Traveling is a world in itself, especially, I think, in a place like Europe that is so well-equipped with train networks and youth hostels so that there are travelers everywhere. It is so easy to start the morning in one city, and spend the evening in a different city, or indeed, a completely different country! And each place is filled with travelers--some in groups, but many completely on their own.
About a month ago I began my travels, and landing in Barcelona, I had some second thoughts about my choice to travel alone. It took me a week and a half to adjust to the idea of being on my own for nine weeks in a different country. Really, I feel that I am still adjusting. Each time I leave one city and move onto the next, say goodbye to the friends I have met for so brief a time, I feel a little bit of sadness and just a touch of worry about the next new place. But each time it becomes easier to pull up the stakes and move on.
When I boarded the train in Santiago de Compstela last week to come back to Madrid, I said goodbye to my new Kiwi (New Zealander) friend Romy. But thinking back on all the people I have met at each place I have stayed, I realized, there are friends already waiting for me at the next place. I don´t want to sound cheesy or trite, but this has been quite the realization for me.
Traveling is a little like the first two weeks of college, I think. There are a bunch of people in a new place, outside of their comfort zone, and open to meeting new people. There is no established social hierarchy--there has not been enough time for that. So people greet each other (if there isn´t a language barrier--or even when there is, gestures are universal), join each other for dinner or sightseeing, or just for an evening of chatting over a bottle of wine. And since each person or group has plans of his own, and each person or group eventually moves on to somewhere new, the group of people is continually new. There is an ever-renewing chance to be someone new, to meet new people, to be a social butterfly or to be a wallflower, without the risk of becoming that label. And this is how it is different from college. Eventually the social machine sorts everyone into groups and cliques, and then there is the danger of stagnation.
The travel world, on the other hand, is a constantly moving stream, always stirred up. With each new place, even sometimes each night at the hostel, there are new people to meet. And I have met quite a few! The Germans in Barcelona, and the group of five of us that went out for tapas--Gail from Scotland, 29, with bleach blonde hair and a great sense of humor; Catarina from Germany, 20s, quite and refined and very nice; Janine from Ohio, 20s, dark brown hair and olive skin so that you might think she was a Spaniard herself, and another English major; and Dan from Seattle, mid-40s, a bit flamboyant and demonstrative. Then there were the two American girls , attending college in Barcelona for the year, weekending in Zaragoza. There were the Australians in San Sebastian, the Kiwi in Santiago de Compostela, and here in Madrid, the two Indians and the Australian man that all went with me yesterday to El Escorial. You make friends quickly, exchange email addresses, or friend each other on Facebook, and then move on.
There are the coincidences, too. Sue was an Australian women that was staying at my hostel in San Sebastian. Sunning myself on the beach one afternoon, I was keeping my eye out for someone I could ask to watch my things while I went for a swim. As I turned over, I looked up and saw Sue sitting only feet from me! The next day we took the bus together to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim Museum. She gave me her name and told me that in her Facebook picture she was wearing a sombrero. When I got to Madrid, I looked her up, but out of all the Sue Wrights all over America, Canada, the UK, and Australia, I didn´t see one wearing a sombrero. I felt so sad, but what could I do? Well, I was standing in line to board the train in Madrid to go to Santiago, and there she was at my side! She had just gotten off her train coming to Madrid, and we were on the platform at the same time! The first words I said to her were, "I couldn´t find you on Facebook!" I guess we were meant to stay in touch. She told me her email, which I repeated to myself until I got on the train and wrote it down.
When I returned to Madrid, I came back to the same hostel. I already knew the location, and it serves a decent breakfast, included in the price. I ended up in the same room, though my roommates were new. But there were two people still here that I met earlier: María from Zaragoza, come here to find a job and a place to live, and Pablo from Argentina. María dresses in vibrantly-colored clothing, is friendly and loves to talk. She speaks quickly, too! So fast that sometimes her words just wash over me. Pablo is a sweet guy, bearded and laid back like some hippie, Northland College kids I know. His Argentine accent is so different I have trouble understanding him. Between he and María, I feel that my Spanish skills are only marginal, but they are both so warm and welcoming, that I feel quite at home. With them, I mostly just laugh at my lack of understanding of their conversations, but when we meet, they exchange the Spanish air-kisses, right cheek, then left. They seem almost like old friends now, I have known them for so long on this travel adventure.
So, what´s next? Tomorrow I´m off to Salamanca for two days, then down to Córdoba and the rest of Andalucía, and I hope a couple of weeks in Morocco. But that is as much as I know. From my travel guide I know which sites to visit, but really the surprises come from the people I meet. The person I talk to at breakfast in the morning becomes my friend for the day, and perhaps for longer. But either way, it opens me up like nothing else to the world as a whole. I went to Spain to practice Spanish, but really I have come to open up my heart to the grand possibilities of life. Traveling, anything seems possible. I could go to Paris tomorrow, if I chose! So, why don´t I? The possibilities are endless, and one thing I keep thinking is that there are no incorrect choices. Any decision will lead to some new and wonderful (and sometimes not...) experience. And even though I have limited myself to Spain and (my plans get more and more firm also to go to) Morocco, each place shows me the possibilities of each place are endless.
So, I go forward expecting great things, and hope that when I return to the comforts of the familiar and the steadiness of home I can keep at least a grain of openness to the friendships and possibilities of the world.
P.S. Have you noticed the map at the very bottom of this blog page? I´m trying to keep adding new markers as I visit different cities. If you click on ¨view larger map¨ you can see my brief notes for each marker.
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