I was telling one of my friends recently that I think time works differently for me than most people. I move fast. I don’t dilly dally. I make decisions quickly and then rapidly act on them.
When I was taking time to reflect on this past year in preparation for my upcoming birthday, I couldn’t believe it had been just 365 days. So much has happened in that time.
Whirlwind romances. A life changing accident. Meteoric up-leveling in my business. Bucket list travel experiences.
It’s honestly pretty insane.
Because I go through so much over the course of one year, I want to take a pause to intentionally document these happenings. I love taking time each year before my birthday to reflect on the previous year. The good, the bad, the miraculous and incredible, the heartbreaking.
Having these “take stock” moments are necessary for continued growth and progress. They also help me to stay grounded in gratitude for the beautiful life that I’ve created.
It’s hard to capture just 31 moments of gratitude from this past year, but here are some of the memories that stood out to me the most. I’m going to categorize them by location, because honestly the months start to blur together as I travel.
Mexico
I celebrated my 30th birthday last year in Mexico City, so let’s start the gratitude list there.
1. Salsa Dancing at Marketteatro
A guy I met on a plane(apparently this has become pretty typical for me) told me about this social salsa dancing club in Mexico City and sent me the link to join the what’s app chat. This turned out to be a huge highlight for me during the 2+ months I spent in CDMX. Every Tuesday and Friday night you could find me dancing the night away. I loved making new friends, learning new dance moves and being effortlessly spun around the dance floor.
2. Exploring Yoga Studios with FitPass
A guy that I met through Bumble introduced me to Fitpass, a fitness app + class pass sort of combo. I paid $100 for the month to essentially get unlimited access to yoga classes throughout all of Mexico City. It was such a fun way to practice yoga while getting to experience all of the gorgeous yoga studios in the city. I even accidentally signed up for a cross fit yoga class one time, and ended up totally out of my element, pumping iron barefooted.
3. My Parents Coming to Visit
For my 30th birthday, my parents flew into Mexico City for the weekend. They don’t tend to travel very much (except if you count Vegas and Cruises- which I don’t), so it was very meaningful to me that they got out of their comfort zones to visit me. We saw the pyramids at Teotihuacan, “partied” on the boats at Xochimilco, walked around Chapultapec park and ate authentic Mexican tacos at Taqueria Orinoco. Plus it was so fun using my Spanish to help them get around!
4. Inner Child Healing Ceremony
I stumbled upon the most magical healing experience right in the heart of Mexico City. One Sunday afternoon, I participated in a breathwork + meditation + childhood regression sort of experience which essentially felt like a sober ayahuasca journey. It’s too much to explain in words here, and I think deserves a blog post on it’s own, but I’ll share some of my key takeaways from this journey.
- Giving love is healing. It’s just as healing as receiving love, because we are all one. When I give love away to someone else, I am also giving it to myself. I don’t have to be so stingy with love. I can open my heart and give it away.
- My angels are always with me and come to me through animals.
- It’s hard for me to communicate my needs, but I need to work on this because I deserve my needs to be fully met. The only way they can be fully met is if I am aware of my needs and communicate them without shame. I don’t have to be ashamed of having needs.
5. Vacation Week in Puerto Escondido
In December, I did something super radical and took an entire week off of work in my business. I deleted social media from my phone. Moved around client calls and gave myself the gift of 7 full days to rest and detox. It was a beautiful experience of watching sunsets, swimming in the ocean and lounging in hammocks.
The most unexpected part of this experience was how much I enjoyed my food that week. Normally I just eat meals rapidly in front of the computer while I work (whoops!), but this week, it’s like I was tasting and enjoying my food in a whole new way. Who knew that eating could be so fun!?
Colombia
After my time in Mexico, and a brief detour home, I caught a flight over to Colombia to experience the digital nomad scene there. I was in Colombia for almost 3 whole months exploring the mountains in Medellin and the coast in Santa Marta, plus some other gorgeous towns in between. Here are some of my highlights.
6. Bringing in the New Year in an Ashram
I got to fulfill some of my Eat Pray Love dreams, by spending some time in an Ashram in San Rafael, Colombia. I participated in a 5 day/ 4 night retreat to bring in the new year in peace and tranquility. It was such a gorgeous way to start the year- morning yoga and meditations, connecting to nature and sitting around the dinner table telling stories with new friends. Plus we did a bonfire on NYE to burn away anything that we wanted to let go of from 2021. An experience to remember, despite the fact that we all got Covid afterwards.
