One Year Goes By So Fast: Farewell, Remote Year Kublai!
One year.
One year full of getting to know the world, each other and yourselves, Kublai.
Can you believe that 365 days have passed since you first stepped off the plane in Kuala Lumpur?
Remote Year Kublai capped off their year-long journey in Lima, Peru. Over the past twelve months they have been side-by-side, traveling together on transition weekends, working in a new workspace each month, and trekking across mountains, waterfalls, and the busy streets of Phnom Penh. The Kubs (as they like to call themselves) have done it all together.
A year away from home has a way of putting things into perspective. When you’re miles away from your closest family and friends, you begin to reevaluate the things about yourself that always seemed inevitable.
Are you really afraid of heights? Is it true that you’re a picky eater?
Do you actually prefer to stay at home?
Or have you been held back by your comfort zone?
One Kublai Remote, Zoe Weiner, went on this journey of personal discovery during her Remote Year.
“I re-discovered who I am. At the beginning of the year I was so, so lost. I’m still pretty lost, but, I have more confidence in myself than ever before,” Zoe said. “I’m working toward starting my own company, and planning on travelling on my own while doing so — two things I never would have thought I’d be able to do before Remote Year came along.”
We know that feeling. It’s a personal phenomenon that only an experience as life-changing as Remote Year can create. It’s the feeling of finally being found.
Tramily Over Everything
The people that you meet on Remote Year aren’t just a part of the experience. They are the experience.
They are the ones that break down your boundaries and push you to realize your next level. They sign you up for morning sunrise hike you would have never considered before this year, and dare you to try the fire ant curry that gave you pause. They hold your hand as you jump off of cliffs and proofread your latest project in the early hours of the morning so that you can meet a deadline.
Sound familiar, Kublai?
Each memory that you create during your year of work and travel will be in the presence of your fellow Remotes, with them either cheering you on or comforting you through a tough moment. You’ll win together and lose together, but you’ll make your impact on the world as one.
For Zoe, one memory comes to mind when she thinks about the moment that she realized she was on an indescribable journey.
“Standing at the top of Machu Picchu after hiking it for 6 hours in the pouring rain with 36 of my peers. I was so proud of all of us, and I knew that I couldn’t have gotten through it without my support system,” Zoe said.
That support system was the backbone of Kublai’s year, with each Remote finding a way to make a connection with another, no matter their differences.
“We’re not clique-y,” Catherine (AKA Beach), a Kublai Program Leader said. “Everyone is very open to hanging out with each other, really. I’d say no one is exclusive or exclusionary. We always have this problem because we’ll roll into an event 50-deep and we’re like ‘Guys, we have to split up occasionally.’”
Nik, a Remote Year Experience Manager in Kuala Lumpur, was also witness to this bond. He developed an instant connection with the Kubs when they started their journey in his city, getting to know them as they first met each other.
Although Kublai’s month in Kuala Lumpur flew by, Nik never forgot about this incredible group of Remotes. In an emotional story that rivals any romance novel, Nik created a way to remind himself daily of the memories that he created with Kublai.
Ever since Kublai’s Orientation Weekend in Kuala Lumpur, Nik has worn a bangle.
“Dear Kubs,
So I’ve been wearing this bangle the whole of 2017 ever since Kublai’s Orientation Weekend one year ago.
The Chinese monks that Coca and Jason met at a temple in KL told ’em that the bangles were blessed and when it falls off your wrist, it’ll be a whole year of good luck in your travels or any endeavour you take on.
Thus today on your last weekend together, I bid all you Kubs good luck in your travels (home or away into Month 13 onwards) + all your future endeavours you will take on!
Conquer with love and don’t forget to ring us up when you’re in our neck of the woods aight… we’ll go trampling through more haunted houses and feast over satay afterwards. 😉