Thank you for your support, loyalty and amazing comments that kept us company through more than a year of backpacking. We’ll save you the mushy speech — I kind of already did that — but if you’re keen to follow along on our next journey as we conquer San Diego, find jobs, discover delicious food, beautiful hikes and Southern Californian culture, then be sure to check out my new blog, my SoCal*d life.

Happy travels!

Since real time blogging is near impossible during travels, I’m going to go ahead and interrupt Eaman’s lovely stream of Iran posts to give you an update on what’s next for us because newsflash: Eaman got back last Thursday! And bigger newflash: We’re moving to California in the new year! Yep, our vague notion back in 2011 of moving to San Diego has become a reality. And we’re road-tripping all the way there from the East Coast!

First let’s start with what’s been going on. As you know, I’ve been home for six weeks, during which time I’ve reacquainted myself with my parents’ comfy leather sofa, read, watched TV, frequented Target, got all my doctors appointments in check and caught up with the friends and family I missed so dearly. (Lucky for me I was even here when one of my closest friends got engaged.)

Last Thursday, I headed to JFK airport to welcome Eaman home and during our last few days in Manhattan, we indulged at all our favorite restaurants (Shake Shack, ChikaLicious, L’asso and Habana oh my!), held our stomachs in food-coma agony, saw our friends, danced a Saturday night away, Sunday brunch-ed and said goodbye to that great, great city. In 2011, I ran away from New York; in 2012, I walked away with some sadness. No place like New York, that’s for sure.

On Monday, we traded skyscrapers for suburbs and hung out with my parents in New Jersey for the rest of the week. This Sunday, we’re packing up a rental car with all my necessary possessions and driving to Nashville, where we’ll be staying with Eaman’s aunt and cousins for two nights — a perfect midway stop before we make our way to Oklahoma to spend the holidays with Eaman’s family. We’re going to Thunder basketball games, having a belated traditional Thanksgiving dinner and buying a car, a necessary evil now that we’re moving California. A bit crazy to think we’ll be car owners. So grown-up!

We’re then road-tripping again (in our new car!) to San Diego probably some time during the first week of January. No, we don’t have jobs awaiting us. No, we don’t have an apartment lined up. No, we don’t have a ton of friends there. And actually, neither of us has family out there either. We just loved San Diego during a short trip in 2010 and its sunny impact on us hasn’t faded since. We love the weather, landscapes, healthy lifestyle, fresh food, people, pace of life, road trip possibilities and smaller-city feel. Honolulu was also a very real possibility, but after being away for more than a year, we didn’t want to be away from the mainland U.S. yet again. Plus, I’m not sure expensive Honolulu would be kind to our skinny wallets right now. (That said, we’re missing our Hawaii ohana like crazy.)

In any case, we’re excited to just go for it, try something new and keep our explorer spirits alive in new territory. San Diego, here we come!

And guess what? I loved the blogging thing so much that I’ll be chronicling this next chapter on a new, soon-to-be-announced blog. Check back here for details.

Thanks for continuously following us on our journey. Hope you’ll join us for the next one!

Since I’ve been home, a lot of my friends have been asking me what Eaman and I did in our spare time for entertainment during our trip. (Does eating count as entertainment? It does to us.) We rarely had TV, and even when we did, we were less than thrilled to watch The Big Bang Theory (in Argentina), soaps (in India) or wildly histrionic love-song music videos (all of Asia). We did have WiFi almost everywhere, so yes, a lot of my free time was (happily) spent blogging and, when he managed to pry the iPad from my blogging fingers, Eaman caught up on the news.

But during most of our down time, we were reading — and not just guidebooks. Reading fiction and nonfiction, short stories and memoirs, magazines and newspapers. It was such a nice change of pace to dig into some literature during those long bus rides and before bed, a treat I rarely got to partake in in New York because I was usually too exhausted by bedtime.

Here, a rundown of what we read*, what we thought and, sometimes, what we learned. The list may stack up as short or long, depending on your own proclivity for reading, but keep in mind, blogging (and the laborious photo editing that comes with it) took up a lot of time, and Eaman was busy reading his issues of Entrepreneur magazine cover to cover.

That said, let’s share! (I took a lot of reading inspiration from fantastic travel blogger Jodi of Legal Nomads fame. She has a really stellar two-part post on her favorite on-the-road reads.)