7. Being Inspired By the Comeback Story of Communa 13
One thing I’m embarrassed to admit as a full time traveler is that normally, I don’t like tours. I don’t like people talking at me and telling me facts. I think I just went though too many years of school and am sick of the lecture format.
But every now and then, there’s an inspiring tour guide who can tell an incredible story and I have such a wonderful experience. This is what happened on my Communa 13 tour.
At one point in the 1980s or 1990s (I don’t remember details), this neighborhood in Medellin Colombia was the most dangerous place in the entire world. The inhabitants of this neighborhood experienced so much violence and trauma, and someone had the brilliant idea of helping them transmute their trauma through art.
Now, this community is filled with vibrant street art, dancing and other creative exhibits and is truly thriving. I love a good comeback story, especially one that is centered on the healing power of creativity.
8. Joining Wifi Tribe and Doing My First Chapter in Santa Marta
One thing I decide to prioritize for 2022 was community. I had been solo traveling for a while, and was starting to crave deeper connections and relationships. In December, I took the plunge and joined Wifi Tribe and then in January I did my first chapter in Santa Marta Colombia.
I spent 4 weeks living and working with 22 strangers, who became such incredible friends. Some of my highlights were cold plunges, ecstatic dance parties and morning yoga sessions. I wrote all about the experience in this blog post > Finding Community On the Road- Jan 2022 Travel Update.
9. My Digital Nomad Travel Romance
I don’t normally write about my romantic encounters on this blog, because I really don’t have my love life figured out at all. But this romance is definitely something that I’m so grateful for.
During my wifi tribe chapter, I ended up really clicking with one of the other members and we started a little romance.
After the 4 weeks in Santa Marta, we traveled together in Colombia for a few weeks. It’s what I always wanted, someone who lives the same lifestyle as me to travel around with.
Even though (spoiler alert) it didn’t work out, there was a time when I felt completely swept off my feet and smitten kitten. I really thought he was going to be my person and that we were going to travel together for the rest of time (LOL… but seriously).
Those types of crushes are always so exhilarating and expansive to have, so I’m grateful for all the excitement and connection. Plus we ended things on such good terms and I still consider him to be a great friend.
10. Coffee Country in Jardin
I spent a wonderful week in a small town called Jardin, Colombia which is about a 4 hrs bus ride from Medellin. After being in the slightly hectic, but still wildly gorgeous, big city of Medellin, taking some time to unwind in nature was such a welcome change.
I notice that as I travel I love fluctuating from big city, to peaceful nature (and I love that I have the flexibility to do this.) I spent my week there sipping coffee, riding horses, chasing waterfalls, and walking the endless hiking trails. Pure bliss.
Ecuador
After traveling with community for about 8 weeks in Colombia, I decided to hop off on my own again for some solo time in Ecuador. Most of time in Ecuador was spent in a bit of a healing cocoon. I was doing the Money Miracles group program and really going inwards and working on myself.
I don’t have as many highlight moments from my time in Ecuador and I think it’s because I was going through so much internal stuff at that point. In total I stayed in Quito for 4 weeks and then hopped over to Cuenca for 2 more weeks. Here are some of my highlights.
11. Recovering from Altitude Sickness in Tumbaco Valley
Quito sits at an altitude of 9,000+ ft, and I had quite a difficult time adjusting. My first night there I woke up at 2am gasping for breath, feeling like I was going to die. I was not at all close to dying, but I was struggling with the altitude.
To make life easier on myself, I went down to Tumbaco valley, an elevation of 7800ft to acclimate a bit. I spent 3 nights there with the most gorgeous family who took care of me and nursed me back to health. They cooked for me and we had long chats and hang outs in the jacuzzi. I randomly found this place on air bnb and it turned out to be the perfect place to rest and recover from the altitude before heading back up to Quito.
12. Meeting my Spanish Tutor IRL
A few months prior, in December, I had signed up for an online tutoring service to improve my Spanish. I was paired with multiple tutors, before being matched with my absolute favorite. We clicked from our very first session over our love for Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift. I loved chatting with her, and she definitely motivated me to learn Spanish because there was so much I wanted to talk to her about.
I was so excited when I booked my flight into Quito, because that’s where she lives. I messaged her right away when I arrived and we got to meet up several times. She showed me around her city and introduced me to her friends and family. It was so wonderful having a local connection and getting to spend time with her in person!
