up until 8am to watch the opening ceremony live-ish. Besides the Olympics, it rained in Khartoum and Sudanese drivers in the rain are worse than DC drivers in the snow. I also really perfected the art of ordering off of Amazon, because receiving mail (and especially packages) in a foreign country is absolutely amazing. It's one of the things I look forward to. And since I don't receive enough mail otherwise, ordering things online (that I mostly need/can use, like knives) means that I have a more steady stream of things arriving for me. Win-win, in my book!
November. It was back into the groove of things in November, which was fine after the excitement of September and October. Plus, I had to contend with having a dog that needs to be house-trained (still working on that). This was my first Thanksgiving in 20+ years that I didn't spend with family in NJ, and it was a little hard. But remember that core group of friends I talked about? Yeah, they provided a nice family for the holiday. Thanksgiving in Khartoum was everything I imagined and hoped an overseas Thanksgiving would be.
So that was my 2016. I'm actively planning some 2017 travel that will probably put me higher in mileage and flights, and maybe countries, than 2016. I guess it all remains to be seen!
*For a comparison of 2015 and 2016:
Miles: 40,814 / 34,496
Flights: 24 / 28
Airports: 19 / 17
Countries: 10 / 10
"Want To See" Locations: 2 / 2
2016 Countries:
Andorra, Canada, Egypt, Morocco, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, United Kingdom, United States
2016 Airports:
ADD, AGP, BCN, CAI, CPT, FRA, IAD, IST, JED, JFK, JNB, KRT, LHR, LIS, MAD, YTZ, YYZ
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