Going Back To Where I Belong

I was standing alone in the middle of a bridge in the heart of Dublin, waiting for my friend Katie from the States to meet me. A man came up and asked me if I was the girl he was supposed to meet on the bridge, someone named Lisa. I said no, but that I would wait with him while waiting for my friend. We had a lively conversation for about 20 minutes about Ireland, America, and pretty much everything in between. When Katie showed up I thanked him for keeping me company and for the conversation. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a necklace for me. It was only a cheap trinket, the kind you can find in any tourist shop anywhere in the world. But, his action, though small caused a tiny shift in me. A shift I didn't even realized had happened until later.

Tonight, in the tiny harbor city of Villamoura, Portugal I am lounging in a swanky hotel room, courtesy of my friends that came here for a poker tournament. I made the trip from Ireland to Portugal to meet them and hang out for a bit. I went for a walk earlier and decided that I would find the local supermarket. Of course, I got lost and stopped a tiny Portuguese woman and to ask her for directions. In my best broken Spanish/Portuguese/Italian mix I managed to get across to her what I was looking for. She gestured to where I needed to go and in the end, walked me there. We chatted the best we could along the way and when we arrived at the market, we said goodbye. She reached into her purse and pulled out a tiny rosary, telling me it would protect me, she handed it to me and walked off.

I have been going at warp speed on the journey of mine, always moving and waiting for the shift to happen. On a bridge in Dublin it happened and I fell into it more tonight. It's the knowledge to my toes that this decision I have made is the right one. It's the growing love for the life I have now chosen. I love every part of this journey, from staying in hostels, to meeting random strangers on the street and for a moment, sharing a part of ourselves. I love making do with very little, sleeping in crowded dorms, and shopping for food to prepare at night. I love meeting people like Hannes, Max, and Eddie, 3 German boys that I hung out with in Dublin and subsequently suffered a wicked hangover from all the drinking we did.

It won't surprise those that know me, that I don't miss a single luxury. I miss the people I left, but not the things and everyday conveniences that made my life so easy. It just seems like too much now. I am realizing that in the end, those conveniences only serve to isolate us from the world. In fact, staying in this gorgeous hotel has made me feel isolated. It has proven that I don't need all of this. I am itching to get back on the road and I know now that it is where I belong at this point in my life.

On Wednesday, I fly to Bangkok. I am going to spend the next year in Southeast Asia. taking my time to soak in every part of it I possibly can. I will be doing heaps of volunteer work in Cambodia and am hoping to stay there for several months. In the bottom of my backpack, I will have a tiny rosary and a symbolic necklace from Ireland. I will take them out occasionally to remind myself that people are out there, just waiting to connect and be connected with. After all, no bridge or street you may cross is too short to stop and connect upon.

Peace, love, and joy

Lara

Perhaps a Little Too Civilized

Yesterday, I took a day to do nothing. I was entirely exhausted, moving around so much and really needed it. I got up late, lounge at the hostel, talked to fellow travelers and read my book. My ass left the couch for an hour of so when I went to explore the town of Galway, but that was pretty much it.

I was in Belfast, Ireland for a couple of days and had an absolute blast. I went on a tour bus to see the coast and Giants Causeway, and despite feeling like a senior citizen, it was amazing. I even flexed my muscles with a little free climbing on the rocks, kicking off my flip flops and going up the wall. The Asian tourists gasped and of course, shot some video of me doing it. It was a blast. I met a couple of solo girls on the bus and we ended up exploring together. That night, we went out to an Irish pub and I ended up hanging out with a Rugby team out of Dublin all night. Of course, that meant copious amounts of whiskey and beer and included staggering into the KFC on the corner at 3 am for fried chicken. I made friends with the bouncers out front and watched a guy try to fight them. It felt almost like home, except the boys all had adorable accents and they outnumbered the girls 30-1. I made it back to my hostel in one piece and tried to quitely get in bed, but I'm pretty sure I failed and managed to wake up the girls sleeping above and beside me. I have to say that Irish boys are incredibly welcoming to us solo traveling girls.

The next day, I woke up bright and early and took the morning train to Galway. I'm not really sure why I came here, except for the surf and the Cliffs of Moher aka The Cliffs of Insanity (Princess Bride reference obviously). The cliffs were amazing, but I'm kind of over cliffs by now. The surf was wicked, but fun. I'm really rusty and hope to get non-rusty in Bali.

