In Limbo

After a confusing ordeal of phone calls and emails, I am now flying out of Italy tomorrow (Tuesday) instead of today. And my feet are stumps after touring the Vatican. To give you some idea how I was feeling this evening. But all is well now, after a dose of welcome hospitality from the guys who run the internet cafe I was stewing in all afternoon. Nice Indian gents who run the internet place also run a rather quaint guesthouse. They carried my luggage, offered me chai (score!) and I get free dinner and breakfast. Good things always seem to come just when you need them. Some girls who just left the guesthouse came to bring the guys cake so their kindness is apparently not lost on other guests.

Anyway - I just saw this slideshow of Hanoi on NYtimes. (I want to go back!) I am looking forward to posting my pics if I ever get home. I swear I have some similar shots! to boost my ego a bit :) but mine are definitely lacking a certain artistic flair. Anyway, you can judge once I post...for now, here is the NYtimes synopsis.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/04/03/travel/0405-hanoi_index.html

The Joy

Rome has been a joy. Its a huge, beautiful city, full of colossal cathedrals, fountain, statues and winding roads lined with cafes and shops. Entering into the main center is like entering an archaeological theme park. Having studied Latin in school, and long forgotten most of what I learned, its been fun to see the sights and remember bits of info. We saw the Colosseum (amazing - I even took a guided tour and met some nice people. Frank skipped the tour, having stated that morning with sarcasm - "I dont want to see any old things today."); Trevi fountain, which was near our hotel and which Frank, surprising himself, enjoyed; the Pantheon, which I have always wanted to see, with its "oculus" of light in the celing (Frank also liked this) and a host of other "old things."

The first night we were able to see many of the outdoor sights during a stroll, which enabled us to enjoy them in a somewhat more intimate fasiong, in beautiful light and with a touch of romance. During the days, explored different areas, and studded our walks with stops for capuccinos, gelato, pizza, wine, pasta, etc. Ingesting and inbibing never seem to stop! Today, during my day solo, as Frank took a flight this afternoon, I strolled around some quieter areas: I walked around the old Jewish ghetto which was calm and quiet, took a walk over one of the bridges, past the little island and around an area called Trastevere, where I enjoyed a yummy pizza and wine at a table for one.


Nothing beats walking out of your door in the morning and feeling like you are walking into a playground. A defined, strollable area, full of possibilities and enjoyment. Every day traveling feels a bit like this (so you can imagine how refreshing three months can feel!). You feel so invigorated, you want to bottle it up. Sometimes thinking about the act of returning to regular life feels like going into a small room and closing the door. Whether its the strain of relationships, obligations or decisions, its too easy to be weighed down. For that reason, I think its our noble goal to try our hardest to imbue joy into our lives; learning what makes us happy and seeing how to incorporate more of those things - whether its quiet time, reading, nature, etc. Of course you cant feel that joy-peace-inspiration all the time, but how many of us dont feel it enough?

Before Rome, I spent time with Frank exploring other parts of Italy. Our trip kicked off with Caitlin (Franks sister who is studying in Florence), Harry and Danny (Franks cousins), Renee (Harrys girlfriend). Florcence was fun - only two days there! then off to Cinque Terre, where we stayed REALLY high up a mountain (the toughest hike of my whole trip!). Cinque Terre is so amazing - the weather was cloudy and rainy, but it only added to the drama of the scenery - 5 itty bitty villages perched on jutting mountains over the sea. We had a yummy seafood dinner in town and enjoyed hiking (when we werent scared of falling) and seeing the towns. In our quaint, isolated guesthouse, it would have been nice to stay for a few days, but there was more to see in Italy. Frank and I left the crew, who headed for Rome, and took off for Bologna.



Bologna was nice, partly owing to it being a change - contrary to Florence and Cinque Terre, Bologna was a real, living city as opposed to one geared to tourism. We had fun wondering the little streets, doing real-life things like laundry and checking Internet, but even those chores added some fun and made us feel more like residents. We had some nice dinners. One day we made an ambitious trip to two culinary cities- Modena, known for balsamic vinegar, and Parma, famous for proscuitto and paragiamo cheese. Lunch in Modena and dinner in Parma - it was a day of eating not to be rivaled. I could go into gory detail, but suffice it to say lunch was balsamic glazed veal and dinner included a tray of fresh proscuitto with chunks of parm on top. A sample for you to salivate over. :)

We made last minute plans to rent a car in Bologna and travel to an "agrotourism" bed and breakfast in Tuscany (the village of Libbiano, near San Gigimgnano). The first night we had a delicious, homemade but seriously filling dinner at the guesthouse, which is a working farm. The next day, having survived that dinner, plus the double duty Modena and Parma day prior, we took it easy on the food front - just a modest pizza slice for lunch and a light dinner. During the two days, we had a fun time driving around Tuscany. You cant even believe how beautiful it is - it looks so much like a postcard that sometimes you have to remind yourself its real. We drove to and walked around San Gimignano, Greve and Castellina in Chiani, and Siena, all of which are beautiful medieval towns, like nothing I have ever seen. Actually, by the end of the trip, I felt like I needed somethng real and gritty, and was happy to be arriving in Rome.

From Tuscany to Rome, where I started my post, its been a wonderful trip. Compared with India and Asia, there were no culture shocks - not the kind that really kick you into gear and make you question everything. But not every trip needs to be that kind. At this point of my trip, migrating from a life in Cambodia to one in the US, it was nice to be somewhere in between - a place where I am again confronted with people, relationships and modern world conveniences - but where enjoyment of life is a value. Also where, thankfully, I still have the time to step back and remember that.

The Other Half

Even though I'm not in the US yet, I have entered back into the developed world, the "other half." The land of man-made glories - cathedrals and skyscrapers acting as mountains of concrete, stone, glass and marble, a long history and continued proliferation of art and music, adornment and showing of wealth in fashion and life, and the encouraged consumption of indulgences (being in Italy, centrally food). Walking along a large sidewalk covered in an arch, passing shops and cafes, I felt proud of our achievements. What a fine world we can make!

Drawing on the experiences from the first part of my trip, I came to realize how fleeting these achievements are. Having seen Angkor and now, Roman, ruins, I know that while a strong civilization provides plenty of joy and pleasure to its people, it only lasts as long as the civilization itself. Like all things, its a cycle - our sources of wealth can go away and with them, our ability to enjoy finer things and build our worlds with style.

When that happens, we are back to the simple, poor life, one that exists today in so many parts of the world. Knowing that is can happen makes you wonder - what is the meaning of all of life's luxuries? Clearly, they aren't central to living, they are merely nice-to-haves, something we should appreciate while we have them, but don't need to depend on. Does that cause us to look at our lives differently? Eating, shopping, having, planning - are we consciously choosing how to spend our thought energy or time? So many things present themselves to us, but not all of them are real.

Besides being able to sift through our needs, I also realized the pressure of the modern world to be better. Coming back into a world where so many things are right - clean, in order, on time - I realize that we very quickly pick out the small percent of things are not right - seeing the flaws. Whereas in a world like the one in Cambodia, where so many things are not right, we are much more likely to accept these inconveniences and instead focus on the good things. Another pitfall we can maybe overcome.