13. Solo Hiking Lake Cuicocha
While I was in Quito, I took a weekend trip to Otovalo to see the indigenous market and hike Lake Cuicocha. When I was living in South Korea, I went on solo hikes every weekend, and it always calmed me down and helped me connect to my self.
I realized, I hadn’t properly solo hiked in a while and so hiking around this gorgeous crater lake all by myself was such a beautiful experience.
14. Running my First Group Program
While I was in Cuenca Ecuador, I started my group program The Career Fulfillment Formula. This was the first time I had run a group program, and I was so nervous, but turns out I absolutely did not need to be. There were 10 wonderful humans signed up and from the very first session it was pure magic. I realized I am so much more than capable of holding space for a group, and that there is such a healing power that happens in community.
The group itself was such a massive success. All the participants got along so well and it was so uplifting to see the way they supported each other. Half of the members are still meeting regularly to stay in touch.
Peru
I popped over to Peru for 5 weeks to hike the Inca Trail and meet up with some friends from Wifi Tribe. Machu Picchu had been on my bucket list and vision board for a while now, and it was finally coming true!
15. Seeing Fields Full of Llamas and Alpacas
The first weekend I was in Cusco, my friend and I went on a day trip to hike Rainbow Mountain. I was looking forward to seeing the brightly colored mountains in person, that I had once admired from the photos of one of my favorite travel bloggers.
What I didn’t expect was to see fields full of llamas and alpacas (still not sure which one was which!). I was seriously laughing out loud with enjoyment as we drove through these beautiful green pastures among dozens of llamas and alpacas. It was weirdly satisfying and hard to explain why I loved it so much, but there were literally just SO MANY OF THEM.
16. Making my first $10,000 month
Making $10,000 in one month had been a goal of mine for some time. To me it was the mark of a viable business that was headed for six figures. To me it represented that I could make as much money in my business as I would have been making as a physician.
After working on this for 2+ years, in April of 2022 I finally made my first $10,000 month (and then I did it again. and again. and again.) It was the very last day of the month, and I was $500 short of $10,000. I was honestly totally fine with that and was planning to count the $9500 as damn near close enough.
But then a former client messaged me asking to do a session with me. I asked her if she wanted to buy a 2 session package for $500. She said “heck yes”. Paid immediately and I hit my $10,00 goal! (What, like it’s hard!?)
17. Hiking the Inca Trail
This trip was truly beautiful. 4 days and 3 nights of hiking through ancient ruins and bonding with new friends. Culminating in seeing Machu Picchu at sunrise, something that was on my vision board ever since I started traveling. I loved every single minute of it, even when I was gasping for breath. I wrote an entire post about my experience here.
18. Starting #WealthyWednesdays
March and April I was doing some serious work on my money mindset and starting to convince myself that I deserved nice things. For a while, after leaving medicine, I subconsciously believed that giving up the profession of “doctor” meant I was also giving up financial abundance.
But I was determined to rewrite this belief. While I was in Cusco, Peru I wanted to start working from the lobby’s of 5 star hotels, but I was too scared to even enter the buildings. I felt like I didn’t deserve to be there.
I enlisted the help of some of my Wifi Tribe friends who were staying in Cusco with me. Together we kicked off my tradition of #WealthyWednesdays with a delicious brunch at the JW Marriot.
It felt so good to pamper myself and #WealthyWednesdays are something I’ve continued doing every week since then. Essentially it’s a time to treat myself and do something really nice and luxurious for myself. #WealthyWednesdays is my self care.
19. Magical Bike Tour in Lima Peru
After hiking the Inca Trail, I went over to Lima to experience the foodie capital of Peru. Except, I got COVID and ended up having to quarantine for the whole week. When I finally was able to leave my hotel room, I thought I better make up for lost time by doing a tour of the city. I scheduled a bike tour through an air bnb experience without expecting too much out of it, and had the most phenomenal morning exploring the city.
It just so happened that on the tour there were 3 other healthcare professionals. An American functional medicine doctor and her daughter who was training to be a nurse practitioner and a German Anesthesiologist who just graduated residency. We had so much to talk about through all of our shared interests and experiences and as it turned out, we all liked the same spiritual teachers as well.
I’m still planning to have the functional medicine doctor on my Life After Medicine podcast- so stay tuned for that one. I love the synchronicities of the Universe and those moments of travel where I just feel like “I was supposed to be in this exact moment at this exact time.” Life is good.
