A Poem

I have been writing again lately and it seems important to go ahead and share these things. If only because it forces me to be honest and admit that I am doing it. I'm trying to treat writing less like masturbation and more like... baking?

Ventriloquist

There is a piece
An ossification
Near the center
   a bone that broke
   near the gut and between the lungs
   nestled at odd angle
   dangling heavy
That whines when a storm approaches
Long before the sky has darkened
   It's a storm I say
   It won't matter I say
The windows permanently shuttered
I am in the root cellar sorting
The rotting from the spoiled
   There must be something left to save
   Then look around

   Who said that?

In Which I Offer Advice

Okay, I'm not much of an advice person. I truly hate receiving it and don't much enjoy giving it as I am almost always certain that I'm wrong. But, I was asked by someone about how I travel and how I make it work. So, here's what I wrote in response.

Hi,

Oh my! I talk a big game, but I am not the most fearless traveler I know. In fact, I've learned a lot from other friends who are far more experienced than me. Basically, I've been very fortunate.

Normally, my travels are fairly brief. I started traveling after my divorce because while I was married, my exhusband always had an excuse for why we couldn't go somewhere or why the timing was wrong for a trip. So:

#1. Get rid of your excuses. None of them matter. 60 year old you will kick you for not doing things rather than for having to save a bit more aggressively for retirement later on or having to pay off debts.

#2. Travel alone. If you wait for someone to go with you, you'll never go. Stay in hostels and make friends with other travelers. I've made a lot of great friends in my travels and now, when I'm in Europe, I have people who can come and meet me for a weekend in Budapest or Brussels.

#3. Ask friends for connections and help. When I went to Slovakia, I was able to work it out with my employer here in the states so that I could take a month off from work. A Slovak friend helped me negotiate an "internship" in a brewery in Slovakia so they provided a base where I could live and work during the week and then spend the weekends traveling by train.

My current adventure is that I'm moving to Peru to get TEFL certification. Then, I'll look for a job and hopefully teach. I'm paying off all of my debts before I go and hoping for the best. I'm selling almost everything I own.

For me, life traveling alone has its ups and downs. It's great most of the time because you can do/see/eat exactly what you want and you don't have to discuss it with anyone or accommodate anyone. It can also be incredibly lonely. You may have made it to the Eiffel Tower, but guess what? There's no one with you to take a picture of you in front of it. So, you ask a stranger, and that's fine...

I've heard good things about couchsurfing.org I'm about to visit Mexico City and I'm thinking that I'll try it out to see if I can get someone to show me the city.

I hope this message isn't too totally pedantic and that at least some of the information was helpful. Buy your plane ticket and then just keep going!

Cheers,
~peigi