Putting things into perspective

My husband (whom I will refer to as H, on this blog) and I have contemplated taking a break from work and routine and just setting off on an adventure every now and then. We both come from families with a passion for traveling. Our parents have traveled extensively around the world and in India. It was a family routine to travel to a new destination every year while growing up. H’s dad has traveled from UK to India by road, hitchhiking along the way, in the mid 70’s. My dad, who grew up in Uganda, has raved about their family wildlife viewing trips in Western Africa. It’s interesting how interests develop so subconsciously and how we continue with the traditions our parents have started and shared with us.
We have also been fortunate to have visitors from around the world who have inspired us by their stories and sense of adventure. After having a Turkish couple on a yearlong around the world trip visit us, we were ready to pack and leave with them! Having already seen a lot of Europe, Asia and North America ( I have logged 115 cities in 9 countries and H has seen over 150 cities in 15 countries), we really wanted to travel to South America. There were various reasons why we wanted to go there:
- If we decided to move to India, it would be almost impossible to visit the continent
- It made sense to cover a part of the continent at least if we were making a trip, to justify the cost
- Called for a true adventure as a backpacker
- Cost of the trip could possibly come out to be less than the amount of money we spent living in Boston for the same duration
By October 2009, I had been employed in the marketing industry for over 6 years; prior to that I had studied advertising, marketing and business in my two Masters Degree. I took a break in Oct 2009 from work, study and a routine continuous life. End of the year, I had plans to travel to Nashville and Baltimore to see family when one day H surprised me with the idea of traveling to South America. As soon as he mentioned this, I got cold feet even though South America has been my dream destination for a very long time. I went through a truck load of thoughts, mostly doubts on how all this would work out. How can one just take a break for 2 months? Had I earned it? What would I lose out on if I just traveled for 2 months? There were some practical apprehensions as well- is it feasible to pack, find a renter, plan, make reservations and do everything else in a month.
All these thoughts were pretty overwhelming however I did not completely shelve the idea. While on the family visit, H and I talked often about when we could possibly leave. I spoke to some friends and family to get a second opinion. Mostly, I received positive encouragement. It was surprising that a lot of them harbored the wish to do such a thing, but had not managed to do it. Others wondered when they would be able to take such a long break. We do become slaves of our own system.