Distance

Unlike most Indonesian, I think I never have a problem with distance

Hopping from one country to another country, I don’t have problem making new friends

Build my comfort in the most strangest places

Adjusting with the culture and their way of living

Exploring the foods

Learning a new language

Falling in love with the city

And leave with teary eyes and one promise that I will be back

I left home when I was 17 to pursue my study in another island of Indonesia

Three years later I went to Australia for the first time as I was awarded a full scholarship for an exchange study

Since then there is no turning back

I keep hoping from one country to another country

Even when I had my full time job

Even when I have to risk my relationship

As once I left a freshly new relationship to travel for 2 months

I also had a 5 years long distance relationship

Distance does not matter for me

Traveling is my life. It makes me happy. It keeps me alive

Its been 7 years, more than 30 countries visited, lived in 5 different countries

Australia for almost 3 years now in total

Thousands of friends, hundreds of flights, dozens of flings, few boyfriends and uncountable tremendous memories

I guess there is a time for everything

I feel incredibly grateful that I could go to so many countries (most of which sponsored)

Not everyone have an opportunity like I do

Not everyone got a chance to see beautiful places I have been to

I have to admit that I am blessed

But there is a time for everything

It strucks me lately that the idea of traveling does not tickle me that much anymore

I guess I am saturated

I used to be a person who likes to travel to see touristic objects

Then I turned into a person who travel to explore culture and broaden my knowledge and perspective

And then I travel only if I have strong reasons where I could contribute to society (volunteers, conferences, presentations).

This morning he said ‘I cant bear my heart broken if you decided to leave. Distance is harsh.’

I have got a list of things I ought to do which of course involves a lot of traveling

But probably I have to write down settle down on the list too

Maybe if I decided to settle, it is not for forever because I know my heart will always ponder to explore and to be out there

We crave to understand what else the world could offer to us

The beauty that we have yet to see

But settle for the time being sounds ticklish

Daniel and I during the first day of Spring in Australia

Canberra, 7 September 2016

Olivia