Today, I am heading to Dublin. One of my friends from the States is flying in tomorrow and it will be great to see a friendly face from home. I'll be in Dublin until Friday, and then I fly to Faro, Portugal to meet some other friends from the States. I'll have 5 days with them and then I am finally flying to Bangkok to settle in South East Asia for the next year. I plan to volunteer teach in Cambodia and Laos. I can't wait to get down there. Europe is gorgeous and has so much history, but truth be told, it's a little too predictable and a litte too civilized for me. It has also absolutely killed my budget, so I will have to make up for that in SE Asia somehow. With rooms in guesthouses at $3 a night, it shouldn't be too hard.

Off to catch my train to Dublin now.

Peace, love and joy from Galway, Ireland.

Lara

Proud To Be American

I wanted to take a minute and address something that is not only incredibly narrow minded but also very hurtful. In fact, I left a pub in tears tonight. The band leader pointed out that I am American and the entire place booed. Perhaps I shouldn't take it so personally, but the anti-American sentiment I have run into, especially in Scotland, not only shocks me but also saddens me immensely.

I can't recall ever treating someone I have met personally from another country the way I have been treated by some of the people on my journeys. I don't care what country you are from, when you visit America and meet me and my friends we are always incredibly nice and welcoming.

The fact is, I don't always agree with the policies of the American government. Americans aren't one-sided and we are not all ignorant retards living in the back woods and shooting people on site. America is a country made up of wonderful people. It is a true melting pot, more than any other country in the world. I am proud to be American. Proud of my native American heritage, proud to be a 4th generation Montanan. Proud of where I come from and the opportunities I have had. I am proud to travel the world and hopefully show people that we are a multi-faceted country.

I will never claim to be Canadian. I will never hide who I am and where I come from. I will always defend what I believe in and, despite all of our problems, I love America.

Peace, love, and joy

Lara

No Where to Go, No Place to Be.

It's funny how I think of a $50 a night hotel room as a splurge, but in my new reality that's just what it is. 2 nights ago I decided to spend my last night in Italy in the city of Rome, I could hear church bells outside of my private room and a feeling of contentment washed over me.

I have spent the past month of my trip in shared rooms and dorms at hostels and I have to admit, after a while it gets to be too much. It's nice to be completely alone without the fear of someone walking in on me. I am already making lasting memories on my travels and really needed the chance to reflect on them without constant stimulation around me.

I have to admit, Italy was tough at times, mostly because of the language barrier I experienced. It's the first time I have been around people that speak little or no English. More English was spoken in India then in Italy. I had a minor breakdown on the train and had to choke back tears. It is an incredibly solitary feeling to be surrounded by people having everyday normal conversations and not be able to understand a single word of it. I have met a ton of people, first in Sora and later in Praia De Mare that spoke English, but they were mainly tourists and it's just not the same feeling as everyday life would be. Praia De Mare is a tiny beach town on the Mediterranean coast. I spent 5 days there, on the beach, on a boat, and in the water. With the highlight being cliff jumping into the bluest water you can imagine. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been too. In the evening, I walked to the village and got dinner with the people from my hostel and had some good bonding times. Days were spent lounging on the beach and getting browner by the day. And then...I knew it would come. That feeling that I needed to move on. It hit me as I was lying on the beach and all I could think of was getting out of Italy as soon as possible. I walked to the internet cafe and searched for flights. Edinburgh, Scotland fit for price and time of departure and that's where I am right now. It's amazing here.

It seems that the longer I am away from home and the more miles I accumulate on this voyage of mine, the more I lose all of the parts of my identity that weren't entirely mine. Most of my pretenses about who and what I am have fallen away and it's just purely me. The conversations I have had with fellow travelers start off with the basics: Who are you? How long have you been traveling? How long have you been in Italy, India, or whevever we may be? Where are you going next? And then the advice follows or the exclamations about how terrific a place is. The backpacker trail is a beautiful thing. Filled with wanderers, explorers and free spirits. Out here, I am nothing special and not so unusual. Its beautiful, how strangers can come together, meetm and become a little bit closer to being a family than most of us solo-wanderers have felt in a very long time.

