While I'm going about about steak and wine and pizza and dancing on the beach, Danny is writing sentences like: "On the contrary, one becomes peaceful in all his ways, and able to pursue goals out of genuine generosity, kindness, love, and compassion, rather than out of some subconscious ulterior motive to feel good/better." and Alana begins one post: "I don't know how to describe what I saw tonight. We walked around the city at night to meet some street kids. These little children come in from the villages around Kathmandu and live on the street. They collect rags for money and beg as well. 1 in 10 of them has AIDS. They form gangs to survive, and are often beaten or raped by the older members. All of these kids are addicted to sniffing glue."
As it turns out, I'm not the only person who's decided to postpone finding a job in order to travel (and write a blog) instead. Two of my best friends from back home (and original road trip buddies) have set out on their own journeys that seem more than a little bit different from my experience. As I'm living it up in South America, Danny is sitting still for ten hours a day in Indian Ashrams and Alana is setting aside months to aid poor communities in Nepal. Danny, in his quest for inner and outer peace, has titled his blog the Hebrew acronym for "Thank God for Being Good" while Alana, hoping to rediscover her world through volunteering, writes about "Waking Up in Nepal."
Sometimes I feel like a terrible hedonist.
As I began getting depressed over this, I picked up my friend's copy of the book Eat Pray Love. Author Liz Gilbert goes on her own world travels, winding down from her overstressed New York City life by seeking pure pleasure in Italy, peace in India, and a fusion of the two (love) in Indonesia. I couldn't help comparing our three experiences to hers. Danny's Ashram is spot on. Nepal and Indonesia aren't too different, especially considering the amount of focus Alana and Liz put on helping poor children (and who knows, maybe Alana has found a passionate Brazilian hunk of her own). And, in my case, Liz and I both love eating and learning Spanish and Italian, which are basically the same language anyway. I took comfort in thinking that my part, the pursuit of pleasure, was just as valid as the other two.
Being honest with myself, though, I had to admit that the comparison does not stand. If I told any of my roommates that I needed to learn how to be comfortable with pleasure and relaxation, they'd laugh to my face. Most still believe that I never worked or studied my entire last year of university. For that matter, Danny is the last one of my friends who needs help finding inner peace and Alana has been a paragon of love, care, and compassion for as long as I've known her. It's like Kobe taking a season off to learn how to play basketball or Hugh Heffner going on sabbatical to practice his seduction skills. Bullshit.
So where does that leave me? Am I in the wrong place? Should I be cultivating inner peace or developing compassion instead of watching Colombian beauty queens march by in parades? Is this experience of pleasure and adventure a waste of time or an expression of living life to its fullest?
Been nearly two weeks now since I started writing this post and I still don't have any answers. I think I'll just have to leave the questions standing for now. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
In the meantime, I'll be taking a hiatus from backpacking. For the next month at least, I'll be hanging out in NY and Philly to catch up with y'all before departing on what will like be a much longer trip next time. The plan is to get a job to really experience living in a different country as a normal person. Let's see if you can guess where.
I guess this is the end then. Thanks for following; I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. As much fun as it's been to make new friends every day, the transitory nature of those relationships has made me really appreciate the old friends and family who've stuck with me in spirit despite having their own very busy lives thousands of miles away.
Finally, may I add that some of my craziest times on the trip have been the last few weeks in Colombia. For those stories, you'll have to ask me in person. Excited to see you soon,
con mucho amor,
Nico
As it turns out, I'm not the only person who's decided to postpone finding a job in order to travel (and write a blog) instead. Two of my best friends from back home (and original road trip buddies) have set out on their own journeys that seem more than a little bit different from my experience. As I'm living it up in South America, Danny is sitting still for ten hours a day in Indian Ashrams and Alana is setting aside months to aid poor communities in Nepal. Danny, in his quest for inner and outer peace, has titled his blog the Hebrew acronym for "Thank God for Being Good" while Alana, hoping to rediscover her world through volunteering, writes about "Waking Up in Nepal."
Sometimes I feel like a terrible hedonist.
As I began getting depressed over this, I picked up my friend's copy of the book Eat Pray Love. Author Liz Gilbert goes on her own world travels, winding down from her overstressed New York City life by seeking pure pleasure in Italy, peace in India, and a fusion of the two (love) in Indonesia. I couldn't help comparing our three experiences to hers. Danny's Ashram is spot on. Nepal and Indonesia aren't too different, especially considering the amount of focus Alana and Liz put on helping poor children (and who knows, maybe Alana has found a passionate Brazilian hunk of her own). And, in my case, Liz and I both love eating and learning Spanish and Italian, which are basically the same language anyway. I took comfort in thinking that my part, the pursuit of pleasure, was just as valid as the other two.
Being honest with myself, though, I had to admit that the comparison does not stand. If I told any of my roommates that I needed to learn how to be comfortable with pleasure and relaxation, they'd laugh to my face. Most still believe that I never worked or studied my entire last year of university. For that matter, Danny is the last one of my friends who needs help finding inner peace and Alana has been a paragon of love, care, and compassion for as long as I've known her. It's like Kobe taking a season off to learn how to play basketball or Hugh Heffner going on sabbatical to practice his seduction skills. Bullshit.
So where does that leave me? Am I in the wrong place? Should I be cultivating inner peace or developing compassion instead of watching Colombian beauty queens march by in parades? Is this experience of pleasure and adventure a waste of time or an expression of living life to its fullest?
Been nearly two weeks now since I started writing this post and I still don't have any answers. I think I'll just have to leave the questions standing for now. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
In the meantime, I'll be taking a hiatus from backpacking. For the next month at least, I'll be hanging out in NY and Philly to catch up with y'all before departing on what will like be a much longer trip next time. The plan is to get a job to really experience living in a different country as a normal person. Let's see if you can guess where.
I guess this is the end then. Thanks for following; I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. As much fun as it's been to make new friends every day, the transitory nature of those relationships has made me really appreciate the old friends and family who've stuck with me in spirit despite having their own very busy lives thousands of miles away.
Finally, may I add that some of my craziest times on the trip have been the last few weeks in Colombia. For those stories, you'll have to ask me in person. Excited to see you soon,
con mucho amor,
Nico
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