Travel Bug

It got to me early, the travel bug. It was from one of my first trips that I got mono (an experience that I do not remember as I was about three years old). For as long as I can remember, traveling has been a part of my life as for most of my life my kin have been split between the two coasts of the United States. International travel also began when I was young as I remember traveling to Ireland with my grandparents. With as much travel as I have done, it is hard for me to imagine a sedentary existence for myself.

It seems like I will always be moving, even when I am back stateside. I look for excuses to go and take small road-trips to almost anywhere just so I can get out for a short period of time. Denmark and China were both excellent for that as it was easy to get to somewhere radically different with relative ease. True, China was less expensive in terms of its transport, but both countries were very travel friendly. I enjoyed my travels in both places, and if I had this academic year to do again, I would have traveled more. Hindsight though, as they say, is twenty-twenty.

All things considered, the travel bug is not the worst thing in the world to have. It gets me out to meet new people, see new things, eat new things, and try things that I normally wouldn't do. Traveling for me is part of how I grow. That said, there is a downside of the travel bug. It is hard to keep in contact with loved ones half-way around the world. While technologies such as the internet have made the distance smaller, the internet is far from omni-present everywhere I have gone. In fact, in some of the places I have been, there was no internet access.

My travels have put strains on my relationships with friends and family members. Finding a time that is convenient for both of us to talk is a juggling act, and when that conversation comes, it often times has to be cut short for any number of reasons. The travel bug can also place limits on a relationship, no matter its nature. It's hard to be close with someone who is half a world away. The more I travel, the more I come to accept that my travel bug will place limits on some of the relationships I form. However, if someone can't accept the travel bug as part of me, is that a person that is sustaining a long term contact with?

So I leave everyone out there with a question this week: what is something about yourself that you like that has come to place a bit of a limit on your relationships with other in your life? Drop a line, let me know. I know I can't be alone in this.

Denmark in Total

I have now had enough time for me to think over the great nation of Denmark. There are things about Denmark that I have come to miss, and may realize myself missing. Like when I returned from China, there is a sort of reverse culture shock in progress. Granted, Denmark was closer to the U.S.A. in many cultural respects, but there are still somethings I find odd. For example, even with taxes, things are slightly cheaper here. Also, service people are friendly and sociable. I'm not saying that the Danish service persons were rude, they were just reserved.

I grew much as a person from being in Denmark. I am now slightly more comfortable in my own skin. I am more mature as a person then I was when I entered. The experience reminds me of a Navajo expression that roughly translated into English means, as we grow in maturity we will walk in beauty and harmony. I don't remember the Navajo anymore. I wish I did.

So I am glad to be home. I wish everyone the best. Denmark was Denmark, but it was not a place I could build a home.

Stateside

For all concerned, I am now back stateside and in one piece. I am doing well even factoring in the jet lag. A more thorough post detailing what I thought of Denmark and my time there will be up most likely later this week. Right now though, my top priority is to stay awake and somewhat functioning.

All my best to everyone out there.

Packing Day

Well it has come at long last, a day I have been thinking about almost since I have arrived in Denmark. Today is the day when I back up my room (or at least most of it) and start to get ready to come home. How do I feel now that the long awaited day has finally arrived? While I have never felt as much at home in Denmark as I did in China, I will admit that there a few things I am sad to leave behind. There have been some good moments from my time here, and on the whole, I had a positive experience. Granted, it is true that if I had things to do over, they would have been done differently. However, that's all of life, and the most important thing is that we learn from out mistakes.

So what will I miss of Denmark? Well, the excellent public transportation system in/around Copenhagen is something that I will miss. I have genuinely enjoyed riding the trains and the buses. While at times slightly crowded (especially during the morning rush), the rides to and from where I attended classes were at times relaxing and gave me time to listen to music, attempt to study, attempt to write, or just watch the world go by. The trains and buses in and around Copenhagen were also (almost always) very punctual. Provided you knew the train schedule, you could set your watch by it. The longest I ever waited for a train was around sixteen minutes, and that was on a day when the trains would run every twenty minutes compared to every ten.

Another one of the small things I will miss is the excellent quality of the baked goods. The Danishes (or as they are known here wienerbrød) are nothing like any of those I have found stateside. Granted, I am not the biggest fan of Danishes in the state, I might just have to look around to see if I can find any like those here in Denmark. While originally created by Austrian bakers (as can be seen in a literal translation of the Danish name), it has been in Denmark that these creations have been perfected. Almost every bakery in Copenhagen sells them, and when they are good, they are toe-curling good. Not always the healthiest choice around, they are certainly delicious and I have eaten my fair share of them.

