From Mold to Sun in Fiji

September 22, 2013 tiffany
4 Comments
Fiji

It was night 38 of laying on our backs while a cold, winter rain pounded the roof of our home, a 1999 Subaru Station wagon. Through my straining eyes I tried to assess how big the patch of green, fuzzy mold had grown in the last two weeks. Two square inches? Three? Four? It didn’t matter. It was another night in the rain while sleeping in our moldy car.

The situation had come about based on our goal to live for an entire year in the country of New Zealand. We were granted a working holiday visa, which, we were only permitted to obtain this particular visa once in our life. Once we had it, we either had to use it or lose it. Yet as the calendar days slowly wore on and we continued trying to keep our socks dry with the tiny heater vents of the car, we began to question our plan.
And this was a big deal. Or so it felt at the time because we had clearly stated our goal to all our friends, family and everyone we met. What would it say about us if we changed our plans? What would that say about us as travelers? I pondered these thoughts over and over again – fearing some unsaid judgement that I projected on myself from the world.

Through a lot of indecisive days (and more moldy nights) we finally booked tickets to fly us away to sunny, beautiful and friendly Fiji. And what a great decision it was. A more in depth look and lessons we learned was recently featured on WeSaidGoTravel website with a story titled, Fiji: From Mold to Sun. So please check it out and leave a comment if you wish.

To succeed as long term travelers I find my preconceived thoughts about life and the world are challenged more than I would ever think. Long term travel is not designed to put one’s plan in a box with lots of specifics. Long term travel is about taking advantage of what opportunities come your way and exploring this earth. I believe that thought pattern parallels ‘regular’ life, whether you are a traveler or not. That moldy car could have been a metaphor for a displeasing job, goal unexplored or any number of thought cycles we humans are prone to boxing ourselves in with. Yes, we could have spent another thirty days living in that moldy car to say we did it. But why? Life, how ever we are choosing to spend it, is too short to be unwilling to alter our plans – that’s one of the biggest lessons travel has shown me. There are after all, a lot of bright sunny days ahead of us if we choose to put ourselves in positions to enjoy them.

Please read and enjoy the rest of this article at Fiji: From Mold to Sun.

Our evening view while island living.
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4 Responses to “From Mold to Sun in Fiji”

  • Jim
    11 years ago

    Nice post on the ‘Go Travel’ site!!! Going from the mold and cold to the sun and fun turned out to be an excellent decision. Hooray for you two travelers!

  • Laura
    11 years ago

    A great quote I recently heard said that we shouldn’t just be trying to survive a storm. We should be learning to dance in rain. Life is only as could as you make it. And sometimes, despite how well you have already planned things out, you gotta just roll with the punches and change it up.

    • Tiffany Soukup
      11 years ago

      Good quote…except in that instance we were tired of dancing in the rain. 😉 But boy did we dance on some Fijian islands!

a deliberate lifestyle allowing the freedom of travel