The cons of travelling- Part 1 'The little things'

I've been back in England for less than 5 weeks (actually 3 weeks considering I've spent the past 2 weeks in Spain) and already the magnificent, exotic photos posted by my travel buddies are turning me green. Somehow my evening watching Iron Man 3 at the cinema surrounded by over excited 10 year old boys doesn't quite compare to cocktails on the beach after a day of diving. So just for fun, and to ease the envy, I thought I'd write a few posts about the cons of travelling. These posts are here to dutifully ignore the good and entertain you with the bad and the ugly of travelling South East Asia. 

Beach time after a day of diving in Koh Tao

I'll begin lightly with the every day luxuries which you can say goodbye to when you fill up that backpack. Ladies first.. Say hello to your naked self. 

Make up is not a necessity and if, like me, you're foolish enough to bring along your Mac foundation and Clinique mascara you'll only end up lugging it around begrudgingly, not wanting to throw it away but having no opportunity to actually use it. Your mascara will melt, your foundation will become too pale and your lipstick (yes I was vain enough to take that too) will attract far too much unwanted attention from the locals, to whom you will appear utterly bizarre. Looking your best in a photo will now be determined by the level of grease in your untamed hair and how much sweat is dripping down your back. 

On the topic of sweat, even Mitchum deodorant doesn't make the grade. I didn't have a sweat free day in the entire four months I spent in Asia, it IS impossible. There's nothing quite like being told you can't try on an item of clothing because you'll make it dirty.

Then there are the mosquito bites. After spending five minutes by the riverside in Luang Prabang I'd been bitten so many times that my feet had swollen to twice their normal size and my frantic scratching matched that of a kid with a severe case of chicken pox. All hail tiger balm. 

Beside the river in Laos

In South East Asia you will smell, you will itch and your high school 'hot or not' rating out of ten will half. Accept it and enjoy.

The curse of being an 'all rounder'

For those of you hopeless at all but one subject at school, prepare to feel smug. For those of you who gave up on academic life to pursue a vocational career, join in. However, I rely on you 'all rounders' to acknowledge this bitter twist and empathise with me. High school was my prime: I got the grades, 14 GCSE's nothing lower than a B. Ok I'll stop before you think I'm bragging. The fact is, this premature success turned me into an indecisive dreamer. I now acknowledge how being an abysmal artist but brilliant biologist helps you to decide what to focus on. Knowing what you're bad at helps you to recognise what you're great at, but making the grade at all of them only makes you spread your time too thinly. I realised this when deciding what to do at University.. English? Psychology? Italian? It wasn't a sure fire decision, it was a pick a name from the hat.

The thing is, I made my decision to study languages based on what I thought may be useful when trying to get a job, what seemed impressive, and what I thought I was rather good at. Upon arriving at University I encountered some of the most sensational linguists who talked Italian in their sleep, and I fell way short of the top of the class. Sure they were horrendous singers and lacking creativity, but whilst I was on stage pretending to be the next Idina Menzel (ultimate girl crush), they spent that extra time becoming one better than me . My once highly desired 'all rounder' status had worked to my detriment. Now that I know what I want it's taking time and pure determination to gain the experience to catch up with my peers. For my younger readers.. embrace what you're good at and more importantly what you enjoy, oh and don't be afraid to spend more time revising for Drama (preferred subject) than Chemistry (just an example), your Chemistry teacher will get over it. I'm fairly confident that my future career doesn't rely on that extra Statistics GCSE my maths teacher signed me up for. This is the curse of the all rounder. 

Studying languages has its perks- Erasmus in Venice

Living for the moment

Sat in the garden with my morning tea I'm feeling fresh and ready to embrace the day. I'm ignoring the intermittent drilling of the workmen behind me kindly commencing their cacophony of noise way before 9am, and accepting this wake up call as a hint to use the cool morning air to write.  Recently I've been feeling torn between whether to dedicate some time to job hunting (painful but compulsory) or writing (clearly the favourable option). After a few hours job hunting (interspersed with too many coffee breaks, Facebook updates and similar devilish procrastination) I became aware that I had bookmarked a wealth of 'acceptable' jobs which I had absolutely no interest in. It seems the recession was starting to convince me that the economic situation meant I wasn't allowed to dream anymore.

Fully aware of the unemployment which lurks back in reality and constantly reminded by the endless questions of "so what are you going to do now you're back from travelling?" I've decided to stop worrying about what might happen and live for the moment. See the thing is, I know I may not make it as a writer; my blogs may become ensconced in the ocean of autoblographies out there, and my novel, when I do finally finish it, may end up just a coaster for this morning tea..but at least I'll know.  Not one of us knows entirely what will happen from one day to the next; no matter how much we plan and organise, ultimately our future is in the hands of many.  So get excited about not knowing your future, 'anything could happen' isn't a foreboding warning of misgivings, rather it's an opening into a world where dreams can come true (or so I continue telling myself). Philosophy aside, living for the moment means not worrying about consequence, so excuse me while I head to the freezer to grab an ice cream for lunch...