This vagabond life: 7/1/12

Tonight I packed my big red backpack for the very last time on my trip. As I do this, I'm flooded unexpectedly with intense mixed emotions. Nostalgia, accomplishment, satisfaction, excitement......
Tomorrow I will fly back to my hometown in Minnesota to spend time with my family and friends for the next 18 days.
Over the last 250 days, I've been exposed to a phenomenal spread of cultures. I've observed and fully participated in these cultures with an open mind and an open heart. The amount of kindness in this world is immeasurable. I'm blown away by the amount of strangers that have offered to help me and invited me into their homes during my travels. I found myself reciprocating this favor to fellow travelers once I returned to the US. I've learned that most people are truly good people. However, I'm all too aware that there are malicious people existing on earth, but most of them are good natured deep down inside.
When I look back at the pictures of all the places I've been, I really can't believe it. 18 countries. All these jam-packed extraordinary experiences has me feeling like I've been away for years. Then again, I feel like it was just yesterday when I watched my mom fade away after she drove me to the airport.
This trip meant more to me than I'm sure any of you can understand. I truly wish each and every one of you could have taken this journey with me to understand the magnitude of it all. I feel so unbelievably blessed for having the opportunity to follow my dreams of traveling. It was better than my wildest imagination could have ever dreamt it to be.
A trip around the world will change anyone. I will never be that same Rachel. I learned SO MUCH about myself. This trip has definitely transformed me and forced me to be a better person. It's instilled beliefs in my mind that will shape my future. It's difficult to fully recognize the extent of growth that has occurred, because it's happened so gradually. With time, I will be able to see them more clearly as I'm faced with different situations.
I urge you all to travel. You have no idea what you're missing out on.
As the countries fall off my list of places to go, the notion of "it's a small world after all" becomes more concrete.
The world is a beautiful place. The world is a harsh place. The world is a divine place.
In case you were wondering.......
My favorite countries of this trip were Mongolia, Cambodia, Jordan, Lebanon and the Philippines. In that order. They were all special in their own way. I just had a string of unbelievably magical vacations, back to back. I know that a lot of people would have loved to have done even one portion of my trip. I feel very grateful, but I also realize that you get out of life what you put in. After all the long hours I worked to save up for this trip, the sacrifices I made and the amount of effort spent researching all the amazing countries I planned to visit, it feels good to reap the benefits of my hard work.

I want to thank-you all for following my blog and for the support you've shown me on this epic adventure. I felt like I had my own little cheering section rooting me on. This was my connection to home when I was so, so far away from anyone and everything I knew. I greatly appreciate all the kind words from everyone.
I tried my hardest to keep up this blog and feel like sometimes my posts were of lesser quality due to lack of time. Thanks for hanging on. I'm far from being a professional writer.
These stories are only the tip of the iceberg. My journey has produced hundreds of travel tales but I carefully chose these few to share with you. Some of the best stories will remain alive in my mind only. Memories that will stick with me forever and play over in my head like a familiar movie. Some I will never share, and some I will only share with those that are close to me.
Although this may be the end of my blog for now, I still plan to update it periodically with stories from my past travels and some from my present life in Hawaii.
I lead a precarious life and choose not to follow conformity as is expected of me. This is the life I function well in. So don't expect me to be grounded anywhere for a significant amount of time. Soon you will all be living vicariously through me once again as I trek through the unknown. I'm a dreamer, and I'm already dreaming up my next big adventure: South America, Central America, the Caribbean and Antarctica!
But now it's time to surround myself with familiar faces after more than 8 months of new faces. Time to hang my clothes in a closet, sleep in my own bed, eat my mom's unbeatable home cooked food, snuggle with my dog, hang out with my awesome sister and play with my sweet niece and nephew.
Momma, I'm comin' home......

I leave you with a pic of me from each country, in order....