After a 2018 road trip along the Saint Lawrence Seaway from Michigan to Cape Breton Island, I started dreaming of going even further—all the way to the edge of the continent. To Newfoundland, and the adjacent French outcropping, Saint Pierre et Miquelon.

I started mapping routes. I watched YouTube videos of people taking their cars over by ferry, exploring abandoned fishing villages by boat, and walking on the Earth’s mantle in Gros Morne National Park.

But between starting a PhD program and the pandemic, four years came and went in a blink. I pinned a map of Newfoundland to the wall in my bedroom like a totem and dreamed of that glorious, undefined “one day.”

Another year has come and gone and I’m still dreaming of that day when I finally get to visit Newfoundland—and I can’t wait for it.

In the meanwhile, I’ve made a few other “one days” come true this year. For me, travel is inextricably linked with my mental health—with my ability to see myself as having agency; being able to learn and explore and nurture my curiosity. And in writing this list, I found that the pursuit of joy is at the heart of it all.

Here’s a look back on my top travel moments in 2022.

5. Back in Wales for the World Cup

When Wales/Cymru qualified for the World Cup, it was the perfect excuse to make my first trip back in more than a decade. I wanted to experience a crowded pub with people belting out Hen Wlad fy Nhadau and Yma o Hyd, pint in hand. (And, ideally, see Wales make it to the knock-out rounds of their first World Cup since 1958.) I was 22 the last time I visited Wales. Back then, I didn’t know a lick of Welsh and my knowledge of national history and culture was sparse. Embracing my Welsh roots is a lifelong pursuit—one marked with joy found in moments that are simple, yet profound in the sense of belonging that they help cultivate. Moments like being able to an Englishman’s inquiry about whether I speak Welsh by saying, “Do, dw i’n dysgu siarad Cymraeg.” This trip was ripe with those moments, big and small.

Read more about my stay in Wales/Cymru

4. Meeting a Fox

I thought my circle trip around Lake Superior would be magical, but I hadn’t imagined that it would involve woodland animals making unexpected visits to my campfire. Foxes, elusive and solitary, are one of my favorite animals. In all these moments, the through-line is joy. Perhaps in this unlooked-for encounter, this was the most joyous of them all.

Check out my encounter with a fox

3. Argentina’s 2022 World Cup Victory

I landed in Argentina on December 8 to spend the winter (or summer) holidays with my fiancé. We napped right through Argentina’s clash with the Netherlands the following day as I recovered from the trip, awoken by cheering from the street as Argentina went through on penalties. We tuned in as Argentina gave Croatia a thrashing in the semifinals, and again for an uncomfortably tense—but absolutely unforgettable—matchup in the finals against France. My mother, not understanding the stakes of the game, told me beforehand how nice it was that I would have two teams to cheer for in the finals. I joked that if Argentina didn’t win, I was at risk of being personally blamed and deported. Thankfully it didn’t come to that. In the late afternoon, we followed tens of thousands down Avenue Corrientes toward the Obelisco in the heart of Buenos Aires. I have never witnessed a moment like this before in my life, and I doubt very much that I’ll ever see something like it again. Car horns honking, people singing and dancing, flags flying. Bands played and music filled the streets as people young and old, abled and handicapped, families, couples, friends, and strangers came together for a celebration of a lifetime. It was an afternoon of anthemic joy lifting the voices of a people and national banner as one.

World Cup victory celebrations in Buenos Aires

2. First Ever In Person Rugby Match at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff

Speaking of anthemic joy, I got to attend my first-ever rugby match this fall at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. There’s a strong possibility that I may be the only Wales fan who can describe the occasion as joyous, given the match against Australia was the final nail in the coffin of a disastrous 2022 for the national team. And it was no less disheartening to have come all this way, only to watch my favorite team in the world blow a huge lead in the final 10 minutes of the game—especially as the football team’s chances in the World Cup tanked after a 0-2 loss to Iran. Yet, it was a moment of amazement to be in Millennium Stadium. To be in a place you saw so often on TV, and sing Cwm Rhondda and the national anthem with 60,000+ other Wales fans after years singing alone in your living room at absurd hours because of the time difference. And not knowing how long Alun Wyn Jones has in his playing career, it was an almighty joy getting to see him play.

1. Meeting My Boyfriend in Buenos Aires Airport

Without question or hesitation, the top moment of 2022 was meeting my boyfriend at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires. We met through a dating app and had been talking for a year before meeting in person. Hand on my heart, I didn’t have a single doubt about meeting him. I had never felt so connected or comfortable with someone before, ever. That said, I was anxious about the trip itself. This was my first time flying in years, my first long-haul flight in a decade, and I had never been to Argentina—a country where I don’t speak the language, despite all the Duolingo lessons that I’ve shoe-horned into my daily routine.

The moment we met was a magical blur as I emerged from customs and took in the crowd of cab drivers and family and friends waiting for loved ones. He spotted me before I saw him, and came crashing into me in the tightest embrace. I had said that I would cry the first time we met, but the moment was too intense for tears, and too surreal for words to do it any justice. How do you describe meeting someone in person for the first time when you know each other so well already? It’s a moment where everything changes, and nothing changes at all. It’s the next step on a journey of self-discovery, realization, and profound joy. It’s a moment of coming home, and the next chapter in the greatest adventure ever.