Remember our friend Steve who joined us for our adventuring in Nicaragua?  Now he’s back with a summary of his first major travel experience!

Steve

Its been exactly two weeks now since my return to the states from my 10-day journey to Nicaragua. The experience there was surreal and still very difficult put into words. “Amazing” doesn’t even come close to describing what I want to express. As I wrote pre-trip many people were very excited for me and said things like, “I’ve always wanted to do something like that.” Unfortunately, many others were terrified for my health and safety, asking why would I want to go there? I would simply reply my favorite way, “Why not?” That’s not saying thatI was jumping in head first, blindfolded, and with my hands tied behind my back, hoping for the best. Some people are just too constricted by the word “WHY!” I’m sure everyone knows some of those people, because they outnumber people like Zach, Carrie, and me. They use the question “Why?” to tie themselves to an idea of life that amounts to slowly rotting away all the while complaining about how much life sucks. I actually find it hilarious and aggravating when one of those people tell me how lucky I am to be able to travel. I just want to shake them and yell, “Luck has nothing to do with it, it’s called making a choice!”

The trip in general is probably the best experience I’ve ever had. The only way I can try and describe it is like the personal change that occurs when you leave home for college and discover yourself. When suddenly instead of your ideas and knowledge being shaped by what others tell you, they begin to come from your own experiences. I came to Nicaragua from this place (the USA) where all anyone tells you is what bad things are going to happen you, and I ended up having the time of my life. That was the result of a mix between doing awesome things and being there with amazing friends! Everything is so much different in Nicaragua, but not in a bad way like many people believe. I can understand how many people, if they go without an open mind, may see it differently, but for me it was perfect. We stayed in several hostels, and I discovered I actually prefer them to the hotels we have in the states. Besides being an inexpensive place to stay, it was awesome meeting and talking to people from all over the world!

It was as if I found a part of me I didn’t know was missing, and it awoke this amazing something inside me that gives life a WHOLE new flavor. Part of me feels like I still haven’t returned home, but not in a bad way. The best way to describe it like getting lost in your favorite book that takes you on this adventure to a whole new world. One where the last page leaves you sad because BOOM, you’re back in reality and the story’s over. You’re left wishing it was real and that you could stay in the world of the book. The part that makes it most amazing is when you realize that it all was real, and you really were the main character in all the adventures that you had. This realization keeps looping in my mind and has left me with this “head in the clouds” feeling, even now, two weeks later. I’m very anxious to experience the next “book”, and fantasizing about future travels has preoccupied my thoughts ever since returning.

I’ve definitely caught the travel bug, but I’m not sure how someone could go out into the world like that and not catch it. Some said that my trip was a “once in a lifetime opportunity” but I prefer to agree with what someone else said in response: “Not for Steve, that was just the beginning!”