Day 46
journey | noun
- The act of travelling from one place to another
- A process of personal change and development
That was a beautiful journey on all the above accounts.
First, we've been through 10 countries over a nearly 7,000 km trip that lasted 46 days. We did it on board of a noisy small old battered van on many roads including unpaved ones. From time to time I heard it shouting like an old pirate: "Shivers my timbers!!".
That trip gave us ample material to observe, to question what we saw, to question the representations made by the media and the politics, to reflect beyond what we saw, and I expect the few posts I wrote are witnesses of these processes.
That trip will definitely shape the way we'll travel in the future.
I keep a great impression of Romania and Bulgaria. I felt in my element over there. I'd like to go back to see more of these countries and the people. I am also tickled by a trip to India, but that is at least a 4 or 5 months project on its own. Before that there will be Poland, and I need to ready the van for winter.
Second, we dealt beautifully with a handful of crises, in a way neither of us experienced in our previous lives. We gave each other the time and the trust to look into what triggered reactions that were out-of-character. Every time we found them. Every time we explained them to the other one. Every time we explained what pushed the button. Every time we got that out of our respective systems. We come out of this trip with less open wounds. We're different.
In some ways it feels like being born again, liberated from nasty stuff planted in our childhoods that kept polluting my life for over 40 years.
That trip reinforced in us the certainty that we can understand each other and heal together. And that feels good.