In January 2022 I arrived in Mexico Cancun after a mainly uninteresting work life for eight years. I alredady travelled many countries before but the last few journeys I had were accompanied by a lingering lonelieness and boredom.
When I finally got vacation from work and booked my flights in advance, things would cheer up and the excitement become unbearable. I used to backpack a lot, staying three weeks in a country and travelling from Tourist destination to the next and staying in hostels. Sightseeing the city and going on hikes would be my favourite activity each time I arrived in a new town. But like I said there was always that feeling of boredom and loneliness nagging me in the back of my head. Why? I’m here thousands of kilometers away from my home, my work, my boring life. Why would i feel this in a different place that’s supposed to be exciting and refreshing. Why am I feeling like this isn’t worth it anymore?
Maybe it’s the climate? Maybe it’s the people? Maybe it’s the surroundings? No matter how many times I thought about it, I just couldn’t put my finger on the issue for me.
After getting laid off from my office job and working two years as a courier I found workaway.info a volunteering website connecting travellers with hosts looking for people to volunteer in their projects. “Interesting, i thought”, maybe this is something that solves the issues I was facing with my passion for travelling. I lived in Germany during that time and in 2021 we were still deep in Covid lockdowns and restricted in our freedom. Fortunately I was able to travel to Sweden for two weeks. The perfect chance to test workaway and volunteering.