Monday, November 15, 2010

Volvi a Londres ayer, pero mi corazón todavía está en Argentina.

It may only have lasted 15 days, but I feel as if I've learnt a fair bit about myself. Not many would consider it a journey of self-discovery and realisation, and I certainly did not set out 16 days ago with the intention of finding myself, but I feel as if I've grown.

I've learnt to trust myself again simply by the fact that I went to Argentina all by myself, without knowing much Spanish, simply trusting in the higher power that takes care of fools, and managed not only to get by, but had the time of my life and just about glowed.

I was told by more than a few people that I had the perfect smile and a great energy about me that made others around me happy. I was told that I had talents for a great many things by people who know about such things and then proceeded to prove this to me by pushing me beyond what I thought I was capable of doing at my level.

I also saw some of the greatest, most spectacular and awe-inspiring natural sights in the world, and I have been so incredibly blessed by that. How anyone can see these things and not believe that there is a great creator out there is beyond me.

Just under two and a half weeks ago, I was more than a little stressed out and nervous about how much I'd built this trip up and whether I could manage all by myself, and also rather tense about the biggest purchase of my life to date.

Since then - or at least for today - I return a much happier person, with more friends, thoroughly enriched by my experiences and inspired to keep on going to try more, and to consider the possibility of pursuing a new mid-term goal when I have been drifting a little aimlessly for the past two years or so.

I am also the proud owner of my very own London pad.

All just a few weeks before I turn 30.

This truly has been the best birthday gift I could have given myself. It wasn't cheap, but it was worth every single penny, cent and peso, and so, so, so much more.

2 comments:

Sasha @ The Happiness Project London said...

I love this post. I too travelled Argentina on my own just recently. It was scary and I didn't think at 33 I'd have to do it this way, but a relationship broke up and we'd been meaning to do it together and I just thought I WILL do this on my own, in fact I HAVE to do it!

I'm so pleased you had a great time. I had some brilliant times, some times when I found myself smiling, almost laughing out loud, about how much I was enjoying it and the confidence it gave me. I met some great people too.

However I had a couple of crappy and lonely days at the end and was very lucky to have someone to call otherwise I'd feel very alone.

I suspect it will be the last time for me, but I am super glad I did it.

Sasha @ The Happiness Project London

Unknown said...

Hi Sasha,

Thanks for stopping by! I'm glad you liked my post. I really wanted to capture how happy my trip made me before the feeling fades away.

There were some moments when I was alone that made me feel rather down - Saturday afternoons in particular, as I missed having my regular sit-down at Wild & Wood (really!) - and definitely the first few days when I fell ill with a cold and fever. Thankfully, those moments were fleeting, and the people were so warm, friendly and caring that it more than made up for those times.

I almost burst into tears the night before I was due to leave once I realised I was coming to the end of my trip!

I don't think this will be the last solo journey for me as I'm the kind of person who needs some space and alone time every so often, but it may be the last big journey for me for some time.

LMR