Really, but Why?

"You're kidding me...why?"  This is the question I get more than any other when I choose to reveal, I am forced to say, or someone has heard about my plans for the trip through the grapevine.  "Central America?!"  "Are you crazy?!!"  I have come to give these questions a lot of thought because I know many times I have not answered them properly.  It's hard to describe briefly all the myriad reasons that have gone into this decision.  My best response so far, I think, has been, "Please understand that I'm not trying to be a smart aleck when I say this, but it is because I can".  That answer usually gives the questioner pause, and then other questions follow.  But not before I try to clarify my response.  "What I mean is", I say, "I am really free to do this!"   I go on to say that many people have all kinds of ties that keep them in one spot.  One day it suddenly became very clear to me that I did not, so why not?    Is this what they call foot loose and fancy free?  Maybe...I only know that at one point, I leaped out of bed at 3 a.m. and said to myself, "Woman, you had better get up and go!"


Speaking of ties, aside from my occasional discomfort when I'm asked "why", what I've really come to enjoy are the conversations with people who I wouldn't ordinarily speak with.  You know how it is, you are briskly moving along in the course of your day, and you are intent on scratching off at least a couple of items on the "to do" list, so there's really not much time to talk to strangers.  Here's an example.  A few days ago I was at the bank depositing my nifty little take from my latest yard sale (still paying AT&T).  I was quite pleased to get my favorite teller instead of the guy who gives me a big pain.  Last time I saw him I needed 20 penny wrappers...he gave me 15 with a big fake smile (you know the type!) and told me that was all he had (without asking another teller!)  As a result, I had to wrap pennies in plastic baggies...but I digress.  While making the deposit with my favorite teller, we talk about the trip, and she said, "Oh, I would love to do something like that, but I can't leave my mother".   The way she said that, with great thoughtfulness, I could tell she loves her mother very much.  There she is in her life...would taking a trip to Timbuktu be better for her?  I would have to say, "Not necessarily so!".  Not that I am any expert, but I believe that Love, with the capital L, trumps all.  Wait, there's more...


While the teller is making my deposit and we are talking, it seems a Mexican couple at the next teller booth are listening.  When I finish my business and am walking out the door, the woman stops me and asks where I am going in Central America (wow...I must have a loud mouth!).  Her husband hangs back (he may not speak very good English), but she is very talkative and curious to know as many details as I am willing to tell.  She is so wistful and tells me how lucky I am, how they (she and her husband) would love to do that if they could.  I ask her if she can speak Spanish.  She answers yes, she is fluent in both Spanish and English.  So I say to her that she is very lucky!  She can speak Spanish and English in an English speaking country, and that when I relocate in a Spanish speaking country, I will have to become fluent in that foreign (to me) language.


I have told you this whole story, because I want to share with you some of what has motivated me to this point in my preparations.  I am running out of time for this entry, and I have not yet said many of the things I wanted to express.  Well, there will be another post, but please allow me just one more moment of your time.


Last night a friend who is also considering a trip to Central/South America invited me to watch a film called "The Motorcycle Diaries".  While we watched, he had his notebook opened to Google Earth and we traced the progress of the trip from Cordova, Argentina (where Che Guevara was born), to Chili, Peru, and all the way up to Venezuela.  There is breathtaking footage of the vibrant countryside and Incan ruins in Peru, the great Amazon river, seaside villages in Chili, and so much more.  It is a true story about Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who had almost completed medical school, and his close friend, who was studying Biochemistry at the University, when they decided to take a break from their studies and make that trip.  That trip changed the entire course of Che's life.   It is in Spanish with subtitles, which is always a big help to me as I try to learn the language.  I give the film 5 *****.  I hope you will check it out on Netflix or whatever and let me know what you think!  You won't be sorry.  Till next time!  (Hugs and kisses for reading this far!)  :)  Cynthia

Wheeeee!!!!

Oh it's so good to be back!  I think about posting here all the time, in between yard sales, multiple dental appointments, e-mails that proliferate like bunnies underfoot, and daily anxiety attacks!  The time is drawing near so quickly!  The buyer needed a co-signer...oh no!...but here comes the Dad to the rescue.  Whew!  But the real estate agent still cautions, "Don't buy that plane ticket yet!"  Anything can happen!  Nothing is definite until the deal actually closes.


So here I sit in an office with many books and one bookcase less, near my living room that now has an echo in it.  Through 5 (yes 5!) yard sales (some more successful than others), and numerous, repetitious advertisements on Craig's List, I have managed to convert at least one half of my belongings into cold hard cash.  I've come to think that furnishing my home was like freeze framing little portions of life...I never stopped to think before this experience, about just how heavy it had become!  Downsizing is such an eye opener!  As I review each item, hmmmm, to keep or not to keep.  This can be an excruciating question, especially when  need to answer it again and again, sometimes with objects you had forgotten you had.  It seems never ending!  I have been fantasizing regularly about what it will feel like to be finally on the plane, lighter than air with only one small suitcase, jetting toward a whole new life. 


And the new life I have envisioned!  If only one quarter of what I see comes to fruition, what a happy, grateful camper I will be.  Already things seem to be falling into place.  Just tonight Chamisa was adopted into a very loving home, with an beautiful older man I met at one of my yard sales.  We have become friends and I have no doubt that Chamisa will have the love and attention I had hoped for her.  


One of my old friends who I met when I first came to California, a literacy teacher at our local adult school, came to visit last week.  I hadn't known that for several years now, she (Keren) and her husband have been visiting Central America every winter.  They often fly into Panama!  She is a wealth of information and from all the things she has shared so far, I know I am on the right path.  Keren and I have a lot in common.  We both love to read and raise chickens!  She has had a large flock ever since I knew her.


Enough about me.  Two events have happened that are of enormous importance, and I would like to take a moment, if you don't mind, to comment about them.  First, Steve Jobs.  I was never a huge fan of his while he lived, and I'm sorry to say that I never knew that much about him till he died.  What I have learned has been such an inspiration.  Thank you so much Steve Jobs!  You were a being full of love and light!  And I'm sure you still are, somewhere.


What do you think about the "Occupation of Wall Street"?  What is happening?!  We the people!  The sleeping giant is awakening!  It is incredible, wonderful!  We are saying to those few banksters who would garner all the wealth for themselves and the hell with everyone else, employing fraud and all sorts of nefarious activities for their own selfish aggrandizement, "No - no more!".  No matter the political persuasion, everyone I know has suffered at least some loss or marginalization because of the highly unethical and downright illegal actions of these perpetrators.  I'm so proud of those people in New York (I hope my relatives from CT are there at Zuccotti Park!), and if I wasn't so busy trying to tie up my business here, I would definitely be in LA or San Francisco in solidarity with all the people!  Power to the People!  WE ARE ONE.  I am not religious, but I do believe with all my heart that we are here to help each other.


Just one more thing...a housekeeping issue.  I had thought that by joining, people would receive each posting by email.  But from what I understand, that has not been happening.  I don't know if that is a bug in the blog, like some others I have noticed, or if you have to check back in periodically.  If that's the case, I have been posting about every three weeks.  I hope to write more once I am actually on the road.  And just so you'll know...if you sign up "private" you will be invisible to everyone, even me.   Also, it seems that the comments are not showing up.  If it is something I can fix, I will try to do that.  Thank you for reading!