Shantaram. Most travelers have read this one. Yes, author Gregory David Roberts, who based much of the events in the book on his actual life, goes a tad overboard with the sweeping adjectives and a bit off the deep end towards the finale, but he still paints a beautiful and poetic portrait of India. I dare you not to be moved.

The Glass Castle. In this memoir, Jeannette Walls weaves a personal tale about her radical, nonconformist parents, her family’s struggles to simply live and her efforts to break free from their shackles. As awful as her parents sound at times — especially her dad — you still love them in a weird way, which I think is a testament to Walls’ writing. It’s a quick, fascinating read that’s sometimes so crazy, you’ll have to remind yourself it’s a true story.

How Did You Get This Number? There are beloved snarky female writers like Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling, and then there are snarky-just-to-be-snarky female writers like Whitney Cummings. Thankfully, Sloane Crosley and her sharp and hilarious stories, in which she travels through Portugal and encounters a bear in Alaska, fall in the former category. She’s smart, talented and a great role model for funny prose.

Travel as a Political Act. I got this book for Eaman as a gift while we were in Hawaii. In it, travel wiz Rick Steves breaks down barriers and preconceived notions about so-called dangerous countries. He emphasizes how travel can expand our minds and challenges antiquated notions. We heartily co-sign!

Little Bee. This isn’t an earth-shattering work of fiction, but it is a simple, sometimes sweet, sometimes terrifying tale about an African girl and English couple. I shouldn’t say much about the plot since it’ll ruin the story, so I’ll leave you all in suspense!

The Help. The only thing I think of when I think back to my time reading The Help is Eaman vomiting. We were in Cusco, Peru, and he had just contracted salmonella poisoning. I wasn’t feeling too hot either, but he was in bad, bad shape, so while he was wretching in our 8-person hostel room’s ensuite bathroom, I was getting lost in the world of the South, slavery and Minny Jackson. I know the tendency is to sneer at these books of mass popularity, especially when said books are then turned into glitzy Hollywood movies, but I thought it was a really fun read with a great pace to keep me going in that awful hostel dorm room.

Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam. I loved this book by Andrew X. Pham, and not just because it seemed romantic to be reading about Vietnam while in Vietnam. (I know! I’m so clever!) The story, in which Pham travels through his native country by bicycle, is equal parts sad and uplifting, and I felt a little extra something for this memoir, probably because I can empathize with the duality of having roots in one country and an upbringing in another.

The 48 Laws of Power. Considering my pitiful lack of business prowess, this is an Eaman read for sure. It’s all about strategy, business, negotiation and enemies. He loved it, and so did the airport workers at LAX who saw him toting the heavy book, which he had borrowed from our Panama friend Mike, and made it a point to tell him just how much they loved it.

The Geography of Bliss. I used to be a fiction reader exclusively. But as I traveled, in the absence of a job, smart New Yorkers or instant access to The New York Times, I quickly realized it’s a good idea to educate myself beyond the admittedly wonderful conversations we had with other travelers. This nonfiction work by Eric Weiner was a perfect choice, as he explores the levels of happiness in various countries. It fed my travel bug and taught me a thing or two. For example, I now want to go to Bhutan — apparently the happiest place in the world — very badly.

The Hunger Games. I finished Suzanne Collins’ trilogy  well before we left last September and am a huge fan girl. So, during the trip, I constantly badgered nonfiction-loving Eaman to read it, and I finally won my battle when he downloaded it to the Kindle midway through the trip. He read only the first installation, but I beg you, read it all!

Eleven Minutes. Alchemist author Paulo Coelho narrates the tale of a Brazilian prostitute trying to create a new life in Geneva, Switzerland. I found it a bit tedious, and at times, like I was reading a romance novel. Not a huge fan.

Various books on Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism and their histories. I’m not sure you’re looking to read this stuff, but they were all a bit textbook-y and served a specific purpose for us. We were doing some soul-searching, figuring out where our own spiritual sides lie and what the road ahead looks like for a Hindu-Muslim couple. We also wanted to learn more about Buddhism after such extensive travel through SE Asia. As I said before, what we learned is that there’s a lot more same in this world — religion included — than different.

Siddhartha. Along the lines of religious material, we read Hermann Hesse’s classic about a Nepali man’s spiritual journey during the Buddha era. Or rather, Eaman did. I could barely get through it. Though now that I’ve experienced Vipassana, I’m curious to take another stab at it.

