Days gone by
What interests you the most?
I had 5 days of traveling from Costa Rica to Denmark.
11 days in Denmark
27 days in Poland so far
How about food?
In Costa Rica - for 7 months the food was all unprocessed, and simple, and good for me. Fresh fruits, home cooked meals with my Mom. I was sad and relieved there were no frozen dinner options.
5 days of travel - we were lucky to eat 2 meals a day. We snacked a lot. Never good food.
11 days in Denmark - simple food with my Dad, he made us a soup the first night. But there was not much to do in the rain except walk to the local bakery! My extended family always had wonderful meals for us. I don't know if I could do justice trying to describe the buffet for the big Easter lunch. I was distracted by all the happy laughing people. I remember well the dinner afterwards, at my Uncle's house. His wife made red deer stew, and it was very good. I thought the food would be weirder, but I stayed away from most fish options just in case. And the real Danish pastry was fabulous. And Danish hot dog on the streets of Copenhagen.
27 days in Poland - well, we eat out a lot. Armenian food, Ukrainian food, Polish food, unusual pizza, and lots of yogurt for me. Lots of very strange things on the shelves of the grocery stores. Things that make me nervous timid.
Okay, the food that I miss THE most? A kitchen (equipment/spices) where my husband can cook all those good things like lasagna, and Chinese haystacks, and his awesome grape and broccoli salad. I miss making potato soup. I miss red licorice like I can get at Walmart in Cedar City. Pudding. I miss pudding that I trust. If that makes sense. Banana pudding, butterscotch pudding.
How about weather?
In Costa Rica the last 3 months were dry, dusty, and super sunny. And always very hot, except it wasn't bad for sleeping at night.
5 days traveling meant packing very little into 2 bags. There are 3 things that I wish I could go back and toss in, no matter how much more squashing would be needed. But that's unavoidable, eh? We're going to Krakow tomorrow, I'm sure I will miss something that I didn't realize how much I would need. We had to buy some warm weather clothes when we hit the U.S. With still no room to pack it! We bought hoodies, and we wore them. Good thing it was cold and rainy. It feels odd to wear pants, and long sleeves. It feels foreign to be cold. And San Francisco cold in April has nothing on Copenhagen cold in April. I'm glad my Dad had a collection of nice coats we could borrow. 2 sunny days out of 11. Just chilly all around.
In Poland - out of the 27 days here we have been able to go outside in t-shirts for 3 days. Alas, today is rainy again. That's ok, I need to relax and pack. I love to pack, it's not just packing a shirt, it's packing a possibility.
How about exercise? The most exercise we've done...?
Does walking through airports count? 1 in Costa Rica. 4 in the States. 1 in Canada (that was running, not walking).
A long walk in the moor with a cousin, maybe not really very long, just cold enough to feel like it was forever. Walking around Copenhagen all day. Walking in the Swedish town.
But honestly nothing compares to the walking in Poland. Just walking down the street is an experience in itself. More than once we have walked for over 3 hours a day. Feeling like explorers. On Saturday we took more than one long walk, figuring out how things are connected that we've previously been to. We have the best conversations when we are walking. It's not all daisies, though. Let me tell you, my legs hurt when I'm trying to sleep at night. Then I get up and do it all over again. I'm a walkaholic, I guess. I admit it, I might have a problem. Ron says he tracked it on a map, and we walked at least 10 kilometers on Saturday. Whew.
I don't miss driving though. We use Uber to get places, and walk as much as possible. If you have ever read even a little bit of Polish history, you will understand when I say it feels a certain kind of haunted. I wonder what kind of feeling I will get in Macedonia. I wonder what kinds of energy will be found at Auschwitz. The trick will be how to detach myself from the negativity of the ultimate trauma, and the stories that are there.
I have gained enough to compensate for how much I miss everyone, and 'normal' things. It can be disconcerting to realize how little I understand of the city around me, because I can't read signs, or understand people, and nothing is familiar. Which is fascinating in some ways, but we've been traveling for so long now. Sometimes I dream of Cedar City, or the fish at Samara beach. Perspective is everything, though. We are seizing an opportunity to visit family and see the world. To experience cultures. To broaden our horizons. To not try and patiently wait for retirement, hoping our health holds out. When we are separated from everything we know, we see ourselves in a new light.
I've always said that each of us needs to find our own way. I feel like we are literally doing that as I take a map and trace our travels. I'm not just finding Brande in Denmark, I'm finding a piece of myself. It's like getting an Xray though, right? First you get the procedure done, and then have this weird image that someone describes to you. The question still remains: ok, so what does it mean to me? What is the interpretation, the diagnosis?
I should have an answer for you by the end of 2017.
I had 5 days of traveling from Costa Rica to Denmark.
11 days in Denmark
27 days in Poland so far
How about food?
In Costa Rica - for 7 months the food was all unprocessed, and simple, and good for me. Fresh fruits, home cooked meals with my Mom. I was sad and relieved there were no frozen dinner options.
5 days of travel - we were lucky to eat 2 meals a day. We snacked a lot. Never good food.
11 days in Denmark - simple food with my Dad, he made us a soup the first night. But there was not much to do in the rain except walk to the local bakery! My extended family always had wonderful meals for us. I don't know if I could do justice trying to describe the buffet for the big Easter lunch. I was distracted by all the happy laughing people. I remember well the dinner afterwards, at my Uncle's house. His wife made red deer stew, and it was very good. I thought the food would be weirder, but I stayed away from most fish options just in case. And the real Danish pastry was fabulous. And Danish hot dog on the streets of Copenhagen.
27 days in Poland - well, we eat out a lot. Armenian food, Ukrainian food, Polish food, unusual pizza, and lots of yogurt for me. Lots of very strange things on the shelves of the grocery stores. Things that make me nervous timid.
Okay, the food that I miss THE most? A kitchen (equipment/spices) where my husband can cook all those good things like lasagna, and Chinese haystacks, and his awesome grape and broccoli salad. I miss making potato soup. I miss red licorice like I can get at Walmart in Cedar City. Pudding. I miss pudding that I trust. If that makes sense. Banana pudding, butterscotch pudding.
How about weather?
In Costa Rica the last 3 months were dry, dusty, and super sunny. And always very hot, except it wasn't bad for sleeping at night.
5 days traveling meant packing very little into 2 bags. There are 3 things that I wish I could go back and toss in, no matter how much more squashing would be needed. But that's unavoidable, eh? We're going to Krakow tomorrow, I'm sure I will miss something that I didn't realize how much I would need. We had to buy some warm weather clothes when we hit the U.S. With still no room to pack it! We bought hoodies, and we wore them. Good thing it was cold and rainy. It feels odd to wear pants, and long sleeves. It feels foreign to be cold. And San Francisco cold in April has nothing on Copenhagen cold in April. I'm glad my Dad had a collection of nice coats we could borrow. 2 sunny days out of 11. Just chilly all around.
In Poland - out of the 27 days here we have been able to go outside in t-shirts for 3 days. Alas, today is rainy again. That's ok, I need to relax and pack. I love to pack, it's not just packing a shirt, it's packing a possibility.
How about exercise? The most exercise we've done...?
Does walking through airports count? 1 in Costa Rica. 4 in the States. 1 in Canada (that was running, not walking).
A long walk in the moor with a cousin, maybe not really very long, just cold enough to feel like it was forever. Walking around Copenhagen all day. Walking in the Swedish town.
But honestly nothing compares to the walking in Poland. Just walking down the street is an experience in itself. More than once we have walked for over 3 hours a day. Feeling like explorers. On Saturday we took more than one long walk, figuring out how things are connected that we've previously been to. We have the best conversations when we are walking. It's not all daisies, though. Let me tell you, my legs hurt when I'm trying to sleep at night. Then I get up and do it all over again. I'm a walkaholic, I guess. I admit it, I might have a problem. Ron says he tracked it on a map, and we walked at least 10 kilometers on Saturday. Whew.
I don't miss driving though. We use Uber to get places, and walk as much as possible. If you have ever read even a little bit of Polish history, you will understand when I say it feels a certain kind of haunted. I wonder what kind of feeling I will get in Macedonia. I wonder what kinds of energy will be found at Auschwitz. The trick will be how to detach myself from the negativity of the ultimate trauma, and the stories that are there.
I have gained enough to compensate for how much I miss everyone, and 'normal' things. It can be disconcerting to realize how little I understand of the city around me, because I can't read signs, or understand people, and nothing is familiar. Which is fascinating in some ways, but we've been traveling for so long now. Sometimes I dream of Cedar City, or the fish at Samara beach. Perspective is everything, though. We are seizing an opportunity to visit family and see the world. To experience cultures. To broaden our horizons. To not try and patiently wait for retirement, hoping our health holds out. When we are separated from everything we know, we see ourselves in a new light.
I've always said that each of us needs to find our own way. I feel like we are literally doing that as I take a map and trace our travels. I'm not just finding Brande in Denmark, I'm finding a piece of myself. It's like getting an Xray though, right? First you get the procedure done, and then have this weird image that someone describes to you. The question still remains: ok, so what does it mean to me? What is the interpretation, the diagnosis?
I should have an answer for you by the end of 2017.
Comments
Post a Comment