An unexpected thing that I will miss about Denmark is just how easily I am mistaken for a Dane. Apparently when I do speak Danish, I sound rather like a Dane. This has led those with whom I speak Danish to have the mistaken assumption that my command of their language is greater than the 5 or 6 key phrases that I have well memorized. Although I speak more Chinese and have (in my personal opinion) a better accent in it, I will never be mistaken for a native of China. Part of that might be due to my ethnicity, part of it may be because I have only studied Chinese for two and one-half years, and thus still have problems with the language. Whatever the reason, it has been rather interesting to be mistaken for a local.

There are other things I will find myself missing. However, during my orientation at the beginning of the semester, one of the speakers said some of us might get into the annoying habit of making references to our time in Denmark. Having travelled enough previously, I know enough not to insert references to a journey taken unless asked to do so. The only reason why I will be telling such stories during the Blogathon is because of just how many of them I have. Besides, for all I learned and did in Denmark/Europe, I feel I learned and did more that I am truly proud of in China. I know that China/Asia will be a part of my life as I continue to grow. For everything that I have come to enjoy here, I know that were I to come again, it would not be to build a home.

For Whom the Blog is Written

Well, after days of checking my email more than was probably necessary, I heard back from the organization that I will be blogging for come Blogathon 2010. All funds raised will be going to Keshet , a LGBTQ organization for Jews in the greater Boston area. When I first thought about the Blogathon back in mid-April, I had no idea who I should blog for or how I should start looking. It took a while for me to narrow the list down. One of the rules of the Blogathon is that no blogger may blog for multiple charities, and I think that's a pretty good rule. Posts every half hour for one organization is an overwhelming prospect. Doubling the number of posts so one may raise funds for two organizations would require mental stamina that I suspect few are capable of.

I eventually decided on Keshet for many reasons. Primarily, I wanted to help a segment of the Jewish community in anyway I could. Ideally, I wanted the organization to be either in San Diego (my hometown) or Boston (where I will be spending the summer and where I lived for the first half of my life). I have also been a long time believe in the fight for marriage equality. Although my parents and I have several key differences of opinion, one of the values they raised me with was a sense of fair play. It does not seem 'right' to me to have what has become predominantly secular institution governed by religious ideals, especially in a country where one of the founders and third president strongly espoused an idea of 'a wall of separation between church and state.' While I am aware of certain passages in Torah that go against homosexuality, there are also many other passages that instruct parents to stone disobedient children (Deuteronomy 18: 18-21), that a woman should be a virgin on her wedding night or risk severe punishment (Deuteronomy 23: 18), and numerous dietary laws (Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Exodus). While I know that there are many Jews who choose to follow the dietary laws, I am unaware of any contemporary community that follows Deuteronomy 18:18-21. There will be a post at a later date about how I am coming to understand the Torah and the Jewish experience. This is not the time nor place for such a post. As Keshet is Boston based, serves the Jewish Community, and is involved in the fight for marriage equality, it seems like it hit the triple jackpot.

Now for the content of the blog on the 'day of blogs' itself. All posts (ideally) will be related my experiences from traveling. There will most likely be a post when I have been up for multiple hours where I seem out of it or unable to form coherent sentences. This should be nothing new or exciting to readers of this blog. There will be many stories, some humorous, some sad, some where I came out saying "I never want to do anything like that ever again!" and still others where I hoped my experience would never end. All in all, it would be a pretty fun ride. I hope that you will join me for at least part of the experience.

Blogathon 2010

For the past few summers, a group of close personal friends in the greater Boston area have participated in something they have lovingly dubbed "The Day of Blogs." Officially, it is known as Blogathon . Over a single 24 hour period, a blogger will update their blog continously every half hour. The purpose of such a mental marathon is to raise funds for an organization that the blogger supports. Sponsors will either give a flat contribution or an amount for each post. In the past, organizations my friends have blogged for have included Planned Parenthood, Amnesty International, a women's center in the greater Boston area, and others that I cannot remember at the moment. This year, as I will actually be in Boston over the summer, I hope to be a participant in the Blogathon.

So what will I be posting about for that day? In my life, I have been fortunate enough to travel to many and diverse places such as China, Denmark, Ecuador, France, India, Italy, Korea (South), New Zealand, Spain, and Tanzania. So my theme on the Day of Blogs will be the 48 Memories from Travel. Not the most original theme ever, however it is something that I will be something that I feel I will able to write about easily. I have only recently emailed the organization I hope to blog for, but as of yet, I haven't heard back. Hopefully, by the end of the weekend I will know and I will be able to share all of the appropriate information.

As I get closer to the actual day (July 25 beginning at 9:00 Eastern Daylight Time), there will be more information. I just wanted to put the word out there and warn anyone reading that there will be madness. Look forward to updating soon with all of the necessary information about who I will blogging for, how I can be supported in this, and what more my entries on the day itself may deal with.

Until then, all the best.