Introduction

I used to be the most boring person on the planet. First I had no hobbies and all I did was play Lego and Playmobil. And collecting stamps and reading a lot, maybe. Then I had no hobbies and all I did was play computer games. And annoying my friends whether I could play at their places. And then I had no hobbies and all I did was working. And saying “no” to my friends, “no” that I couldn’t join for whatever they were doing, there, in the park, or in the mountains, or in that other country.

This little book is a testament of my change into a more adventurous and open person. It lists factoids that I learned during my adventures. That’s the main goal in fact. Spreading little factoids. And it shares some ideas on how to become similarly open.

This may beg the question, what is an adventure, and what does openness have to do with it?

Adventure is normally related to something uncharted, uncertain, or unusual. Something that has never been tried before. Or something that’s dangerous. Thrill, excitement, adrenaline. But there’s also another side of adventure. It’s trying something uncharted, uncertain, or unusual for oneself. With or without thrill. Challenging oneself. Like being afraid of heights and then doing bungee jumping from a tower. Hating the idea of going to a polo match but joining regardless. Or just being uncertain about knitting but giving it a shot at a class in the neighborhood.

Adventure is about being open. It means being open to new impressions, influences, and the unexpected. It means being open to the possibility that there are things out there that, no matter how trivial and unexciting they may seem, may be worthwhile, useful, or even fun. And it means being open to the fact that there are indeed things that are not as interesting and enjoyable, and recognizing that it’s good to know they aren’t, rather than guess they aren’t.

What all this means is that adventure can be found everywhere. It’s all around us. Life is an adventure if we opt to make it one. And that’s why I call myself an “everyday adventurer,” and why this piece of literature says “Everyday Adventurer.”

One note about this little book. It has an autobiographical touch as inevitably, I found myself rummaging through my very own and sometimes brief impressions. So it’s individual. It’s not neutral. It’s very Jens, always keen to do everything—at once.

The book is organized into separate chapters for each activity. That means, there are 100 chapters (plus a few more for things like this). The chapters are ordered chronologically for realistic randomness. Each one talks a bit about what the activity is, if an explanation is useful, how I got to it, what happened at the venue, and what I learned. I then added a rough indicator for how expensive I found the activity, how fun I thought it was, and how risky I deemed it. Very individual. Sometimes exaggerated.

Now, what activities are included? The answer is everything. Everything that was “new” to me starting 2010, when I opened up and at the same time became methodical about trying new things, to now, 2013. So I won’t do a life review and tell you I went fishing in 1988 and learned speed reading in 2004. I sometimes left the house back in those years, but that’s not going to be covered here. The everything of activities described, then, ranges from ordinary classes and online trainings to special events and extreme sports. It just doesn’t include the more trivial new things like my first ice hockey game or live boxing event. That would be a bit much.

I believe this gives you a little idea of what to expect. Everything can be an adventure, and everyone can be an adventurer. That’s the Jens view on things.

—Jens Oliver Meiert, October 2013, from Quito, Ecuador

Legend

Every activity chapter is concluded with some little extra information.

Cost, $–$$$$$. Prices based on what I paid or how costly I found it.

• —: Oh, free!
• $: Coins??
• $$$$$: That’s going to sting.

Fun factor, ☆☆☆☆☆–★★★★★ (0–5). How fun did I find the activity?

• ☆☆☆☆☆ (0/5): 10-year-old Jens was right, just stay in and play Lego.
• ★★★★★ (5/5): Can I move here.

Risk factor, ☆☆☆☆☆–★★★★★ (0–5). How risky did I find the activity?

• ☆☆☆☆☆ (0/5): lol.
• ★★★★★ (5/5): The afterlife seems pretty real.

Currency is in U.S. dollars but units follow the metric system (sometimes they’re accompanied by the imperial equivalent in parentheses).

Quotes, mostly for definitions, are based on entries in the English Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org) retrieved from April to August, 2013.

Disclaimer

First, nothing’s perfect in this book.

Second, I hate disclaimers. I believe we’re all smart enough. Just know that I’m not an expert in any of what I’m writing about in this place. I’ve done and tried many of different things but that just means I’m bad at everything. The same may go for Wikipedia and their definitions as they don’t give any guarantees, either, and I can’t offer any for them.

What this all means is, before you take any action, do some due diligence. Make sure that what you do is safe for you and whoever you want to bring with you, and that it’s in budget, if that’s a concern. In general, use this book at your own risk. But we’re all grown-ups, so thanks for walking these two paragraphs with me. Please welcome now to: 100 Things I Learned as an Everyday Adventurer.