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In Search of the World

"November 17th, backpack is jam-packed and I think that I'm fully prepared for my adventure around the world. But hang on... my sister suddenly appears with this, a fantastic home made journal empty at the time apart from a collage of photos of family and friends and a map of the area "so that you can show people where you're from" she said. And this message - here came the waterworks and the endless supply of tissues that I'd need for the next few hours!

Manchester airport and by now the waterworks had finally gone. I told myself it's going to be a fantastic five months, and you'll be back before you know it - silly. And do you know what? I was, having had a whale of a time.

Here are the best of the best! Oz - a massive country and I suddenly realised how small my world had been; snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef - a really awesome experience... but the highlight here by far was this, a Welsh church in Melbourne, along with a Welsh speaking minister and church goers.

Me, a mountaineer? No! But here, me and Ffion were glacier hiking in New Zealand! And what about this beauty - my first fishing lesson and look at the size of the fish I caught!

Monument Valley - wow! There really is a serene air about the place, and for me this was by far the most tranquil experience of the whole trip.

Finally here I am living my dream in a cowboy camp, horse riding in the Arizonan desert with a real life cowboy. I'm still mesmerised by the simplicity of his way of life - Rusty you are a legend!

But every good thing must come to an end and home I went. I arrived back at Manchester airport safely, but no sign of the back pack which had my treasured journal inside! Back at home and the waterworks started again along with the endless supply of tissues!

Finally the next day my backpack arrived. I was once again reunited with my journal as well as my family."

Please tell us a little about yourself.
I'm 22 years old and I live in a tiny village in North Wales. After graduating I had absolutely no idea of what I wanted to do next, and so decided that I wanted to see a bit of the world. Me and a friend booked an around the world ticket and off we went.

What's your story about?
A home-made travel journal made by my sister for me to take with me, and how it became jam-packed with all sorts of bits and bobs, stories about different characters that I met, places I visited and all sorts of adventures. It's kind of the best of the best of my trip, bought to life on the pages of the journal.

Why did you choose to tell this particular story?
Because it's a sort of neat ending to the whole trip, and it was a way of bringing the whole experience to life again. Also as you can imagine I had millions of photographs, and so it seemed an obvious story to tell.

What did you find most rewarding about the workshop?
Learning a new skill, and telling a story through a different medium. All the team were fantastic. Thank you so much for all your help during the week - Diolch!