About chanysilva
When I was 8 years old my Mum bought me a big book of the world. It was filled with bright colours, maps of different parts of the world and flags of countless countries. Each turn of the page brought with it exciting new cultures and friendly characters which left me wide eyed and wanting to know more about the world. As a kid I flipped through the pages of this book whilst imagining myself venturing through the Amazon rainforest befriending exotic animals, trekking through deserts in Africa with nothing but a pair of sunglasses, exploring ancient cities in Europe and flying on a magic carpet through the Arabian skies.
As I grew older, I felt that I needed more than just these imaginary adventures. I knew I needed to get out and actually experience first hand the cultures that I had been reading about. I needed to taste the food, hear the sounds, talk to the people and embrace the vibrancy of the world around me – and I had realised that my trusty old book of the world simply couldn’t do that for me.
I’ve been really lucky to have met so many wonderful people who have shared with me stories and experiences from their travels, many of which have opened my eyes to the endless possibilities that the world has to offer. The greatest gift of all which has come from this is a growing belief that I too have the capacity to explore. There are so many places that I want to go to, so many people I want to meet and so many things that I want to do – so much so that sometimes I think there just isn’t enough time! But we all have to dream big and just as importantly, we all have to work hard to make sure that our dreams become a reality.
12 years on and I still have my big book of the world. It sits beside my bed, in surprisingly good condition, despite the busy life it’s led. But now instead of dreaming up imaginary adventures… I’m making the switch to embarking on real life adventures.
So dust off your magic carpet and come along for the ride!