The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2011: True Stories from Around the World. This compilation of travel essays comes out with a new edition each year, but this particular volume had stories from India, Costa Rica and Korea among other locales. Reading these pieces was a wonderful way to rev up my travel engine when fatigue began to settle in.

The Lonely Polygamist. I loved morning meetings at my old workplace, and I distinctly remembered that when this book by Brady Udall came out, the staff was abuzz. After reading his novel about a tired, slacking, confused polygamist husband and his circus of a family, I totally get it. Out of all the books I read on the road, this one had me hooked with the greatest intensity. The story is simultaneously sad and mesmerizing.

Iranian Rappers and Persian Porn Stars: A Hitchhiker’s Adventures in the New Iran. Eaman read this book by Jamie Maslin and loved it. In the memoir, Maslin talks about traversing the Silk Road route and winding up stranded in Iran, but much to his surprise — and perhaps a lot of people’s — he’s embraced by the locals, who take him under their wings — and show him Iran’s underground party scene.

*We opted to read mostly on our Kindle and iPad to save valuable backpack space.

It was difficult to choose from the thousands (literally) of photos we took from the trip, but on our last night together in Delhi, Eaman and I carefully selected our favorites, ones that encompass, culture, food, love and beautiful scenery. Here they are for you in chronological order to give you a sense of city-, country- and continent-hopping. I have a feeling I will be clicking back to this post a lot; I’m getting a bit sad/nostalgic already.

Machu Picchu, Peru

I’ve been home for nearly a week while Eaman backpacks through Iran, but before we parted ways, we had a long conversation about this past year, what we’ve learned, what we would’ve done differently and what everything has meant to us. We’ve had these dialogues pretty often and usually spontaneously throughout our travels, but this was the first time that we could step back and really mull over all the time spent together.

So what did we learn?

The day we departed back in September 2011 on the left and the day we ended the trip together just a week ago on the right. Tried to get the exact same pose. Mixed results, but the same clothes!

Well, we learned that picking up a little of the local language can go a long way, that some touristy sites are still magnificent, that you should never eat the raw cheese at Cusco’s San Pedro market, that renting an apartment instead of a hotel room is such a fun and different way to see a city, that Argentinean steak is really that good, that Patagonia might just be the most beautiful place in the world, that the hardest stuff (like trekking for 5 days or WWOOFing) is the most rewarding, that Eaman can learn how to drive stick-shift via YouTube, that visiting friends abroad is always a good idea, that the San Blas Islands are a slice of paradise many people have never heard of, that friends can become family in a matter of three months, that surfing and stand-up paddleboarding are super fun, that Vietnamese street food is some of the best, that Laos will forever and always hold a special place in our hearts, that Bangkok is actually a lovely city and not the congested metropolis we assumed it would be, that I can snatch, squish and kill a mosquito with my bare hands, that going to a place like Myanmar, where tourism is so new, should be on everyone’s to-see list, that Burmese salads are delicious (who knew?), that the world can sometimes be a horrible place but giving your time can make things a little brighter, that you can always come home, that the Taj Mahal is other-wordly beautiful, that taking a vow of silence can give you some much-needed time for introspection and that, just when you thought you knew everything about your partner, a year of travel can make you even more deeply connected and seal a bond that nothing can break.

And would we have done anything differently? Besides maybe getting more fluent in Spanish, nada. It was because of these choices that we came out of this experience as happy and inspired as we did.

But out of everything we took from these last 13 months, three big lessons continued to crop up in conversations.

Hospitality. I already extolled the virtues of all our friends and family, who so graciously gave us everything (and more) when we visited them, but somehow, I can’t seem to get over how much they impacted us. It’s not just about hospitality; these people taught us about kindness in a way no one has ever before.

Passion. Zest for life, joie de vivre — call it what you want, but we’ve realized we want to lead more passionate, interesting lives. We want to be invested in the things we do, and as Eaman said in the last post, engage in activities because we want to, not because we’re supposed to. Along the way, we met so many inspiring people who are so excited about life. A German woman loved horseback riding so she found a ranch to volunteer with. A Burmese student wanted to branch out at school so he took up Spanish. A Thai woman loved seeing new places so she became a flight attendant.

Sure, we had opportunities in New York — actually, really amazing ones that you’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere in the U.S. — but we just didn’t take advantage of very much of it. “Lack of money” and “lack of time” are seemingly valid excuses, but they’re still excuses. It’s kind of like, ya know, traveling the world. There are always reasons not to go; you just have to one day, bite the bullet and do it. And in the end, what it boiled down to wasn’t about time or money; it was a lack of inspiration and confidence.