I will be in gorgeous Scotland for another week or so and then may go to Portugal to meet some poker friends. It will be good to see them, but I am afraid it will be incredibly hard to say goodbye again. After that, I may come back up to Ireland and volunteer at an eco-village with PR work. They are fighting the big oil companies on there coast and I want to do something to help. It will be good to have something to fight for again, even if it's for a short amount of time. I will be making my way down to SE Asia in late September, meeting up with fellow travelers I met in India and volunteering. I plan to spend the next year down there, with a break in Australia thrown in there. My plans keep changing though and its a great thing that they do. I don't want to be locked into a specific date or place and so I am spontaneously wandering. It's the way I love it. Still restless to the core, searching for those special places that will remain in my heart for a very long time.

Peace,love, and joy from Edinburgh Scotland.

Lara

Finding Missing Pieces in Sora

After spending a couple of idylic, yet hedonistic days in Bologna, I decided to head to Sora, Italy to volunteer at a farm-stay. My little brother dropped me off at my train and I was, once again, tranporting myself alone.

My train from Bologna arrived in Rome and I stepped into language hell. I missed the second train of the day and therefore missed my connecting train. The tickets are only in Italian, the signs are only in Italian, and English is not spoken in a widespread manner. All of which combined sent me spinning in circles of confusion. I ended up spending 2 ½ hours in the Rome train center, waiting for the 3nd and last train of the day that would take me to the bus that would take me to Sora. Italians make for some fantastic people watching. Rampant displays of PDA certainly perpetuated stereotypes about Italian men being extremely amourous. I my opinion, it's a fantastic stereotype to have so I whole heartedly approve. I do feel slighly stupid for not knowing Italian, and I am almost apologetic when I tell people I don't understand and ask for English. I am in their country and I shouldn't expect them to speak English to me. I had to ask several people on the train if I was in fact on the right train, kind of a disconcerting feeling to know you may have made a train mistake, and that you might have to just go with it and end up where you end up.

I soon arrived at the final train station on my route and disembarked in Cassesca. It fit every preconception I had of a tiny village in Italy. Old men sat around a checkers table playing, apparently on some mid-afternoon siesta. They told me I was "bella" and did the fingers to the mouth kiss fling. It was absolutely charming. They asked me where I was from and I said America. "Obama!" was and has been the popular response when I tell people I am from the US. It's interesting how widespread the Obama name is around the world. From India to Qatar to Italy, I get the same excited "Obama" reaction from the local people.

I boarded the only bus to be seen in Casessca ,still not exactly sure it was the right one. Only one other person was on the hot, smokey bus with me. The driver twisted and turned the through the hills and some gorgeous landscape passed before my eyes. However, the he was chain smoking, the AC was not working and I began to get quite carsick. I feel like motion sickness is going to be a constant in my life now, yet another aspect of my life I won't be able to control. I started to get genuinely scared that I was on the wrong bus when we flew past the turn-off for Sora. It's extremely hard to convery how utterly frightening it is to be in a foreign country, to not know where you are and not be able to speak the language beyond 5 or 6 basic words. Luckily the driver seemed to understand my panicked words and gestures, saying Sora over and over again helped and he eventually turned around and dropped me at the correct bus station. I called the owner of the farm I am staying at and waited for my ride outside a pizza restraaunt, of course. After being plied with wine, pizza, and pastries by the owner of the pizzeria, my ride finally arrived.

Josephie, the patriarch of the family picked me up and we were off to the eco-farm I had agreed to volunteer at in exchange for room and board. I was supposed to be working at their rustic farm a 20 minute walk away from the main house, however, I would have been the only one there and I didn't want to camp by myself in the woods, with no running water or electricity, especially after my day of utter confusion and exhausting traversing of the Italian countryside. I am now staying in relative luxury at the main house with 2 other volunteers. We started our morning bright and early helping momma Maria prepare breakfast and the receiving our tasks for the day. I was given the chore of sweeping, dusting and organizing the outside meal area and after that was done, I weeded the artichoke beds. Our day of work finishes at 1 after lunch and we are free until dinner time to do what we please. It felt really good to be working again. Not the same kind of work I did before of course, but work nontheless. It's the kind that makes me weary, yet satisfied. I had forgotten how satisfying it is to do chores in which you can see actual results from the hours put in. There is much to be done here at the farm and I am excited for days to be spent wokring in the orchards, riding the horses, and learning to cook bread and pasta in the kitchen. Life is so much simplier here and I love it. I have to laugh sometimes, looking at my life now. I went from making 6 figures a year, to digging in the dirt in order to earn my room and board. That may seem from the outside, as a fall from grace. But, if it is a fall of any kind, then it is me falling into a better part of myself. It's Learning a simplier way of doing things and how to be happy with much less. I haved erased VIP parties, limosines, and celebrities from my life and replaced them with quiet nights reading under the stars, laughing with strangers from other countries and exploring wooded trails in search of hidden lakes. It is now solely who I am that matters, not what I am and who I know. In fact, I hadn't realized how much I missed that until I found that I have unknowingly sought out that very thing. I can walk through the days without speaking a word about my past life and people are more than happy to still lend me a hand and speak a friendly word. Perhaps in my world-wide quest for my better self, I will find a little piece of my personal puzzle buried in the Italian countryside and it will fit perfectly with all the other pieces of me that I am discovering as I go.



