Roseann Dimech and Samuel Mamo, both 25-year-olds, a language teacher and a mechanical engineer by profession, have taken the leap to travel around the world full time and have been doing it for almost a year.
There is never a 'right time to go'. We left Malta on November 28, 2018. We had been thinking of doing this for some time, but never considered it seriously. We realised that we always happened to agree that it is not 'the right time to go'. Then we finally decided to go, because realistically, it will never be the right time to leave your home country, your home, your job, your family and friends, for the unknown.
Our trip is open-ended. At first, we decided that our trip was going to last about 4 months. Six max. After some months travelling, we quickly realised that the countries we were visiting in Asia were cheaper than what we could have ever imagined. We decided that we were able to do this for longer, and now have been travelling for 11 months.
You get used to living frugally. Before we left, we started attending free activities in Malta, eating as little take-out as possible, cooking at home instead of dining out, and stopped buying clothes altogether, to save money. We were both working extra hours too. While on the road, you have to cut down on expenses and luxuries if you want to travel further, but we quickly got used to this different kind of lifestyle.
Technology can be a blessing. We probably wouldn't have gone such a long way if it wasn't for Workaway and Couchsurfing. Such apps/websites help travellers like us to travel cheaper, while getting priceless experiences back that you wouldn't get otherwise.
You don't fully appreciate what you have, before you experience other cultures and ways of living. During our travels we learnt that we are immensely lucky because we grew up in a society that offered equal educational opportunities to everyone, and free health care for all.
We like to think of ourselves as 'social travellers'. Our favourite experiences always revolve around talking with locals and getting to know them and their traditions. We stay with them, spend time with the families, and share dinners and sometimes even deep, heartfelt conversations. It's the people that make a country. It's the locals, their way of living, their beliefs and passions that intrigue us, and we're always after this.
No pain, no gain. Sometimes people reach out to us and ask us for advice. They want to take the leap, but they have so many doubts and 'buts' in their heads. We say that if you want to do it enough, you'll work for it and make it happen. But nothing comes easy, especially a dream this big.
We miss our 10-minute drives to the beach. We miss the walk alongside the luzzijiet in Marsaxlokk, and this year we missed St. Joseph's festa in Għaxaq. We miss our families and friends most of all.
Follow their adventure on www.thetravel2.com and on their Facebook page.
Are you a Maltese person living abroad? Contact malteseabroad@timesofmalta.com