The Who

Update 10/16 - Hm I'm 22 now. How time flies.. *wipes tear away* Anyway, after blogging my New Zealand trip this summer I'm moving to Bellingham, Washington. Since we are driving from Arizona I figured it would be fun to post our activities along the way. After that I probably won't do too much, moving to a cold place in the wintertime, but who knows what adventures await.



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I'm 20 now! Still traveling, when I can, and now been to about 50 countries! Not much is different. I work at an awesome bookstore. Saving money for more travels. That's about it. :)


(Updated above, this is from '13, below.)


Hi! It's Leah. This is my blog. Most of my friends and family have asked me where I'll be for this crazy trip, and how I'll stay in contact with them, et cetra..so this is my solution! Whenever I find internet cafes to tap my iPad into, or a computer to access, I'll be on here writing about my latest adventures and (if I can figure it out) posting pictures, too! Also on Facebook, but that will be tidbits of random.

Some facts about me:

18. Unschooled. Been to about 30 countries. Learning French (relearning for this trip). Figuring out how to survive this trip by not bringing any books...because they just don't fit well in a backpack for this length of trip. Keeping busy working a lot, to afford this trip.

This trip, for me, is in response to everybody suddenly asking me, "So what are you going to do now?" like turning 17, or 18, automatically means I'm supposed to have some sort of epiphany about my life. Well, after reading a book about a girl my age, backpacking South America, and all her crazy adventures, I thought: Wow, this is totally something I should do! And honestly, it was a nice new response to "Where are you going to college?" "Europe." And then get funny (and envious) looks. I will be learning not in the conventional way, but since when have I taken the conventional route?

So after this trip, I have no idea what my frame of mind will be, and what I will want to do next, but I'm certainly opening up my mind to many possibilities. This is my version of a walkabout, and I am very grateful to all the support I've received (as in encouraging statements) from my friends and family.

For the past eight or so months, I've been planning this trip with my friend, Tessa. She doesn't really know what to say right now, so I'll say a little bit: Tessa is currently learning Russian and German, and is REALLY good at mapping out our expenses. :)

Excelsior, my friends!