What could be better than walking out from work on a Friday afternoon and saying, ‘adios, see you in six months’? Well, that’s what I just did. A few months ago I thought to myself, ‘wouldn’t it be great to pause ‘everyday’ life and take an ‘adult gap year’ and do… well… whatever I want for six months, eliminating any kind of monotonous routine’.

“How often in life would I have an opportunity to leave my two ‘pet’ pot plants in the capable hands of family and have a solid six months of spreading my Belindaness”.

My random adventure begins with three months in South America. I will be zig zagging my way around Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Cuba. I will follow this with another three months of having no alarm clock, no timetable, no restrictions and having some short trips, foodie excursions and a little travel within Australia and New Zealand. I will be free to soak up a bit more of that infinite knowledge that comes from meeting new people and experiencing endless, exciting excursions. After all, everyday should be an adventurous excursion – that’s what life is all about.

Travel may be the ‘school of life’ however, random everyday encounters with people are also valuable learning opportunities. We just happen to be able to experience them at a sped up pace when there is no need to walk into work every day. I am very much looking forward to my biggest decision each day being, whether or not I am hitting the beach or, where I’ll eat later.

Being a passionate foodie I’m hoping to soak up as much local culture and food as possible, wherever I go – whether it be home or abroad. Food touches the heart and soul of tastebuds everywhere. Who doesn’t love that twinkle of butterflies when you notice the waiter coming your way or seeing something on a menu that you’ve never sampled before.

Stay tuned for my first post in South America around mid-June. I can be technologically challenged after all. I only just learnt that an RSS ‘feed’ is not a list of restaurants, so attempting connecting to Wi-Fi in a foreign country will be a learning experience.

Belindaness xoxo