All good things must come to an end.

My last day here has arrived. I can't say I want to leave- but at the same time I do miss my family, friends, and beautiful homeland. And Canadian beer. I know that if I had the oppurtunity to, however, I could spend years of my life exploring this vast nation and all of its wonders. I've met people who do this in fact- people who are many years older than myself and have done very little else than travel the world and have a good time, which is a big part of why I want to come home. A debate I commonly had with myself on this adventure was "is travelling a good use of time". Now, at the end of my trip, I can say that I believe it is, when done in moderation. I think it is more important- particularily at my point in life- to be more focussed on developing skills and making yourself useful than it is to be galavanting around the globe. I think that coming here taught me many things, that will help me later in life- and I also had an amazing experience. I will give an example of one of these lessons. In India, the vast, vast majority of people are not well off (this may shock you), and they have to work hard to survive. Many of them (most of them, really) rely on their skills and work ethic to survive, not to get rich or impress anyone. For example; carpenters here make 200 RS per day (5 Dollars). Now, going home to a very comfortable, prosperous nation, I recongnize more than ever that there are people who float through life working mindless jobs or living listless lifestyles (ie travelling all the time), which lulls them into a false sense of security. If anything were to ever jeopardize their current situation, say economic collapse or something along these lines, they would be in a very tough predicament. People here know that their livelihoods are always at risk, and work very hard to do their best at them and make themselves useful. This is a lesson I am very grateful for. Also, I learned that everyone I know back home is rich. Absolutely filthy rich. Kids working summer jobs at a grovery store could make an average family's monthly income in a single shift. It is still something I cannot fully grasp- all I can gather from it is that I, and I should think everyone reading this, is extremely fortunate to be as properous as they are. Life is very, very hard for some, I would say most, people. An idea I had before coming here was to, as I worked my way through carpentry schooling and beyond that, gain experience and help people out by volunteering my skills to NPO's building shelters in less developed nations, and I think that this is something I will do. Aside from the obvious humanitarian side of it, it would (more selfishly) give me a chance to see the world, while not "wasting time". That's about all I have, and I guess I'll draw this blog to a close now. In a couple days, once I'm back on Canadian soil, I will upload my pictures to an online gallery, and post the link here. A little visual aid never hurt. Thank you for reading,

Nick