Sleeping in Airports
Trip Start
Apr 03, 2007
1
17
Trip End
Jul 31, 2007
London, United Kingdom
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
So, looking back on the sum total of my trip, what can I say? Did it turn out as I expected it too? Of course not, these things never do. More importantly, did I get out of it what I thought I would? Weelll, sort of. NO major epiphanies, but then who was I kidding anyways. Did I figure out some important stuff about myself? For sure, but those things were already in me and I already knew them. It is good to be reminded of them now and then though.
I DO think that I gained something I didn't expect to. I came on this trip to be alone, to be independant, to do my own things and learn my own lessons. But it didn't actually turn out that way. The first few times I ever went traveling, I was so enthralled, so in awe of everything. Just being away made me feel so free, so liberated, like I could be whoever I wanted. I guess that's kind of what I was seeking this time. I guess I was trying to find the freedom to be myself, by myself.
But the funny thing is that when I got to Nepal, I didn't feel that same sense of liberation. I guess I just felt like same old me. As my dad says, "no matter where you go, there you are." Some of the initial glow, of just being away, was missing. I didn't even feel culture shocked. Everything felt just kinda normal. But as time went on, instead of being impressed by where I was, I started to really feel moved by the people who were around me. I have traveled quite a bit, but never have I spent so much time getting to know people, as this time. And I'm not talking about other travelers. Living and teaching in Nepal was a whole new challenge that really enabled me to get involved in their lives, to see the way they live. Even as I traveled through Portugal and Italy, I ended up spending a lot of time with the people who call those places home. I really think this is much more difficult than just being your average tourist, but so much more rewarding. Instead of figuring out who I was, what I wanted, where I was going, I started opening to all these other lives and feelings and modes of feelings. The whole thing ceased to be about me and became something else. And I think for me it was a logical next step. I mean why do I go to all these places? Yes it's to learn about myself but I didn't realize just how much you can learn about different people, their lives and their thoughts and their dreams and their hardships by really immersing yourself in their lifestyle, or how rewarding it would be to me.(Am I getting old?)
I can say without a doubt that on this trip I met some of the most interesting, geniune, warm- hearted and welcoming people that I have ever met in my life. People very different from those that I see at home everyday. People that welcomed me into their homes and into their lives. This is really not what I expected to experience by coming here, but I believe that I am enriched personally by having experienced it. And yes, it was a major challenge at some points. It was a lot harder than buying museum tickets and getting drunk at the biggest club in town. But in the long run it was so much better. It brings tears to my eyes to think of some of the relationships I made, irreplaceble, with people I would have never otherwise have had the chance to meet. To me that is what made it the experience of a lifetime.
And, in the meantime, I have learned some important things about myself. I realized I can adapt when I need to and live in a culture completely alien to my own. I realized even more how much I love history and sociology. And I realized that friendships can form, in all sorts of ways and in all sorts of places and with people that you least expect. and ya, I did know all that stuff, but it doesn't hurt to remind yourself of that. And to challenge yourself now and again.
So gains and losses? Well I lost a grand total of five pairs of sunglasses. One mountain equipment co-op jacket. Had some serious health irregularities along the way. From chronic insomnia, diarrhea and vommiting problems to every external weird thing you could possibly think of, including a weird foot thing and a swollen earlobe (which earned me the nickname THE LOBE) and then the tonsilitis. But these are truly trifles compared to what I've gained. If nothing else I am just a more well-rounded person, and another notch closer to the person that I aspire to be. Have I changed... of course not, just a little happier, a little more relaxed, a little more blonde and a little bit closer to all the things I hope to learn in the future. There are some truly gentle souls out there in the world, who have a lot they can teach you, sometimes you just have to look a little harder to find them. But when you do you realize that it's all worth the journey.
