Let me introduce myself. I am a legally blind accountant with the soul of a legally blind writer.
I was born fully sighted in the little known country of South Africa, but I’ve spent most of my life in New Zealand, a nation known for its distinctive flag. My family immigrated two weeks before my ninth birthday, and I’ve been back to visit the country of my brith a grand total of twice.
I started travelling by myself at eighteen, roughly two days after writing my last school exam. My first solo trip was to Europe, and was a mixture of a Topdeck tour, staying with family friends and proper solo travel. A whirlwind two months later I was back home for uni. Since then I’ve been on a number of trips around the world and a lot of trips around New Zealand. Sometimes travelling with people (although I’ve recently realised I might be a curse for my travel companions) and often by myself.
I took a little break from travel thanks to COVID and adjusting to my deteriorating sight, but I’m bored and a need a break from my real life, so back to Europe I go! This time, for a year(ish). The plan, such as it is, is to travel for a few weeks around the main continent before heading to Ireland to live and work for a year.
I was doing some balance sheet reconciliation at work when my mind wondered – balance sheet recs leave a lot of room for thinking about pretty much anything else – towards what I want to get out of my upcoming trip. It would be so easy to fall back into the same rut I’ve found myself in at home, so I need to be deliberate with my intentions to avoid that fate. I decided what I really, really wanted was to prioritise my writing. Something I’ve wanted to do for a long time but haven’t, because adulting is exhausting, because money is so comfortable, because the possibility of failure scares me. Sitting there, under the harsh fluorescent lights, I was struck by inspiration! What the world really needs is another travel blog! It would be hitting and entire flock of birds with one stone – I’d be forced to write more as well as step outside my comfort zone, my parents would get regular updates and the world can read about what travel is like for the blind. What could go wrong?+.
My intention with this blog is to write. Write about travel, travel as a blind person, how I experience blindness, and since I am an accountant, how I budget for travel and how the actual expenses measure up. Plus some fun, bonus and irrelevant bits and bobs, I’m sure.
Join me on this adventure, and I hope you enjoy the journey!
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