We feel differently. Now, we realize how lucky we are to have opportunities. We want to dive into art classes and sports and recipes and books, try new things and be more knowledgeable citizens of the world. Put simply, we want to make the best use of our time and have something to show for ourselves to ourselves. What are we waiting for?

And finally: We’re all a lot more similar than we are different. Just take a look at the news or magazine stand and you’ll see that we live in a world where differences are emphasized — skin color, race, religion, sexuality, socio-economic status, education level, whatever. You know what we realized after 13 months around the world? Generally speaking, we’re actually all pretty much the same and want the same things in life — to be happy, close to our family, spiritually connected, successful and smart. We all just take different paths to get there.

Observing and participating in different religions was a particularly eye-opening aspect of the trip. There were so many practices and rituals that Eaman and I found to be common across various religions. To us, a Hindu idol isn’t all that different from the Kaaba which isn’t all that different from the Jewish tefillin. Are they not all just focal points to make a connection with god (or some greater being if you’d rather call it that)? Are prayer beads not a symbol of devotion across most religions? I’m not trying to be sacrilegious and I suppose it’s in the eye of the beholder, but these eyes see a lot more same than different.

Now that I’m back and have had time to feel my way around my figurative old stomping ground, I can tell you that I, for one, feel completely different. I feel emotionally lighter with much more mental clarity, confidence and inspiration. I still have no job prospects and no apartment, but I feel so invigorated and confident that everything will work out. If you want it to, it will. I truly believe that. And really, I’m just happy. It’s such a simple thing, but let me tell you, I wasn’t happy in New York. Sure, I had a great job, wonderful friends and that Manhattan apartment I always dreamed of, but at the core, I wasn’t happy. Today, I can’t stop smiling because there’s not a lot in my world to be upset about. I have an amazing, supportive network of family and friends, a boyfriend who means the world to me and a travel experience that changed my life.

People have wondered if I’m sick of talking about my travels, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Why wouldn’t I want to talk about one of the most significant, memorable, happiest times of my life? It was at some points scary, frustrating and lonely, but I wouldn’t be as happy or as at peace with my life as I am today without having gone through those feelings. And with that, I chose this chapter of the story.

As I mentioned, Eaman is still traveling through Iran and will have posts about his solo adventures here on the blog soon. It’ll paint a very different version of the Iran you see on the news, a version that we think all of you should see.

For now, thanks for always reading, commenting and staying connected while we were away. Couldn’t have done it without you.

xoxo

Our last post was on Malaysia, but we were actually there a whole two weeks ago. Myanmar put a major delay on real-time blogging thanks to a lack of good/any Internet, and once we got to India, let’s face it, IST (Indian Standard Time) kicked in. This is my opportunity to catch you up to speed.

We’re currently idling by at a beachside resort in Kannur, Kerala, but the clock is ticking. Our trip is almost over. On October 16, my backpack and I will head to the Delhi airport and board a plane bound for New Jersey. Yikes!

So the question is: What have we got left?

Well, kind of a lot, and Eaman and I are not going home at the same time. Allow me to explain.

Tomorrow we have a long day of travel to Jaipur (via trains, planes and automobiles), and after a couple days of palace-viewing, Bollywood-watching and city suffocation, we’ll most likely head to a small town four hours from Jaipur. On September 29, we’ll train it to Agra to see the almighty Taj Mahal, and then finally, on October 1, we make our final transport haul together to Delhi.

In Delhi, we’ll get to see friends — yay familiar faces! — but most of our stay will be spent at a 10-day silent meditation retreat outside the city. I’m extremely nervous about it — the one-hour meditation we did in Vientiane was so painful and difficult — but I’m sure 10 days of 4:30 am wake-up calls and two meals a day must reap some benefit. I hope.

And then that’s it! Two days after our meditation retreat, I’m flying home. That same day, Eaman is flying to Iran to backpack for six weeks. This is his opportunity to explore his home country the way I’m doing with India and for a length of time that’d be difficult to get once he starts working. I am dying, dying, dying, dying, did I mention dying? to go to Iran, but I’m broke at this point, and as an unmarried couple, we’d have to stay in, and thus pay for, two separate rooms. I know I’ll go in the future, but now isn’t the time.

So that’s where we’re headed, that’s where we’ll be and that’s how this 13-month journey together will end.

