The Little Things in Life

For all of the extreme activities, game drives, national parks, and gorgeous scenery I have experienced since the start of my trip in February, I consistently find that the smaller and less extravagant moments of any given day create similar lasting memories to those more grandiose activities.

Today, I went whitewater rafting down the Nile River in class 3-5 rapids. There were 8 separate rapids throughout the course of our day long trip. Our boat flipped over 3 times. It was challenging, exhausting, exhilarating, headache inducing, and something I will never forget. Every few days seems to bring about another large scale memorable activity. For instance:

1 week ago: trekking with mountain gorillas
2 weeks ago: Serengeti
1 month ago: Zanzibar
2 months ago: mugged in Cape Town

The list goes on and on. But it is chock full of challenging, exhausting, exhilarating, and headache inducing experiences which I will never forget.

Similarly, my days over the last 5 months have been filled with these activities:

-Playing toy trucks with a 2 year old son of an Aussie friend I met in Switzerland 4 yrs ago
-Being provided with lodging and treated to delicious home cooked meals by her brother, whom I'd never met
-Sitting in the middle of the road while hundreds of sheep engulfed my car
-Going to a cricket match with 2 complete strangers whom I met in a Brisbane bus station
-Going to a St Patrick's Day and Downs Syndrome Day Parade in Singapore
-Getting a $2 haircut/scalp massage in Penang
-Picking peanuts with local farmers in Ban Pin, Thailand
-Sitting on a train for 29hrs from Guilin-Beijing drinking beer/eating eggs-peanuts with non-English speaking locals
-10 hole mini golf on a concrete golf course in Uganda
-Shooting the breeze with fellow truck mates at campsite bars
-Waving from our truck to screaming kids who excitedly run towards the truck with both arms waving frantically at us myzungus (white people).

It is that last thought that drove me to write this post. Not a day goes by on this trip where I don't smile and laugh at the sight of these screaming African kids. These kids have the biggest smiles on their faces and couldn't be happier to see foreigners drive through their village. I never understand a word of what they are saying when they scream but it doesn't matter. They are everything from clothed to naked. They could be kicking a soccer ball made of packed plastic bags secured with twine, pushing a tire around (as that might be their only toy), riding a bike made for an adult, or just playing in the mud. Whatever it is they are doing, they will always stop and wave and do it with a smile. Their smiles always bring a smile to my face.

It is those little moments scattered about in a sea of extravagant high priced adventures that really make a travel experience whole. And it is those moments, whether when traveling or in everyday life at home, that make each and every day unique. May all of your days be filled with such smile inducing moments.  Cheers.