Back to blogging... 101+ Things I Want to do in my Lifetime

Dear Leana and friends/family who are crazy enough to want to read my blog:

It's been a while since I created this blog (June 2012!) and I've only done 1 post. The more I put it off, the more exciting adventures I have, the more ideas I get for writing and the more I want to write... but the harder it becomes because I just want to be able to put it all down on paper (well, in cyberspace) without leaving anything out, all in one sitting - blog post after blog post. I've now realized the impossibility of this and accepted that I just need to start somewhere. It doesn't have to be at the beginning. It doesn't have to start with my adventures teaching in Taiwan for the month of July, my Canadian roadtip to Sudbury, or even anything during my first few amazing and eye-opening months teaching in Korea. That's the thing about letters... sometimes they come late in the mail, but it's always exciting reading them. I hope that these letters from me reach you, no matter where you are or wherever I am in the world right now.

So, to kick off my letter blog (for real this time - I have it written in #17!), I am promising myself to live my life to the fullest and with purpose, no matter how cliche it may sound. Inspired by some of my friends in Korea (Alex, Emily, Jenn and Ashley, to name a few) who have made their own bucket list, I've decided to write my own. I don't see it as a checklist of things I absolutely HAVE to do and check off to make myself feel "special" or "worthy" (lol) - but I think I see it more as a way to have goals in life and to never forget what it is that I want to accomplish and to never forget who I am. It was tough at first, but then I was on a roll and voila! I feel like I'll be able to keep adding things over the years as I discover more :) So, here's my list... Hopefully it will inspire you too. 

Yours Truly,

Leana

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
Mahatma Gandhi

101+ Things I Want to do in my Lifetime 

1. Teach and live in at least 5 countries (hopefully more) within 5 years (2012-2016)
2. Learn how to not procrastinate with what matters to me! (i.e. writing, doing educational research for my future Masters/career, staying in contact with friends/family, etc.)
3. Skydive or go in an indoor skydive place (wind tunnel)
4. Be completely fluent in French (near-native French!)
5. Learn the basics of at least 5 languages other than English and French
6. Get my Masters of Education
7. Go to a Full Moon Party
8.  Have a mud fight
9. Do the Polar Bear Dip
10.  Step foot on all the continents
11. Ride an elephant in India
12. Road trip across Canada
13. Road trip along the California coastline
14. Help build a school in another country
15. Teach at a private school and/or international school
16. Experience culture shock and reverse culture shock
17. Keep a blog going for longer than a year
18. Create a class or teaching website for me, my students, parents, co-workers, etc.
19. Grow a watermelon
20. Have a huge herb garden and cook meals using it
21. Take a cooking lesson (formal or informal) in every country I visit (ongoing)
22.   Create(and completely finish) a scrapbook
23. Write a book and get it published
24. Write an article and get it published
25. Open a time capsule from my past
26. Complete the November writing challenge (NaNoWriMo)
27.  Live and work in a French-speaking country
28.  Be a bartender (even if it’s just for a short period)
29. Sail in the Mediterranean
30.  Learn how to dive properly
31. Learn how to scuba dive
32. Have both lower and upper abs (that you can see!)
33. Help make positive changes in the Canadian education system
34. Live in a treehouse
35. Create a painting that I'm proud of and hang it in my house
36. Pay it forward
37. Explore Toyko, Japan
38. Be able to complete a full newspaper crossword puzzle within 1 day
39. Learn to dance k-pop style
40.  Learn to salsa at an intermediate+ level (higher than just beginner)
41.  Create my own teas
42. Go white water river rafting
43. Connect with the teachers from my past
44. Fly in a hot air balloon
45. Fall in love
46. Get married one day
47. Run a 5K race at least twice (and beat my time)
48. Own a cat
49. Go wine-tasting (and be somewhat of a connoisseur?)
50. Make wine from scratch – Squish the grapes with my feet!!
51. Learn the basics of playing piano
52. Re-learn how to play the guitar (and be even better than better)
53. Witness a solar eclipse
54. Pack my bags and set off on a trip with no itinerary or real destinations in mind
55. Swim with dolphins (or manatees!)
56. Volunteer abroad in a meaningful way
57. Find a liana (a type of vine in the rainforest)
58. Custom-build a home for myself
59. Work at random jobs while on a vacation/back-packing (i.e. bar, tutoring, hostel...)
60.  Be a vegetarian for 1 full month
61. Sleep on the beach
62. Do a temple stay
63. Visit/hike on a volcano
64. Ride a standing-up roller coaster
65. Complete the 365 day photo challenge
66. Make a difference in someone’s life
67. Take the Trans-Siberian Railroad
68. Drive a dog/husky sled – and yell mush!
69. Play an 18 hole round of golf
70. See and try to catch fireflies
71. Travel in South America
72. Travel in Europe
73. Travel in Australia/New Zealand
74. Travel in at least 5 Asian countries (Taiwan, South Korea, Philippines... 3/5)
75. Travel in Africa
76. Ride a camel in Egypt and visit the pyramids
77. Go trekking in a rainforest
78. For all my family and good friends: Stay in contact and remind them I love them all no matter where I am in the world
79. Be an awesomely epic maid of honour for Kirstie
80. Stay at someone’s home while backpacking/traveling abroad
81. Explore a castle
82. Get a Chia Pet again!
83.  Sleep in an igloo
84. Go to film festivals in other countries (i.e. Cannes)
85. Donate blood
86. Be cliché and kiss at the Eiffel Tower
87. Attend the Olympics (in a city other than my own)
88. Get a tattoo
89. Read a book per week for one year
90. Attend Mardi Gras in New Orleans
91. Live on the beach
92. Ride a gondola in Venice
93. Learn how to say “hello” and "cheers" (or at least how to order a drink) in 50 languages
94. Visit the 7 New Wonders of the World
95. Try couch-surfing
96. Attend Oktoberfest in Germany
97. Attend La Tomatina
98. See the cherry blossoms in Asia (Korea or Japan...)
99. Learn how to perform some magic tricks
100. Learn to knit or sew well
101. Read the complete works of Shakespeare
102. Have my own library with a Beauty and the Beast sliding ladder
103. Live in the countryside house/cottage in a European country (France, Italy, Spain?) for a summer
104. Learn to surf
105. See a live TED talk
106. Attend a professional fashion show
107. Go to Times Square on New Years Eve
108. Get hypnotized
109. Go skinny dipping in the ocean
110.  Do a zipline