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| Whitby Abbey ruins, and surrounds. Lovely country. |
I'll speak for both of us (which is neither wholly accurate, nor a good idea generally) in saying that expectations included that the year's flexibility and basically unplanned itinerary would provide a chance to experience a life of serendipity, freedoms, and time indulgences, with lots of downtime, reading time, reflective time, introspection, leisurely adjustment to new places, tastes, cultures. I had expected to have, and be able to process the life-enhancing if not -transforming insights the year would undoubtedly provide. It's not happening.
And I've been trying to figure out why. I awakened from another night of little sleep* in a moderately adequate bed realizing that there are reasons:
- we're often pretty tired -- the duration of our travels is taking its toll, we have no gym, no good way to exercise other than walking, which we do alot, and resting/relaxing/sleeping* on the road is of a very different character/quality than at home
- there's seldom a comfortable writing spot - we spend most of our writing time hunched over a coffee table on a pc**
- we're often going somewhere or we've just gotten there (pack? unpack? groceries? wifi connect? maps?)
- and we need to be planning for the next stop
- and figuring out what to see/do/eat/where we are/how to get to point B on the bus
- or doing it -- we are here to see and do, afterall
- and probably the biggest: solitude is necessary for reflection, and it's harder to come by than good peanut butter in this life
- And those are just the travel parts -- there's the home/finances/family/friends world that nourishes and needs care and feeding, too, by pc, always there.
- there's also the energy of being with one person day in and day out -- um, no matter how wonderful that partner is
I'm guessing this makes the year and travels sound like a downer. Not so, far from it. It's been fantastic, truly, but not in any kind of reflective, introspective, easily sharable form.
When we'd undertaken this life, we knew ourselves well enough to know that life on the road with constant movement would not be our cup of tea; that we'd be better off settling down, setting up a life, hence the teaching idea. We had assumed that we'd wander in South America and recognize that right location, and set up that life there. But when it came down to it, the world has felt too big, too cool, too fascinating and varied to stop in one place for a long time -- the nearby birds! the ruins over there! the mountains in that part of the world! the civility and history there! And on and on. And we've kept moving, going, seeing, doing. And it's been fascinating. And we're usually pretty tired. If there's a next time, perhaps we'd do it differently. Perhaps - it is easier said than done.
It's easy to write of the joys of travel, the exotic/delightful sights, sounds, tastes, and the surprises and serendipity of what the world is and has to offer. It's legion. And that's what this blog shows. Neither of us has found the time to write the blog entries that cover the experiences that have touched us deeply, the real personal highlights of the travels. A blog entry generally takes a few hours to pull together; an entry for something that touched deeply takes far longer, if justice to the experience and feelings is even manageable in words. Steve absolutely loved Seville; the Braga Portugal Good Friday procession was amazing for me, as was Day of the Dead in Peru; and oh, Granada; and so many more.
The thoughts above began awhile ago, when the opening line was "2 months left" then "6 weeks left", then "three", and now it's still not fully formed but I'm tired of considering it. It's what is, and attempts to describe what's been a surprise.
Wow - you've read this far?! Here's something lighter, a photo of the real Dolly, the cloned sheep. She's a native, and quite special here in Edinburgh.
When we'd undertaken this life, we knew ourselves well enough to know that life on the road with constant movement would not be our cup of tea; that we'd be better off settling down, setting up a life, hence the teaching idea. We had assumed that we'd wander in South America and recognize that right location, and set up that life there. But when it came down to it, the world has felt too big, too cool, too fascinating and varied to stop in one place for a long time -- the nearby birds! the ruins over there! the mountains in that part of the world! the civility and history there! And on and on. And we've kept moving, going, seeing, doing. And it's been fascinating. And we're usually pretty tired. If there's a next time, perhaps we'd do it differently. Perhaps - it is easier said than done.
It's easy to write of the joys of travel, the exotic/delightful sights, sounds, tastes, and the surprises and serendipity of what the world is and has to offer. It's legion. And that's what this blog shows. Neither of us has found the time to write the blog entries that cover the experiences that have touched us deeply, the real personal highlights of the travels. A blog entry generally takes a few hours to pull together; an entry for something that touched deeply takes far longer, if justice to the experience and feelings is even manageable in words. Steve absolutely loved Seville; the Braga Portugal Good Friday procession was amazing for me, as was Day of the Dead in Peru; and oh, Granada; and so many more.
The thoughts above began awhile ago, when the opening line was "2 months left" then "6 weeks left", then "three", and now it's still not fully formed but I'm tired of considering it. It's what is, and attempts to describe what's been a surprise.
Wow - you've read this far?! Here's something lighter, a photo of the real Dolly, the cloned sheep. She's a native, and quite special here in Edinburgh.
*this fortnight's contribution to tiredness: too much light - it's light enough for a walk outside here in Edinburgh from 3:15AM when the sun first lightens the sky til 11PM, when it's finally getting dark enough to for a body to consider bed
**I've paper-journaled for years, usually at least fortnightly; I have made only 9 entries over the last 14 months.
2 comments:
Speaking of Dolly--when you settle, check your local library for the book Beautiful Sheep.
I will, Nell - thanks! They're interesting beasts. Those eyes!
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