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Back in the States
Sunday, 15 April 2007
It has taken me a bit longer than I thought it would to decompress after all of this traveling. I had a brief visit with my sister, her husband and my good friend, Liz. I ended up on a bus from Pennsylvania to Boston. When I switched buses in Port Authority I wasn’t prepared for the calamity and chaos of New York City. There are so many people, cars, buses and taxis. The people looked pale and ill and… obese. We are the most obese country in the world. “Currently, 64.5 percent of U.S. adults, age 20 years and older, are overweight and 30.5 percent are obese.” Based on my travels, I can conclude that this statement is true. It took over an hour to get out of the city and we sat for 2 more hours in bumper to bumper traffic on 95. As I sat there and took in the view of the landscape I felt sick from the sight of it. I watched the smoke stacks endlessly spit out pollution and the litter blow around in the wind. The bus was quiet except for the sounds of coughing and eating. I sat and read Tom Brown’s book Vision and reflected on the culture shock I was experiencing. My perspectives have changed immensely after 8 months of traveling abroad. It makes me sad that most Americans are so far removed from nature. There are certain things I admire about technology, especially involving travel and medical treatment. Still, we are a nation of over consumers. Why do we have to continue on this path of destruction and disrespect just to become “technologically advanced”?
The bus finally came into Boston and my friend Mike was a welcoming sight. We went straight away to a interpretive dance class where I blew off some tension and felt my creativity again. I have been riding a rickety 3 speed bike around town, doing plenty of yoga, detoxing and dodging hail balls.
It has been amazing to regroup and meet all of Mike’s sweet household.
Bostonians hustle and bustle and talk fast. I can almost see the stress steaming off of their thick winter coats. On the flip side there is a nice, mellow, progressive population here as well. I have had a great visit, even with the rain.
I still haven’t fully comprehended everything that has happened in the past 8 months, but one of the most valuable lessons I have learned from this trip is that people have an amazing ability to connect with one another. Traveling shows you who your true friends are. Having so much time alone and being out of my comfort zone for so long I have had to come face to face with who I am. From this trip I have learned so much more about the world, I have become more aware of who I am, and I’m right on the verge of discovering just what my purpose of being here really is. Ha! Well I think I am a close anyway. Sometimes the more I discover, the more I realize I don’t know anything at all.
Posted: 04.15.2007
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