Rebecca and the World

Second time lucky for this post… first and second times didn’t work! Comments now on so look forward to hearing from you!

Hello 2013 – all the way from Laos! We’ve been here for about a week now and am absolutely loving this country.  Unfortunately we’ll be leaving very soon which means back to reality…

We were in Vang Vieng for New Year’s Eve and, while it was a pretty quiet night (we were back in our hotel room before midnight) it was great watching Lao people celebrate New Year’s. In Vang Vieng, it appeared that meant a lot of beer and karaoke on the street! There were even a few Lao people kicking on the next morning – bad singing and all.

I don’t normally set goals for the year but given it’s been such a busy year, I want to make some resolutions for the year to provide some focus and direction. It’s all too easy to get wrapped up in work and forget about the fun things that I enjoy doing. There’s also all that stuff about making it public, meaning you’re making a real commitment, blah, blah, blah.

So here goes…

Work less, have more time for myself

If I can achieve this goal, then all the others that follow in this list will be a cinch! This goal is really the key to meeting all my goals for 2013. I have a really busy job with long hours and this year it’s meant not a lot of time for myself. I know that 2013 is going to be another busy year at work but I need to set some boundaries and put some work / life balance back in!

Blog more

I used to write posts all the time, and this year I’ve only written a handful! I’ve realised I haven’t even written posts from travels in 2011! There’s South Africa to write about, the Philippines, New York, Nicaragua and now Laos – not to mention all the posts on Papua New Guinea! I also want to read more blogs. I used to read hundreds of travel blogs each week and I’m really missing the people I feel I know virtually.

Take more photos, and learn how to use Lightroom

When I got my DSLR I read the manual from cover to cover, and even took a course in Melbourne on how to use it. But I still haven’t mastered it – and I don’t use it as much as I should. I use Lightroom to edit my photos and want to learn how to use it properly.

Travel more around Papua New Guinea

PNG is such an amazing country, and I don’t know how long I’ll be living here so I want to take every opportunity to see as much of it as I can. Plans for this year include a trip along the Sepik River and visiting more of the islands around East and West New Britain and New Ireland. Also…

Hike Kokoda

This is going to be a tough one! My boyfriend can tell you laughable stories about my trekking attempts, but it would feel sacrilegious not to do this one while I’m in PNG. My grandfather fought in PNG during World War Two – not in Kokoda – so I also feel like I owe him to do this.

Practice my languages

I speak Spanish and can read and write Arabic – but speaking Arabic with a colleague the other day I realised I’d forgotten EVERYTHING! It’s so disappointing. I spent two weeks in Nicaragua at a Spanish school this year and I promised myself I’d do at least an hour of practice each week. Since returning, I haven’t picked up a Spanish book once. I also want to get a lot better at Tok Pisin, one of the official languages of PNG.

Get fit and eat healthier

I’ll need this to hike Kokoda! I want to spend at least two hours a week exercising, and also plans meals better. Must. Stop. Eating. Fried. Foods.

Read a minimum of 40 books

I love reading and never get enough time to do it. The pile of books on my bedside table continues to be huge so I need to get through them all. I had originally considered 52 books but thought that might be a bit ambitious…

Phew! It’s a long list.

What about you – what are your goals for 2013?

Image from thenextweb.com