Dream Year 2.0: Completed!

Our Dream Year has reached an end! A year ago today, we had just finished our training in Trondheim and were setting off to different corners of the globe. One by one, we are now returning home after a truly exceptional journey around the world. A big thank you from all of us to AidCom for making it all possible and best of luck to the new generation of Dreamers!

Ragnhild: Throughout the dream year I have shared some of my favourite moments and experiences with you and now that it’s come to an end I would like to instead share some thoughts and lessons that I have taken from it:

Go do! When offered an opportunity that seems incredible or when able to take a chance that will change your life for what you think might be the better – just do it! Although it may feel scary and unsettling at the time, it will either work out or you will eventually get over it.

Trust your instincts and keep an open mind. Say YES whenever you are able to. If I didn’t follow these principles this year I would not have seen the world, not have a scuba diving licence or have tried parasailing. Not have known how incredibly tasty foods I can’t pronounce can taste, nor have become close with a number of absolutely incredible people I am happy and proud to now call my friends!

Be open to giving and receiving random acts of kindness – it makes the world a more beautiful place to live
Don’t let a single day go to waste. Even when you travel you end up with routines, especially if travelling for your job. Make sure you make SOMETHING out of every day, even if it is just trying that café around the corner for the first time, smiling and greeting a new person, going to that thing you’ve been meaning to since you first heard about it or jumping at an opportunity that comes your way. Not every day have to be an adventure, but its moments and not full days that we remember the most.

Get lost as much as you can. It’s great to have somewhat of a plan when you travel, but if you follow a schedule and don’t go off the track occasionally - you WILL miss out on a lot of great experiences! Take time to truly explore and connect with your surroundings. Ticking all “top ten” everything of your list may not be as rewarding as discovering a hidden side street gem of a restaurant or meeting an interesting local person.

Parasailing and scuba diving in Borneo, Literally stopping to smell the flowers on a road trip in South Africa, looking at street art on the canal in Melaka.

On a beach in Langkawi with friends, a lone surfer at sunset on a Sydney beach, modern art light show on Sydney harbour, monkey at Batu Caves.

Layered juice and fasting dishes in Ethiopia,  dumplings in Melaka, and the freshest tea enjoyed where it was grown, harvested and produced - in the wonderful Cameron Highlands.

Newfound friends and wonderful moments shared around the world

Ilenia: I set out on this DreamYear with 3 goals: To learn Spanish, go to the Danakil Depression and get a motorbike license. Did I achieve said goals? Not quite. Or not at all.

In Mexico I took Spanish lessons, but became such good friends with my teachers and their friends, that we ended up hanging out and laughing more than actually learning - but I got by with some sort of version of my Italian. Broken Spanish it was. I winged it, and it went OK... I learnt a lot too. Probably not as much as if I had taken "serious" lessons. But this was a lot more fun. As for the Danakil Depression - it was too hot to go when I was in Ethiopia, so I ended up going to Mauritius and Namibia instead. Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all. Ended up having terrific fun in both places! And will forever recommend both places to any traveller. And finally - getting a motorbike license? Haha. I ended doing anything but. But hey - I did end up skydiving my way down into the Namibian desert. Boating my way into the Borneo jungle. Taking overnight buses across the border from Peru into Bolivia. Taking a Catamaran to sun kissed Mauritian islands. Having the most interesting subway/underground rides in Mexico City involving shopping, eating and live music. Paragliding over the Indian Ocean. Speed boating around Malaysian Islands. Taking a Land Cruiser three days into the Bolivian salt desert. Taking a train up to Machu Picchu. And climbing all the way up to Huayna Picchu with my own two legs.

So... this entire year, with all its hard bits and great bits, has been a mind-blowing experience. And now I'm afraid. Because I fear I have already lived the best year of my life. And am finding it hard to say goodbye to AidCom and my Dreamyear.

Szczepan: 365 days of Dreaming. 365 days, 365 stories, hundreds of new people met on the way and hundreds different dishes served on the plates, dozens new friends and dozens new places, few moments of loneliness and millions of joy. I did hang-gliding in New Zealand, had a dinner with Bedouins on a desert in Jordan, slept completely alone in Petra, rode Dead Road in Bolivia, hiked Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and visited Danakil Depression in Ethiopia. That was my dream year, year of travelling, exploring and tasting the World. True Dream Year, a year when I could visit places I was always dreaming of and a year I met people that inspired me with their ideas and passions. Who would I be if I was not chosen to be a Dreamer? A Sales Person in International Company, Cook assistant in some Norwegian restaurant, Writer lost on a tiny pacific Island, Marketing Intern in prestigious New York agency or PhD student at Cracow University of Economics. I don’t know the answer for this question and I don’t want to know. I was following my dreams and I got to the place I always wanted to be. Living your dreams this is how you become a Dreamer.

Emma: I can’t quite believe our Dream Year is already over! Time really does fly, but I’ve returned home to Norway with some incredible memories. Highlights? Scuba diving in the Caribbean Sea, experiencing the Day of the Dead celebrations in Naolinco and sleeping in a hammock in the rainforest in Colombia... Enjoying a cup of tea in the middle of the hilly plantations of the Cameron Highlands, being one of the first people to celebrate the New Year with my family in New Zealand, backpacking around Bali with my little sister and sipping fresh coconuts on the beach at sunset on Koh Lipe... Hanging out with the hippos in Hawassa, checking out the view from the top of the tallest building in the world in Dubai and getting lost while exploring the magnificent ancient cities of Jordan... The list goes on!

Best of all, I’ve made some wonderful friends, reconnected with old ones and felt at home in three very different cities. I absolutely loved living in Xalapa, Kuala Lumpur and Addis Ababa, all while working for AidCom and following the developments of critical events around the world. My passport is full, my wallet is empty, my belly is filled with tastes of the most amazing cuisines and my carbon footprint has grown considerably after literally circumnavigating the globe. Mode of transportation? Numerous planes, trains, subways, rusty and luxury buses, taxis in all colours and conditions, crammed blue donkeys, rickshaws, one horse and my own two feet. May the adventures continue!

Radineh: Now our time has come to an end and we'll hand over the torch to the new dreamers! But before we do that, I would like to first off all thanks everyone at AidCom for giving us the opportunity too work and travel around the world. It has been an amazing journey with highs and lows. I have cried, been frustried and even at times wished to give up; despite of all I'm glad I held on to the end. The good times have been priceless, the laughters and the memories will be with me forever, the wonderful people that I have had the pleasure to meet and the amazing places that I have visited, have all made it worth the while.

Thanks for a wonderful year, and to all you lovely people out there, thanks for the good times, its been a pleasure too get to know you all. Hopefully we will meet again some day!

Friends and colleagues in Malaysia

Amazing people in Ethiopia

Lovely friends in Xalapa