rootlessdreams

….has come.  I am actually sitting at my home in Alabama as I write this.  I kept my departure hidden because I wanted to surprise some people, more importantly my parents.  Now that is finished, so I can write my final post.  Also, because of the recent attacks in India, I should let everyone know I was ok.  Originally, I was suppose to stay in India until the end of December.  From there I was hoping to return to either New Zealand or Australia for work.  Being ready to depart India and money run completely dry, my plans changed a bit. I also got an amazing opportunity to go/work in Alaska.  I haven’t been there so I figured I would pass on NZ and Oz.  So that is the plan, I’ll be at home for a month until I continue my travels to Alaska.  From there, South Africa, Zambia, and hopefully Spain will all follow starting in May.  Australia and NZ may come next….we’ll see where life takes me.I don’t want to end Rootlessdreams with out one last story, so here goes….Ben, Vanessa, and myself finally arrive at the international airport.  We all have flights here, mine just happen to be a 3:30 am and their’s at 7 am.  We got there around midnight.  I was going to check in then we all were gonna spend the rest of the time together.  I pass through some intense security just to go through the entrance of the airport.  I didn’t have a ticket because it was an E-ticket….this caused a lot of problems.  I finally made it through.  I checked in, got my boarding pass, and checked in my luggage.  I had an extra bag but I figured it wouldn’t be too expensive to add on…..I was wrong….100 British pounds.  This made me a bit angry, but I was ready to leave so I didn’t argue.  I now set off to meet Ben and Vanessa outside.  There was a nice waiting area across from the check-in with restaurants and  cafes we could hang out at.  I start to walk outside and immediately get stopped by Indian Commandoes  with machine guns.  They say I have to use another exit.  I continue to the next and the next and the next exit and receive the same hospitality of guns and yelling.  After about an hour of fighting, Ben finally walks up.  They won’t allow him in or me out.  At this point, it is ridiculous.  They literally won’t let me out of the airport.  We end up talking them into letting up talk through a gate to say our goodbyes.  Ben left to get Vanessa and the same process continued.  I was pretty upset by now with the Indian airport.  What a way to say bye to friends you’ve traveled with for 6 months…..and may not see again for a long time…..So I get settled in and waited on my plane.  After a few hours in the airport we finally boarded.  After everyone was on the plane, an announcement came on.  They began to ask if you were allergic to multiple chemical or if you had contact lens.  If you were allergic to any of these things, you were asked to exit the plane and if you had contacts, you were asked to close your eyes for 3 minutes.  At this point I was wondering what was going on.  I quickly found out when they began to FOG the airplane.  I’ve flown to, from, and through a lot of countries but have never had the airplane cabin fogged.  I guess that is how dirty they thought India was…… My trip has been amazing, but it would have been worthless if I would not have met so many amazing people on my journey.  Thank you to all for the encouragement, friendships, and support over the last 480 days.  I’m sure our paths will cross again soon.  I didn’t actually make the 500 mark but I feel that the adventure is not actually over…..just a month break:)  I hope you all have enjoyed the posts, videos, and pictures over the last few months.   Again, thanks to all.  Much love from the ramblin’ Alabamian. It’s been fun.-Matt