I have a long and varied bucket list. I am constantly adding to it, losing it and starting over and updating it according to my every whim. Most of the things on my bucket list are related to travel and/or skill aquisition. As I have not done much traveling that portion has been left unchecked for quite some time. My current adventure has enabled me to remove a number of these items in last 5 days, and still more are to come. First, I checked off solo travel. Then I checked off conquer a fear, which happened to be solo travel. Then there was my first time setting foot in Europe (even though it was an airport layover) and first time in Africa, where the adventure is really happening. I am now south of the equator, which wasn’t on the bucket list because I hadn’t thought of it, but totally should have been so is being added in retrospect. (It’s my list, I can totally make that rule.) Still to be checked off is my safari adventure of seeing all these wild animals in nature, my seeing the Indian ocean, and my tour of Amsterdam during my layover. I expect there to be many more fun things on this trip, like seeing new constallations and adding to my Swahili skills so I can check off becoming fluent in another language. As I think about this amazing adventure, I am awestruck by the once and a life time experience, not because I will not do such a thing again, but because it is the beginning of new things and you can only have a first once. I have millions of first yet to come, and this adventure has opened the flood gates for them. Adventures, knowledge, life. Bring it!
