Pre-Trip Flurry...

"There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it."

-- Charles Dudley Warner


I always get nervous before I leave for a faraway trip. The idea of being so disconnected (though, of course, I'm really not) and inaccessible (though, of course, I'm really not) sends little pings of anxiety through my nerves. But these pings eventually join together, like freckles merging on my arm, filling me with such excitement and passion, which I've found only rarely in other areas of my life.

I arrive wherever I'm going, and I rediscover the beauty of everyday life somewhere else, with my senses heightened, absorbing everything around me like a sponge. And so much is the same - eating, drinking, laughter, work, walking, talking, learning how to approach the speed-bumps or just make do, but surrounded by different colors, spices, smells, flavors, music, language, landscapes. I get hungry just thinking about it.


The familiar pre-trip flurry has set in, of throwing things in a bag, fishing for my passport and trying to decide which books to bring. So many friends have sent me contacts for here and there, that I'll probably never be alone; having meals with new friends, sipping tea on a balcony in Simon's Town with friends' fictive kin, meeting new children for the first time, and being invited to step into strangers' everyday lives.


How did I stumble into this amazing pastime?