Peace, love, and joy from Italy

Lara

Checking Off the "I" Countries

The best part about waking up today was waking up in Italy. I left India 2 days ago to journey to Bologna Italy to see one of my brothers. India. What can I say? You kicked my ass over and over again but I did grow to enjoy and appreciate the area I spent last week in.

After a nightmare car ride, I finally arrived in Anjuna Beach, Goa, India. Goa is known across Europe as a beach destination, but with the monsoon season in full affect, I didn't quite know what to expect. I settled into the Silver Moon guest house last week, the house was surrounded by other guest houses filled with people on the backpacking trail. I met numerous people from all over the world and ate, drank, explored and basically "touristed" with them for a week. Some days though I sat and watched the rain,reading and reflecting on my life now. Even though I am traveling solo, I have learned that I am only as alone as I want to be, as the backpacking trail is full of people doing the same thing I am doing.

My favorites were the Rat pack. Rob, Adam, and Tom. They are 3 guys from Australia that bought bikes in India and are traveling the length of India on said bikes. They hope to make it all the way to SE Asia on their bikes. Tom has been tramping around the world for 8 years and I loved listening to his stories and perspective. I asked myself "could I do that?". I don't really know where or when I will stop traveling, but just knowing that I could do it for as long as I want really inspired me. I got into a debate with one of the girls staying at the guest house about just that. She felt that 8 years was too long, that you could get sucked into a reality that is not in fact, real, just traveling and not entirely committing to anything. I disagreed with her on that point. I think that people get sucked into life wherever they are and whatever they are doing. The bottom line is that right now, I would rather spend time exploring new cultures, volunteering, and immersing myself in the adventure life then sit in an office all day. You can get sucked into daily life in the states and make no mistake about it, it is hard, sometimes nearly impossible to get out. It's all a choice and Tom's choice is as valid as a choice to settle down is. Tom is working on his memoirs right now and they should be a fascinating read. The guys also gave me some good advice. They said "Lara, get used to doing nothing on some days and be happy with it." I am still working on that concept, as I am so used to always hurrying. I am hoping to meet up with the guys somewhere in SE Asia in September and I can't wait to see them again and hear about the rest of their trip through India.

While in Goa, I decided to journey to Italy and bought my tickets 2 days before departure while sitting on the patio of our guest house and drinking beers with the Australians. My little brother attends university in Bologna and he is moving back to the states on August 14th. I hadn't seen him in 3 years and thought I should come to say hello and goodbye. The journey from Goa to Italy ended up taking 43 hours. In that time I rode 4 different airplanes, spent time in Qatar (which I am embarrassed to say, I didn't even know existed until then) and was rerouted and then rerouted again across 1/2 the world. Luckily I had 2 travel companions that were also going to Bologna from Mumbai and they helped keep me awake on our layovers. Qatar was by far the most interesting. Sheiks in full white robes and women in Burkas were everywhere. I found out that it is the richest country in the world and riding on their national airline Qatar Air, proved it. It was pure luxury even in coach. I finally arrived here late last night and collapsed in my brothers spare bedroom. Today we spent time exploring Bologna and ate the best pizza I have ever had. I seem to have a bit of reverse culture shock after India and am still practicing some of the habits I picked up in my time there. From here I will be going to volunteer on a couple of Eco farms in Italy. I plan to spend the rest of the month on 2 farms, one is located in Tuscany and the other in Abruzzi National Park. It should be a great way to really immerse myself into Italy, making a full escape from the normal tourist haunts. I hope to have some interesting stories to share, as one of the farms is a goat farm and the other doesn't have electricity. However, don't be surprised if I change my mind at the spur of the moment and don't go to one of them. After all, this is MY journey and I am just sinking my teeth into the fact that I can go anywhere I want, do anything I want, and spend as much time as I want where I am. Freedom in the truest sense of the word, suits me well.





Peace, love, and joy

Lara