United States
I came back to the states for a little less than a week to celebrate my sister’s wedding and get some errands done. It was a very brief trip, so not too many highlights here.
It may be glaringly obvious that my sister’s wedding is not a highlight for me. I love my sister dearly, but I just don’t like how I feel at weddings (yes, I know this is selfish. Yes, I am working on it)
As a single person, I honestly feel less than and like a failure at weddings. Especially around my family who is fully coupled up. It’s stuff I’m working on with my therapist, and recently have been reading some really great books to help change my perspective on being single.
But suffice it to say, I am still not at a place where I enjoy being at weddings at all. I also really don’t enjoy being in the US, so it would not be authentic for me to pretend that it was a highlight, when it just wasn’t.
But, I will tell you what was….
20. Being able to drop $1200 cash on an iPhone
Ok, this moment felt really good. I was planning on buying a new iPhone when I came back to the US, because I wanted a better camera. I had my eye on the iPhone 13 Pro. It was expensive and so I was looking into a payment plan which felt more doable.
However, at the store, they gave me the news that since I didn’t have a normal phone plan (I just buy local SIMs wherever I go), I could NOT do the payment plan. So I proceeded to pay in full the $1200 for the phone. I was with my parents at the apple store and they looked really worried about me paying this much for the phone. I reassured them that it was ok. My business was doing well enough to support this.
It felt like such a success moment for me. Only a year earlier, I was calling my Mom crying because I was worried about going broke while in Brazil. Now, I was dropping $1200 on a piece of technology like it was nothing. Hell yes.
The UK
As most of you probably know, the UK was not a great time for me. I got in a pretty bad accident, which you can read about here. I was planning to stay in the UK for a total of 10 days to visit some friends at the start of my European summer. I ended up staying there for 3+months as I recovered from my accident and learned to walk again. But even through that brutal experience, there were some moments that I am truly grateful for.
21. Emergency Zoom Call with My Besties
Spending a week in the orthopedic ward of an understaffed NHS hospital was starting to wear on me big time, and by the 7th night I was honestly starting to lose my shit. My friends came to the rescue to support me. They set up a zoom link and sent it out to all my besties. People came on from around the world and were willing to stay awake with me all night to help me get through my final night in the hospital.
It was so meaningful to me, and I honestly don’t think I would have gotten through that final night without them.
22. Support From My Entire Community After My Accident
It was unbelievable how loved I felt in the weeks after my accident. People in my community offered me free medical consults, reiki healing sessions, and chair yoga sessions. I received so many texts, video chats and donations in my Go Fund Me so that I didn’t have to worry about making money while I recovered.
I felt so loved and cared for and like I truly could lean on the generosity of others to get through.
23. Jimmy Jam Travels Across the Pond
My Mom ( I call her Jimmy Jam for obvious reasons) ended up dropping everything to fly across the Atlantic ocean and help take care of me. As previously mentioned, she does not travel very often, and because of me this was her 2nd international trip in the span of a year. It meant so much to me that she faced her fear of discomfort (and pigeons) to support me after my accident. She also completely rearranged 3 weeks of her life for me.
Although it wasn’t a very pleasant time for me emotionally, because I couldn’t walk and was very much struggling with being so dependent on others, there are some good memories. Laying in bed with my Mom and watching endless travel movies because I couldn’t physically travel helped me pass the time while I waited for my pelvis to heal.
24. My UK boyfriend
Ok, I’m using the term boyfriend very loosely because we were never officially boyfriend and girlfriend. But the emotional support he gave me in the aftermath of my accident was honestly above and beyond anything I’ve ever received from a boyfriend- so he is going to get that classification.
We matched on Bumble the week I got home from the hospital, because I wanted someone to send flirty texts to as I laid in bed for weeks on end. I had zero expectations for it to turn into anything, because, ya know, I couldn’t walk.
Our first date was when I was still on crutches. Then we preceded to text daily and meet up in person for the rest of the time I was in the UK. My interactions with him were a huge source of happiness as I recovered from my accident and I’m so grateful that we matched.
Once it was time for me to leave the UK, I wanted him to come travel with me, but he wasn’t in a place in his life where that was a possibility. Sadly we had to say our goodbyes. It broke my heart a little bit, but that’s what happens when you date as a digital nomad. There are a ton of “hello’s”, and sooo many “goodbyes”.
