Falling off the wagon again

I wish I had started this blog years ago, when I first started to travel, because since then I've realized that traveling is not only my passion but also a driving force in my life. I live it and breathe it and if I could marry it I probably would. I'm barely finished one trip before I'm daydreaming about the next. I'm like a junkie, looking for my next fix. My name is Jane and I have a problem. I am addicted to traveling. There. I said it.

I haven't always been adventurous, I was a pretty dependent child, needing reassurance and affirmation from my family and friends. I had no sense of independence when it came to making my own decisions.

So you can imagine my family's surprise when I told them that I was planning on moving to Australia for a year after finishing university. Alone. I'm even surprised at myself thinking back on it now, how that mommy's girl got the courage to pack up and head off alone and into the unknown. And how my trip to Australia turned into Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Tahiti. I am so unbelievably glad that I did it, that I fought through the moments of doubt and fear because that trip helped me to discover that I am a fierce and sassy broad, that I am strong and independent and can take care of myself, that I do in fact like PB&J sandwiches, and that there is no better way to learn about who you really are than to be confronted with all your strengths and all your faults (sometimes all at once). I've been unstoppable ever since. To clarify, I'm not a vagabond, I do lead a pretty normal life. I have a steady job and an apartment, but I jump at every chance I get to see another piece of the world, because, hey, its my drug of choice.

So I'm starting to blog about my travels now, and I'll do my best to give you, my readers, the kind of tips, advice and recommendations that I find so valuable when traveling to new places, and mix it all in with my experiences.  

I'm about to set off on a two-month adventure in South America with my friend Erin, starting in Brazil and ending in Bolivia, with several countries in between and my twenties left behind (I'm turning 30!).

I can't wait.