Stay tuned!

If you follow me on Twitter and/or Instagram, then you know we left Hanoi Saturday night and spent the past days in Hoi An, a relaxed city on the central coast known for its food and romantic old town.

It was a pleasant couple days, but now we’re back on the road. It’s probably the fastest we’ve jumped from city to city, but after two weeks of lots of different types of experiences — more Hanoi posts are coming — we felt really fulfilled and ready to leave Vietnam. We skipped crowded beach locales like Mui Ne and Nha Trang, and the idea of going through hectic Ho Chi Minh City just to get to the south sounded miserable. No, our time in the north has been really special and we feel satisfied.

Plus, we couldn’t wait to get to…Laos!

Which means we nixed Cambodia from the itinerary. After much thought, we realized that Angkor Wat just isn’t our thing. After a while, a temple is a temple is a temple, ya know? I’m sure some people would get a kick out an ancient temple complex — and I’m sure it’s a tremendous sight to see — but Eaman and I aren’t museum people either. I think those two dislikes have the same roots.

And yes, there are other things to see in Cambodia, but what we’re realizing is that a lot of SE Asia’s landscapes are similar — lush green mountains, gilded temples, gentle rivers, rice paddies. Laos will give us those same things with fewer people. And despite a tourism boost in the last few years, Laos has apparently still maintained its reputation as the epitome of peace, quiet and beauty in Asia. We’re starting in the south and ending in the north, hoping to get a good study on the country, region by region.

But plucking out Cambodia gave us a bit of a gap, so much like when Eaman figured out that a stop in Panama worked out cheaper than flying directly from Colombia to Hawaii, he played around with flights and realized that we could fly to India quite cheaply from Malaysia.

We had wanted to add either Malaysia or the Philippines to our list after hearing such good things from other travelers, so we’re stoked we made it work. (My parents also lived there back in the day and it’s where my brother was born!) We won’t be there until the late August/early September, but I’m already fantasizing about the Perhentian Islands. A Malaysian couple on our Halong Bay trip showed us their own pictures of this beach, and ya, it actually looks like that.

But that’s part of the experience, no? And it builds character, right? That’s what I tell myself.

Image via

Archana’s Packing List

Backpack: Farpoint 55L small/medium (40L + 15L daypack attached)

Clothes (in 3 Eagle Creek packing cubes – ahh, the wonders of rolling!)

-       4 cotton T-shirts and 1 cotton tank purchased in Colombia (2 of my H&M shirts ripped, so I replaced them with the below tees from The Gap)

-       1 Under Armour T-shirt
-       1 dressy tank top
-       1 cardigan
-       1 zip-up hoodie
-       1 thin rain jacket (not pictured) Gave my mom this to take home in February since it collected dust in my backpack for 6 months
-       2 3 dresses (one more bought in Argentina, seen here)
-       1 skirt
-       2 pairs of jeans, one of which — the more stylish of the two — I will ditch post-Hong Kong (I really should’ve brought a pair of jeans to South America, especially for the cold areas)
-       1 pair of leggings
-       1 pair of cargo shorts Replaced after some wear and tear with a pair from Wal-Mart
-       1 pair of gym shorts
-       1 pair of loose gym-type pants
-       2 sleeping shirts
-       1 sleeping shorts (can also be used in daytime)
-       1 sleeping scrub pants
-       1 scarf Lost in Argentina
-       2 swimsuits – 1 bikini, 1 one-piece Plus 1 extra bikini bottom
-       6 pairs of underwear, including 2 1 pair of ExOfficio Lost one ExOfficio on the road
-       5 socks – 2 hiking, 3 dry-fit
-       2 bras
-       1 sports bra
-       1 baseball hat

Shoes (with handmade shoe bags — a gift from a friend)
-       1 pair of Sanuk flip-flops They’re comfy for long walks but get water-logged in the shower
-       1 pair of Puma flats Ditched these because the fabric began to smell as far back as October; replaced with leather TOMS flats that have been a major pain to break in
-       1 pair of Merrell Siren Sport Gore-Tex hiking shoes
-       1 pair of heels purchased in Buenos Aires that I will probably toss after Hong Kong

Accessories
-       1 crossbody purse
-       1 small cotton tote (Came with a purchase of Eaman’s T-shirt in Buenos Aires)
-       1 pair of sunglasses with case Gave the case back to my mom and bought a new pair of sunglasses to replace the original ones I lost
-       Jewelry
-       World travel journal (c/o Graphic Image)