25. Hiring My First Team Member
While I was in the UK, my business was starting to grow to a point that was feeling unmanageable. One morning I was journaling about how “I think I need some help”, but I wasn’t sure how to get started with hiring someone. It seemed like a lot of admin that I didn’t want to deal with. (I will do almost anything to avoid admin)
Later that week, I received an IG message from one of the alumns from my first group program asking “Do you need a remote worker?”. I told her…. “as a matter of fact, yes I do.” We hopped on a call to talk about the details, and she started working for me the next week. Having her be a part of the business has been a huge source of motivation for me, and I am so grateful she reached out!
Greece
Once I was no longer on crutches and walking around independently I decided it was time to salvage my “European Summer That Didn’t Happen” with a solo trip to the Greek Islands.
26. Healing in Greece
After the dark and dreary big city of London, where I spent most of my time post accident, I was ready for a change. The Greek Islands turned out to be the perfect medicine for me. I spent 2 weeks in Crete swimming in the bright turquoise waters, doing sunset yoga on my very own rooftop and drinking Freddo espressos in the Old town. I also did my first hike post accident which felt like a big milestone for me.
South Africa
In September, I flew to Capetown, South Africa to start a 4 month Africa program with Remote Year. After months of being lonely while lying in bed healing, I was in deep need of some community.
27. Welcome Drum Circle in Capetown
The first Wednesday we were in Capetown we got to take an hour long drum lesson with some locals. There was this moment while I was playing the drums where I was fully immersed in keeping the beat and I realized…. ” I finally feel normal”.
I finally felt like I was participating in life again. After my accident, even when I could physically walk again, I was experiencing this fear of being out in public. Being outside around people didn’t feel safe. And as such, I spent alot of my time in London, and even in Greece, hiding out under my covers (literally).
But once I got to Capetown, things started to slowly shift. During this drum circle I realized that I was finally going to be able to come out of my shell and live my life. It felt like the biggest relief.
28. Penguins on the Beach
One Monday, I went on a day trip to see penguins on Boulder Beach and the Cape of Good hope. I was standing there on the beach, watching these penguins clumsily waddle around and I had this “pinch me” moment, of….. “how in the world did I get here?”
How did I get so lucky that on a random Monday, I get to stand here on a beautiful beach hanging out with penguins. Life is soo good sometimes, and in that moment I got to actively savor it’s goodness.
29. Whale Watching in Hermanus
Another incredible, moment was going Whale Watching in a town 1.5 hours outside of Capetown called Hermanus. We took a boat trip out into the ocean and saw so. many. whales. I got violently seasick about halfway through the trip, but even though I was throwing up, I was still in awe of these whales swimming right up next to our boat.
30. Energy Healing
My final day in Capetown, I went to see an energy healer and had such a cool experience with her. She told me that I am SO beautiful, both energetically and physically (I mean who doesn’t love to hear that). And she kept emphasizing just how beautiful I was. Then she told me, that the problem is, I don’t see my own beauty and I tend to doubt myself.
She said that I have Elvin/ fairy energy and that my soul is from a place far far away. The visions she had of my soul’s homeland, looked like a LOTR movie. She told me that I needed to travel to Scandinavia to activate my energy… sooo best believe I will be planning a Scandinavian summer for 2023.
Tanzania
The final country I got to explore, and where I am currently, is Tanzania. East Africa has been a very different experience than South Africa. Now I understand what people mean when they say “South Africa is like Africa Lite.” Since I’m still here, I am not going to write too much about it on this post, but you can expect a blog post soon about my East African adventures. I will include ONE highlight from my time so far in Tanzania.
31. Karaoke Night in Arusha
Our first week in Arusha, Tanzania was rough. The internet wasn’t working. Our apartments were right next to a local bus stop, so every time we stepped outside we were harassed. Most of us on RY were struggling in some way with the adjustment. So on that first Thursday night, we sang and danced all of our cares away at the most epic karaoke party I’ve ever been too. It was a much needed moment of blowing off steam and bonding and singing our little hearts out. So much fun.
Wow, if you stayed with me through all 31 of those moments, I just want to say thank YOU. Thanks for your ongoing support in my life and on my journey. You mean so much to me.
Here’s to another year full of incredible moments.
Love you so much,
Coach Chels
I enjoyed reading this so much! Can’t wait to see what next year has in store for you.