Before there were blogs

I woke up today to sounds of rain and thunder and decided to spend my morning reading and writing, two things I enjoy immensely when I have the time. Today, I'm going to be writing a journal entry to my childhood best friend in a book we have been sharing since 2012. While reading some of the past entries, I decided to also look back at my past travels. In doing so, I discovered old emails I used to send to a group of about 25 of my closest friends and family. They bring back such fond memories of laughter, love and adventure. I don't know why I stopped so I am also going to write one today after five years. I thought I would share one with all of you from New Year's Day 2011.

1/1/11

Hi everyone,

Firstly, Happy New Year!!

The last two weeks have been an absolute gastronomical delight for me and full of unexpected adventures.

We were stuck indoors because England is still learning how to cope with snow, i.e. a usual 2 hour journey from Birmingham to London took us 15 hours. On the bright side, my mom cooked everything my heart desired and it came to the point that we began to only partake in eating and sleeping. While staying with an uncle in London, I also continued to meet more delightful family that have now made me want to reach out to distant relatives and reconnect because I have learned that family doesn't always come with drama.

I had the honor of spending Christmas and New Year with two beautiful families, the Khorugdharry's in London and the Suarez's in Bilbao. Both welcomed me into their homes and were kind enough to allow me to witness their traditions. In London, I even got entrusted to help cook the xmas meal! And it has to be said that the food was delicious and I'm sure our capabilities surprised everyone at the table. It was also a pleasure to see little Tahj open his presents and play with his new drum set for us, there is nothing like seeing the magic of xmas from a child's perspective.

In Bilbao, the celebrations for New Year's lasted into the next evening and definitely tested my endurance! Not only did I get to experience the annual countdown with a grape eating competition but prior to that the matriarch of the house was kind enough to cook an amazing meal while being careful to take care of everyone's dietary needs. We then went on to the seaside village of Pedernales to continue the festivities. Here, a beautiful 84 year old grandmother invited us all to celebrate at her home and taught me that life needs to be lived with romance or else it isn't worth it at all.

I am looking forward to seeing the city of Bilbao and San Sebastian in the new few days while taking time out to eat as many Pinxtos as possible because they are absolutely delicious. Apparently, San Sebastian is famous for Pinxtos and has 16 Michelin star restaurants so my plans to diet are going to have to wait. Over the course of my travels in the last few weeks, I have met many wonderful people and visited many beautiful cities while partaking in new experiences and am now looking forward to being in New York next week!

Until Peru..

Love,

Sabeen

Happy 2015!

Many of you have asked for photos from my time abroad and I have been extremely slow with them. Vermont provided a perfect sanctuary for me to review them all photos at my own pace and I am happy to share them with you.

The week before thanksgiving last year, I decided to drop what I was doing and complete life goal of living in Southeast Asia. I quit my job and moved to Phnom Penh, Cambodia to volunteer with a Swiss non-profit. It was a life changing experience and one that I will never forget. The two important things that I did learn were that you are powerful and strong as you allow yourself to be, and that the most difficult part of any endeavor is taking the first step, making the first decision. The what ifs can be consuming but once you are doing it, they slowly start to fade away. In different places, survival requires different things, based on the environment. Capacity for survival is the ability to allow yourself to be changed by environment. I learned to live on $300/month and write down every single expense. I learned to survive without an air conditioner in continuous heat waves. 

For me, it was important to leave everything and the comfort of it all in order to learn more about myself and change for the better. As Robin Davidson's friend said in Tracks, "Getting off your butt and actually doing something for yourself is important for all of us. It's important that we leave each other..so that we can come back and swap information about what we've learnt even if what we do changes us and we risk not recognizing each other when we return." 

Cambodia-

https://picasaweb.google.com/104888402480919195945/Cambodia?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNei893ysoGyYw&feat=directlink

Singapore-

https://picasaweb.google.com/104888402480919195945/Singapore?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCInQsrOJvPSRiQE&feat=directlink

Myanmar-

https://picasaweb.google.com/104888402480919195945/Myanmar?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOzI25LCypraUA&feat=directlink

Laos-

https://picasaweb.google.com/104888402480919195945/Laos?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCL3wkKuvztnN5AE&feat=directlink

Vietnam-

https://picasaweb.google.com/104888402480919195945/Vietnam?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMmzhOv2pvDi9wE&feat=directlink

Remember courage is grace under pressure. I wish you a wonderful 2015, one where you have the opportunity to realize your dreams, rediscover your strengths, muster your willpower and rejoice in the simple pleasures that life brings your way.