Toiletries (in old tri-fold case and Eagle Creek carry on-size clear bag)
-       Skincare products including sunscreen, SPF moisturizer, regular moisturizer, face wash and SPF lip balm
-       Makeup – eyeliner, concealer, mascara and lipstick
-       Deodorant
-       Razor
-       Facial towelettes
-       Hair accessories
-       Shower cap
-       Lady products
-       Toothbrush, toothpaste and floss
-       Comb

Gear
-       PackTowl travel towel
-       Money belt Useless
-       Sea to Summit silk sleep sheet Super useful
-       REI backpack cover (to prevent rain damage)
-       Water bottle Lost the below bottle in Bogota; replaced with a Nalgene from home
-       Eye mask Worth its weight in gold
-       Passport cover
-       1 snorkel mask and tube
-       1 sarong
-       1 rain poncho purchased in Peru

Eaman’s Packing List

Backpack: Farpoint 55L medium/large (40L + 15L daypack attached)

Clothes (in 1 Eagle Creek packing cube and 2 vacuum bags)
-       6 T-shirts (for daytime and sleeping)
-       1 dry-fit shirt
-       1 2 linen button-down, long-sleeve shirts
-       1 cargo short
-       1 pair of jeans
-       1 pants that can zip down into shorts
-       1 swimming trunks
-       1 belt

-       7 5 underwear – 2 ExOfficio and 5 3 cotton
-       7 socks – 4 SmartWool hiking, 2 DryMax, 1 regular cotton

Shoes
-       1 Merrell Moab Ventilator hiking shoes
-       1 Keen waterproof hiking hybrid shoe Replaced with Sanuk slip-on loafers
-       1 Old Navy flip-flops Replaced with American Eagle flip-flops

Toiletries (in Eagle Creek carry on-size clear bag)
-       Toothbrush, toothpaste and floss
-       Sunscreen and SPF moisturizer
-       Lotion
-       Mouthwash
-       Contacts and solution

Gear
-       Packtowl travel towel
-       Sea to Summit silk sleep sheet
-       REI backpack rain cover
-       Velcro wallet Replaced with leather wallet from Buenos Aires
-       Passport cover
-       1 snorkel mask and tube
-       1 rain poncho purchased in Peru

Miscellaneous
-       Eyeglasses
-       Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses
-       Digital watch
-       Journal I stole this from him

SHARED ITEMS

Medicine (all neatly stored in two small toiletry bags!)
-       Prescriptions, including anti-malaria
-       Emergen-C
-       Pepto-Bismol, Ibuprofen, Tylenol, sinus congestion pills, Zyrtec, probiotics and other OTC meds
-       Band-Aids and Neosporin

Toiletries
-       Antibacterial wipes
-       Lush shampoo and conditioner solid bars Annoying; would much rather use small liquids
-       Shave oil Annoying as well; replaced with travel-size shaving cream
-       Sink plug (to wash clothes in hostels) So useful!
-       Ear plugs Ditto!
-       Six in-sink laundry detergent packets We sadly ran out and couldn’t find similar packs in Hawaii, which is a drag because these things were great
-       Bug spray
-       Small Kleenex packs for bathroom needs outside our hostels
-       Body wash

Tech
-      6″ Kindle with LED light-equipped case Light never really wants to cooperate
-      iPad with stand-up case and another Built case for extra protection
-      2 1 iPod nanos (3rd generation not pictured) Eaman so rarely used his that he sent his nano home
-      2 international phones (will get a new SIM card in each country)
-      1 HTC Incredible smartphone, which my parents brought to Hawaii in February and I’ll keep for Internet purposes
-      Chargers and adapters (in spare makeup bag)
-      Canon Powershot S95 point-and-shoot camera with case
-      Canon Rebel T2i with Canon 15-85mm lens with case Canon 50mm telephoto lens
-      Extra SD cards—(1) 16GB, (1) 2GB
-      Few jump drives (1-2GBs) for quick photo storage (plan to pick up a larger GB drive on the road)

Miscellaneous
-       Food: Luna and granola bars, walnuts, Jolly Ranchers
-       Footprints’ South American Handbook 2011 (unfortunately not available in e-reader format but supposed to be the best guide on SA) Rough Guides Vietnam and Lonely Planet’s Vietnamese phrasebook
-       2 folders for important documents
-       Playing cards
-       Farsi notebook to study on the road

Six months ago, Eaman and I were sitting in JFK airport, waiting for this year of fun and adventure to begin. Since then, we’ve gone to six countries in South and Central America and done a whole lot that I’ve already shared and re-shared with you. Now all I keep thinking is: How is time flying so quickly? What’s the rush? Can we make it stop? Please?

