This past year has been a wild ride. It's not a stretch for me to say that it contained the highest highs I've ever had in my life, as well as the lowest lows. Moments I forgot the world existed because of how happy I was, and moments where I was just going through the motions to get to the next day. Looking back, I'm shocked the universe was able to pack so much in in just 365 days, and I already know the next 365 are going to be another wild ride.
Last December and early January was one of those lows. After an incident in Khartoum, which drained me physically and emotionally, I returned to Washington more than a year earlier than expected. I had anticipated two years overseas living and working and traveling, and suddenly my life was uprooted, with only a few days' notice. I was in a funk, trying to process the events that led to my quick return to Washington. I used the rest of January and almost all of February to pick myself back up. I spent a lot of time with friends and family, and even if I didn't know it at the time, I am now extremely grateful to the friends who encouraged me to go out, whether for a dinner or a few hours outside the house.
By the time February was ending, I felt that I could really reengage the world and decided to use my unexpected return to Washington to try my hand at dating again. It had been a fair time since I had been on a real, proper date, although that was largely because I was "focusing on my career." While I don't have any regrets about focusing on my career, I realize now that the personal relationship side was lacking, and not just a little. The dating pool in Khartoum was...limited, to say the least. The dating pool in Washington is much bigger and I needed to take advantage. Through early March I had three dates, two of which I noted in my earlier post about girls who were incapable of hiding their crazies. The third, however, was not crazy. One date turned to a second, to a third, and is now at a point that I've lost count of the number of dates.
The dating mostly continued in April and May, although it was punctured by three trips--one week to St. Thomas; two weeks to Lagos and Yaounde; and two weeks to Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen. On St. Thomas, I did some of the touristy things I hadn't done on any of my previous trips, such as visiting Coral World, a marine park and conservation center. Lagos and Yaounde was my first trip back to Africa since leaving in January (can't keep me away for long!). Among the most interesting parts of this trip for me--as odd as this might sound--is that I finally found my least favorite airport in the entire world. I've flown into and out of 91 airports in my life, and Nsimalen International Airport in Yaounde was by far my least favorite. Even countries like Burundi and Comoros had better airports, as well as tiny Mwanza, Tanzania. So congrats to Yaounde?
My trek through Scandinavia also had a nice milestone. The crossing from Sweden to Norway meant that I had finally visited 50 countries (a few days later, Denmark would make it 51). Despite their similarities, the three Scandinavian capitals were all so different. Stockholm was a business city and wasn't exactly my cup of tea. Oslo had a cool vibe and I'd love to go back. Copenhagen was the hipster that is fun for a few days but could certainly become tiring trying to live in it every day. That was my last big vacation because I started an assignment that doesn't allow for me to do my fun 2-3 week jaunts in other parts of the world.
That also means that I spent the rest of the summer and the fall not focused on my next overseas adventure, but on me and the still relatively new relationship. An outdoor movie, an interactive modern art exhibit, apple picking...these are all things I did because I had someone to do them with. Two years ago on Christmas I wrote a sad post that wasn't intended to be a pity post, but it basically asked what I was supposed to do as Jewish, single, and alone on Christmas. I may still be Jewish, but I'm not single and alone. I have reached the highest of my highs this year.
So how did this year compare by the numbers? Well, I flew 39,114 miles this year (about 5,000 more than last year) on 25 flights (1 less) through 19 airports (6 less) in 9 countries (1 less). Of those airports, 7 were airports I flew into or out of for the first time. I experienced Ethiopia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark for the first time, but missed out on going to Lalibela (Ethiopia) and the fjords (Norway), two places on my "want to visit" list. There's always next year to cross some places off!
That was my 2017. Started from a deep low, and made it to very high high that I'm sure will only continue to get higher throughout 2018. I look forward to seeing what the new year actually has in store!
No contest in my mind that this was the best song to come out of 2017:
Last December and early January was one of those lows. After an incident in Khartoum, which drained me physically and emotionally, I returned to Washington more than a year earlier than expected. I had anticipated two years overseas living and working and traveling, and suddenly my life was uprooted, with only a few days' notice. I was in a funk, trying to process the events that led to my quick return to Washington. I used the rest of January and almost all of February to pick myself back up. I spent a lot of time with friends and family, and even if I didn't know it at the time, I am now extremely grateful to the friends who encouraged me to go out, whether for a dinner or a few hours outside the house.
By the time February was ending, I felt that I could really reengage the world and decided to use my unexpected return to Washington to try my hand at dating again. It had been a fair time since I had been on a real, proper date, although that was largely because I was "focusing on my career." While I don't have any regrets about focusing on my career, I realize now that the personal relationship side was lacking, and not just a little. The dating pool in Khartoum was...limited, to say the least. The dating pool in Washington is much bigger and I needed to take advantage. Through early March I had three dates, two of which I noted in my earlier post about girls who were incapable of hiding their crazies. The third, however, was not crazy. One date turned to a second, to a third, and is now at a point that I've lost count of the number of dates.
The dating mostly continued in April and May, although it was punctured by three trips--one week to St. Thomas; two weeks to Lagos and Yaounde; and two weeks to Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen. On St. Thomas, I did some of the touristy things I hadn't done on any of my previous trips, such as visiting Coral World, a marine park and conservation center. Lagos and Yaounde was my first trip back to Africa since leaving in January (can't keep me away for long!). Among the most interesting parts of this trip for me--as odd as this might sound--is that I finally found my least favorite airport in the entire world. I've flown into and out of 91 airports in my life, and Nsimalen International Airport in Yaounde was by far my least favorite. Even countries like Burundi and Comoros had better airports, as well as tiny Mwanza, Tanzania. So congrats to Yaounde?
My trek through Scandinavia also had a nice milestone. The crossing from Sweden to Norway meant that I had finally visited 50 countries (a few days later, Denmark would make it 51). Despite their similarities, the three Scandinavian capitals were all so different. Stockholm was a business city and wasn't exactly my cup of tea. Oslo had a cool vibe and I'd love to go back. Copenhagen was the hipster that is fun for a few days but could certainly become tiring trying to live in it every day. That was my last big vacation because I started an assignment that doesn't allow for me to do my fun 2-3 week jaunts in other parts of the world.
That also means that I spent the rest of the summer and the fall not focused on my next overseas adventure, but on me and the still relatively new relationship. An outdoor movie, an interactive modern art exhibit, apple picking...these are all things I did because I had someone to do them with. Two years ago on Christmas I wrote a sad post that wasn't intended to be a pity post, but it basically asked what I was supposed to do as Jewish, single, and alone on Christmas. I may still be Jewish, but I'm not single and alone. I have reached the highest of my highs this year.
So how did this year compare by the numbers? Well, I flew 39,114 miles this year (about 5,000 more than last year) on 25 flights (1 less) through 19 airports (6 less) in 9 countries (1 less). Of those airports, 7 were airports I flew into or out of for the first time. I experienced Ethiopia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark for the first time, but missed out on going to Lalibela (Ethiopia) and the fjords (Norway), two places on my "want to visit" list. There's always next year to cross some places off!
That was my 2017. Started from a deep low, and made it to very high high that I'm sure will only continue to get higher throughout 2018. I look forward to seeing what the new year actually has in store!
No contest in my mind that this was the best song to come out of 2017:
