Wednesday, November 21, 2012

11/21/12 - Today I sat all day long and well through the night weeding through and reorganizing 1000+ photos and creating a new blog.  I did this after discovering that I maxed out the number of photos I could upload to my previous blog.  I've been quite generous in sharing lots of photos on my blog and now it seems because of the amount of free storage that is offered, I will need to be mindful about the number of photos I post. It is my hope to display a greater number of photos on facebook and perhaps my pinterest page as well if I find the time to do that.


Just as I was ready to wrap it up and slip into bed, in walks a new hostel roommate Rory, from S. Korea. Rory's been in the states a good while and settling in Albuquerque now that she has just gotten a job.  She has no car and relies on public transportation.  When she told me that she has walked 5 hrs to apply for jobs reality hit - I am most grateful for having a car.

Turns out that Nellie (other hostel mate I've enjoyed rooming with these past few nights) and Rorie were roommates at this hostel about 2 weeks ago.  As I type these words, all of us are having a fun time swapping the typical hostel stories that include questions like: Where are you from and where are you heading?
The wildest of this night's saga:  In meeting Rory I learned that she recently returned from visiting New London, CT  - my birthplace!  It gets even better -  when she mentioned hanging out with punk rock friends in New London a couple weeks ago, I thought of my sister's son Kevin who lives in New London and rolls with the same scene.  It turns out that Rorie met him.  Yowza!  I'll say it again YOWZA!!!! What a connected world!

Rory gave me a BIG gift tonight when she said to me, "You are so big!" referring to my age and my courage in traveling across country.  I shared with her that in the past, I chose to live small and for the last several years I have consciously and diligently worked a great deal on personal empowerment in order to enlarge my footprint in life in order to manifest my visions and dreams.  Rory's gift has shown me how far I have come.  It is true, I feel to be quite a different person from when I embarked on my journey a little over 3 months ago.  It is such a gift to meet one another in the moment so that we are able to acknowledge and celebrate our personal day to day growth.  Thank you Rorie for sharing this gift!

Yet another surprise!  The neat thing about hostels is that folks are always coming and going.  Constant change happens here.  This type of stay attracts free spirit travelers who thrive on meeting folks from all around the world.  We gypsies love that.

Suddenly this evening forms into a sudden large gathering of multi-cultural hostel mates.  I am no longer tired.  Around the community dining room table we are meeting, bonding, laughing, sharing photos and swapping stories about travel and country. One never knows in a hostel setting who will show up.  Sometimes there are just a few folks and then all of a sudden several more arrive; all coming from various locations, often weary from travel and more often than not willing to share an abundance of stories. 

So.. at the table tonight joining me is Nellie from Chicago, an  early childhood educator, presently working in Albuquerque and at the same time exploring abroad opportunities for work and travel,
Rorie from S. Korea settling into Albuquerque having just landed a job, Lidia from Barcelona, Spain traveling all over the US tromping around a very large and heavy suitcase prepared for all kinds of weather, Vladimir from Paris (Ukranian roots) and Hiro from Japan, both passing through and in the morning continuing onward with their US explorations. 

                    left to right:  Hiro, Me, Nellie, Rory, Lidia, Vladimir

What fun we had!  I especially loved our conversation around the language of different countries.  Vladimir introduced his linguistic discoveries of how he forms words of different languages in his mouth when he speaks.  This fascinating topic invited us all to share our experiences and perceptions of various languages. To engage with the world in this way is the calling that inspires me to travel.

All the way back to childhood, I've always had an insatiable thirst for meeting and being with the world.  Meeting brothers and sisters around the world through my hostel stays continues to feed me with the optimism that down the winding trail of life I shall fulfill my dream of traveling abroad.

Another wonderful day has come and gone
        while Blessings of Thanksgiving
                dance in my heart and head.






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