But realizing how rapidly each day, week and month goes by and stopping to recognize the milestone upon us, it encouraged me to sit down and think about what’s transpired in this time. Leaving South America had me doing some self-reflection already, but now, being on U.S. soil in month six has resulted in some interesting new revelations about myself that I definitely didn’t see coming when we left September 20.

The day we left:

I feel happier around foreign languages than I do around English. When I was at the airport yesterday, two girls and their mother – all from Luxembourg, I eyed their passports – were speaking in what I think was Luxembourgish and it was like music to my ears. Call me crazy, but for me, there’s something so pleasant about hearing Dutch or staccato German or even just English in a Kiwi accent, probably because it evokes such happy memories. For six months, all Eaman and I heard were foreign languages. When we’d enter our hostel room in a new city, if we heard a different language, it was exciting because it meant we’d be introduced to a whole new culture. (We’d be less enthused to hear American English.) Sure, we all eventually spoke in the common denominator language of English, but the point was that we were surrounded by a hodgepodge of different backgrounds. It became symbolic of being on the road, being adventurous, being truly out there. A part of me flip-flops between loving life in Hawaii and missing life on-the-go, and this language issue is definitely derived from the latter.

When we landed in Hawaii last month, we couldn’t stop speaking in Spanish for a couple of days – a “gracias” here, a “quanto cuesta?” there. To have to revert back to English – and not that slower, slightly more articulated Spanish we all sometimes use amongst foreigners, but pure American English – made me feel like the journey was over. Of course, it isn’t, and there’s a lot to be done in Hawaii as well as Asia (whenever that happens), but it was a jarring change. Thank goodness the owner of the smoothie shop I work at is Argentinian, the general manager is Venezuelan and two employees are Mexican; I still get to hear Spanish often. And do I even need to mention just how many Japanese immigrants live in Honolulu?

It takes less time than you’d think to readjust. In Panama I kept saying, “I can’t wait to have an apartment and read magazines in English and be able to order food without hesitation and not get screwed over by cab drivers.” But then we got to Hawaii, and within a day or two, it was business as usual. In fact, it was scary how easy it was to slip back into Americana (minus the aforementioned language non-barrier issue). It made me realize how little time you need to get back into the swing of things. And I’m not talking about work – because it will definitely take me a long time to get back into that mode – but general life. There isn’t really an adjustment period. I grew up in the States long enough to revert back quickly. When I was home, I ran some errands at the mall, Barnes & Noble and the like, and it felt just like the time when I was home for three weeks in September after moving out of New York and before leaving for our trip.

I knew it wouldn’t be long before we ordered Papa John’s in Hawaii:

And I think a part of the reason I got the smoothie job is because the general manager and I connected instantly about backpacking. She and her husband had done basically what Eaman and I are doing sometime ago, but after a point, she told her husband, “I want to go back home, re-settle and take my time to ease back into life.” He told her the readjustment period is a short one and that she’d regret it, and it turns out she did. She echoed my sentiments: It really doesn’t take that much time, so when you’re on the road, stay for as long as you can.

To drive the point home further (for me), I was working the cash register one day at the smoothie shop, when a husband, wife and their son came in. They gave me their phone number so I could look them up in our rewards program, and when I recognized their San Francisco-based cell numbers, I asked if they lived in Honolulu or were just visiting. With smiles – sheer relaxation, really – on their faces, they explained that they were taking “a sabbatical from life” and living in Honolulu for one month and the Big Island (Hawaii) for another. Seriously? With a kid? I found that incredibly eye-opening. They proved that it doesn’t have to end.

I don’t think I fit in with the East Coast anymore. There were hints of this as I was leaving New York, but I don’t think the fact became fully realized until I came home last week. I had flown into Newark, NJ from Honolulu, and as I was getting onto the AirTrain, people were running to get into the car first. Did I miss something? What was the rush? Where was the “excuse me”?

Plus, there was just a general gray energy. (I totally believe in energies now, by the way. Meet enough new people on a daily basis and you’ll learn to read energies, too.) I mean, I don’t blame East Coasters; the weather, though currently wonderful, can suck in March. I, too, had been a victim of it for many years.

