Resolutes Revisited
Jenny & Adam
UBUD, Indonesia // It has been 6 months since we made our New Years Resolutions, something that we take very seriously. We are halfway through the year and time to monitor our progress and our plans for completion. It is important to stay motivated and hold ourselves accountable for our goals, and not become lazy on this trip, something that we are afraid of can come about very easily and very fast.
- Journal and Meditate for 5 minutes each day
Complete // We have been writing and journalling daily since January to remember the details of our days as well as our personal thoughts. Although it took awhile, we are now into meditating 10-15 minutes a day. This did not really begin until May though. After a meditation and yoga retreat in Bali, we now have much more insight into the practice and how to do it properly.
- Blog Weekly
Complete // The WhereWeJournal part of this site has been updated more than once per week and we are happy with our progress on keeping up with documenting our journey.
- Create one Travel Video per Month
Complete // In 6 months we have uploaded 7 videos to our site. We have taken a lot of time sorting through the hours of video and editing them down to 5 - 10 minutes. We love going back and watching these as they have been a constant source of happiness for us.
- Volunteer on 2 farms
NOT Complete // We only ended up volunteering on one farm in Maui, which was a very positive experience at Greenleaf Farm. We had contacted lots of other farms and got responses to visit or volunteer but we never did. They were too far away, and we did not end up having the ambition to do the tasks that they may have asked us to do. We ended up regretting this a little now, but there is still a chance we may find one farm in Asia to work at for the day.
- Take a permaculture class
NOT Complete // Taking a permaculture class in Asia seemed a bit pointless to us if we are going to live in the United States when we return in a few months. We found one permaculture class in Hawaii, but it lasted well into May when we would have left for Asia. We have been researching options both short classes for a few days, or longer term classes for weeks. This goal may be one that ends up not complete in 2016 and unfortunately added to the 2017 list.
- Master 10 go to dinner dishes / Recipe book
Complete // With the time we spent with our grandparents, we learned how to cook some amazing cultural dishes, ranging from Polish to German to Filipino. If we ever have to cook for people, here is a list of 10 of our " go to" dishes // 1. Butternut Squash Soup, 2. Potato Casserole, 3. Polish Meatballs, 4. Portabello Mushroom Steak, 5. Dessert Mochi, 6. Lazy Mans Cabbage, 7. Macadamia Nut Chocolate Chip Cookies, 8. Lomi Lomi Salmon, 9. Avocado Kale Salad, 10. Kale Chips, and these are just a few. We have 28 "dishes" total as of now.
- Stick to the daily budget ($100/day)
Complete // As of day 250 (October 1, 2015 - mid June, 2016), the average cost of living for both of us combined has been $92 per day. This included everything from daily water bottles, lodging, souvenirs, ATM fees, as well as domestic flights throughout Asia.
- Climb Lord of the Thais 1st Pitch in Railay, Thailand
Complete // This has been a climb that Adam has wanted to do for the last 5 years and is known as one of the best climbs in Thailand. However, it also served as a metaphor for a successful climbing trip to Asia. We brought a full rack of sport climbing gear on this trip and really wanted to get our use out of it. In the end, Adam lead climbed Lord of the Thais and Jenny top roped it. Not only were we successful in climbing in Thailand, we were very fortunate to have the ability to climb in Laos and Vietnam.
- Lead a 5.9 climb in Thailand
Complete // This was a goal for Jenny as it symbolized confidence and skill in her climbing ability. She led Groove Tube, a 5.9 on Tonsai, 25 meters long with 12 bolts.
- Identify 100 birds on our life list
NOT Complete // This goal looks like it will almost certainly be complete in a month or two. Jenny has an amazing skill of remembering the most intricate details and finding them on the local birding logs. We currently are 79% complete, as we have racked up 79 logged and identified birds.
- Spear, clean, and cook fish
Complete // Adam used a 5 foot 3 prong spear to catch 2 Manini in Maui. They were cleaned, grilled, and eaten. Thankfully no one got sick afterwards.
- Hula 4 times
NOT Complete // Our best chance to do this was in Hawaii and for some reason we never got around to doing it. There is still 6 months left and luckily this is not an extremely time consuming goal.
- Learn to Surf and surf in 3 different countries
NOT Complete // We made lots of progress in Maui going surfing in Kihei, but it wasn't until Kuta when things really clicked. We took a 3 hour formal and private lesson that really was helpful in cementing our technique and abilities. We spent the next 5 days really engrained in catching waves. We learned to surf, but have only done it in 2 countries so far: United States and Indonesia. We are not sure where the third country will be yet, but if there is waves we will be out there!
- Learn 2 man beach volleyball
Complete // We practiced on our own a lot in Hawaii. We got to the point where we could both serve over the net consistently, as well as dig and set the ball. It was difficult because we would normally only play 1 on 1. In Cambodia and Laos we saw people playing volleyball but they were way better than us, and we were too afraid to jump in. Maybe our confidence will surge the next time we see people playing, but we want to be able to participate in these random games.
- Hike in Nepal
NOT Complete // We plan on being in Nepal sometime in September or November. We are still determining if we want to do Everest Base Camp or the Annapurna Circuit.
- Stay at an Ashram in India
NOT Complete // We got our fill and experience of yoga and meditation in Bali, so now we at least will have a little bit of knowledge of what to expect for India. We plan on being in India sometime around September and October.