May 3, 2017: One way flight to Costa Rica… May 3, 2018: A year ago today I embarked on an open ended journey into the unknown. Motivated by the painful series of losses of loved ones in 2016, I felt a very strong need to leave California. After losing Semsem*, my Mom, feeling betrayed by … More Oh, the Places you will go…
Being sick sucks! Being sick at the Sexibility Festival sucked even more. Being sick at the Sexibility Festival where it was cold and rainy non-stop in August sucked triple bad. All the amazing potential connections, networking and indulgence in yummy-ness at my fingertips and all my body wanted to do was sleep. So sleep I … More Counting Blessings
“You keep pushing me into the deep end of the pool”, my partner said half jokingly. “And you keep swimming”, I replied with a smile. Of all our adventures together, Senegal was the deepest pool. After traveling 20+ hours, he arrived at a place where he doesn’t speak the language, doesn’t know anyone, nothing is … More A Matter of Attitude…
The first week was baptism by fire! My imagined romantic getaway; warm beach, sipping coconut juice and dancing to Senegalese music (one of the reasons I chose Senegal to rendezvous with my beloved), turned out to be everything but what I expected!Because my partner’s luggage didn’t arrive with him, we decided to stay near the … More Expectations and Disappointments
I woke up sneezing and sniffling. Couldn’t breathe without blowing my nose every few minutes. It was under 10°C (50°F) at 9am in Brno, Czech Republic. I was looking forward to exploring the city with my friend. Bummer! At least I still had my energy, enthusiasm and I could borrow warm clothes from my friend. … More Brno Prescription…
Can an intercountry bus station be at the locomotive museum? I checked, double checked several times and the directions on the bus ticket always lead to the same location: the Steam Locomotives Museum. Never mind that it says “McDonald’s” on the ticket. Whatever. It’s only a 20 minutes walk so I’ll head out early just … More Last Romania Woes…
Our first encounter was scary, tense and confusing. I found myself on the dark deserted streets of Bucharest at 2 am in what seemed to be an industrial area of town. The only cars passing by were street sweepers and big trailer trucks. I definitely don’t want to be here till 8 am when my … More Travel Tribulations…
Tears. Lots of tears. Overwhelming sadness, emptiness and despair. I lost my sense of purpose and humor. What used to make me happy ceased to do so. I felt confused and didn’t know how to kick this dark night of the soul. Existential angst came on unexpectedly and for no apparent reason. I am living … More Dark Night of the Soul!
Unconditional Love 