Of course this is a blanket statement, and many of my friends and family are happy there, but I think after seeing the places I’ve seen in the last six months and realizing what suits my personality, I now know that I want to be somewhere with good weather and happy people. There’s just this wonderful energy and affection in Honolulu – I also felt it in San Diego big time – and I feel a lot happier and better about myself in that figurative climate. I also have slowed down quite a bit, and I just don’t think I can keep up on the East Coast. I don’t sweat the small stuff as much, and being around that inherent anxiety is a turn-off. I do miss New York, and I’m so happy I left the city on a high note, but apart from maybe one day owning a place in Nolita on our old street – a girl can dream – I don’t see myself there in the future.

I miss my friends. A lot. In El Calafate, Argentina I was reading a lengthy email from one of my best friends, Avni, and bawling shortly after. I just felt so far away from my second family. And then when I was home, I caught up with my other best friend, Samira, and as awesome as it was, it made me realize how far from her I’d be in a few days. See, I have friends from various segments of my life, some of whom have never even met each other, but what they all have in common is that they’re a part of a very small group of people who are like a second family. I knew it’d be hard to leave my friends, but I didn’t think I’d cry about it!

Such a treat to be able to see my friends Jotsna and Shilpa, who I’ve known forever and ever, during their family’s recent visit to Hawaii:

I still have no idea what I want to pursue in life career-wise. In a perfect world, I would just keep backpacking my way around the world. That, however, requires money. And to get money, one needs a job. I do think there’s something to be said for the Hawaiian way of life, as explained to me by one of the managers at my smoothie shop: Work just so you have enough money to live a happy life. Basically, work to live, don’t live to work. After six months, I do believe in this theory more than I ever would have before, but at the same time, there are some lifestyle choices that make me happy that aren’t necessarily things a simpler person would need – like visiting restaurants, traveling a lot, living in California, indulging in fashion and owning 2-3 dogs, including the medically plagued, expense-fraught English bulldog. At least I have clear goals…?

A picture my cousin, Ashwin, sent me:

I’m the kind of person that’s super driven under normal circumstances. Right now, though, my mind and interests feel all over the place. Maybe I want to go to pastry school. Maybe I want to start a (professional) blog. Maybe I want to write a book. Maybe I want to work in the travel industry. I just don’t know. And for someone who always knew what she wanted – to work in the TV department at Entertainment Weekly, a dream I had since 9^th grade that I fortunately got to accomplish – it’s a refreshing, but strange feeling for my mind to be so scattered.

But Avni broke it down so well: She said that sometimes when you’re so focused on one thing, your other interests fall to the wayside. Now is the perfect opportunity to explore a lot of different things at the same time, when I have the luxury of time to do so. I’ll eventually have that light bulb moment when something clicks and that’s when my inner go-getter will kick in.

I’m surprised by how many people tune into this blog. My family and friends have been dutifully following along, but I always get extra excited when I see someone I’ve never met comment on a post. I definitely don’t work the travel blogger network as much as other bloggers, so I don’t expect the same returns, but to know that my very personal, non-service-oriented posts are actually drawing people in is a great feeling. Thank you, all! You’ve kept us company when we felt so, so far.

And today isn’t just our travel-versary. It’s Persian New Year! Norouz Mobarak!

My lack of Hawaii postings certainly isn’t reflective of the frequency I had in mind, but things happen. Such is life.

On Monday morning, I got word from my brother that our grandmother — my dad’s mom — had passed away in her sleep. Without hesitation, I worked out whatever I needed to in order to get on the next flight out to New Jersey. A nine and a half-hour flight and one viewing of The Help later — the book is much better — I was home. Funny how it takes something like this to realize just how far away you really are.

Despite the unfortunate and sad reason to go home, it’s been wonderful to spend time with my family, settle onto our family-room couch for some home-ness and reminisce. My grandmother lived a long life — she was 91! — and was pretty strong right up until the end. In times like these, it’s best to celebrate life and not dwell on the grim reason we had to all come together. And I know it’s normal for close family to extend their support, but I’ve been positively floored by some of my close friends who’ve been nothing short of amazing. Gosh, I’m lucky.

As verbose as I may be on most topics travel-related, this time around, I’m going to keep it short. I’m headed back to Honolulu on Monday, and am practically brimming with stories to share. For now, mahalo!