It has been exactly three years since I left NYC for my whirlwind world tour and over a year since I have collected my thoughts to create a newsletter. Three years of living on the road through
Sadly, the beautiful memories of every mountain crater lake or Amazonian village that I did get the chance to see is often overshadowed by a subtle sadness for all of the Machu Picchus and Brazilian coastlines that I was never able to see. Yental said it best: "The more I learn, the more I realize the less I know." For every with every new discovery (a waterfall, goat farm, restaurant, cavern, ancient religious shrine or mountain colony of specialized craftsman) there is also a local telling you that over the next mountain range lies a magical lake or an abandoned temple that can not be missed… but life only gives you so much time, energy and pesos to play with and seeing it all is not an option.
Anyone can be a backpacker. Planning a semi-concrete itinerary through five countries over the period of 30 days is challenging, but you know at the end of the month you have a return ticket and you are going home to a comfortable and safe life with family and an extended network of friends that can come to your rescue if your life happens to implode.
I am a "backpacker" though I use the term very loosely in my case. The shortest amount of time I spend anywhere is three months which allows me to truly feel I have absorbed the local flavor. (It also allows for cultural exchange, like the time I taught a very serious, 350 pound Turkish mobster how to say "Fabulous!" while doing an over-the-head finger snap.) But even after three years, my luggage consists of one backpack, so I feel I have a right to this title.
A vagabond is a survivor that thrives best when diving head-first into the dark void of chaos, yet always managing to land on their feet. I have been known to create quite a bit of my own chaos in the past, but here on the road I actually feel most at home and most alive when I am ready to pack my bags and move to a new country / continent / culture that I have never experienced and know very little about and know absolutely no one. The mixture of sheer horror mixed with the thrill of adventure is the perfect combination to get the gears in your head turning. Each new location becomes a puzzle that at first seems impossible but with each passing day the cloud seems to lift and things start to fall into place.
In fact, the fist major puzzle a vagabond must tackle even before leaving home is how they will make money while on the road. For me, I took almost a year to create an online marketing company that would keep me connected to North American clients as long as I could find an Internet connection. Most people you will meet on the road, however, have taken the obvious route and have become English teachers.. a job which honestly makes it possible for practically every North American, British and Australian or New Zealand person to live the Vagabonding life. English is the international language for business and in every country in the world, your skill as a native English speaker will easily get you a pretty good job.
When confronting chaos on a regular basis, it would be a good idea to have some skills at being resourceful. When you are a Vagabonder and you step off that beaten path, you open yourself up to a universe of unforeseen challenges that are not covered in any guidebook and sometimes even finding yourself in situations that are life-threatening. Rubbing two sticks together, calling your embassy, running away, communicating through pantomime, singing on a street corner for bus fare.. its up to you to solve each puzzle so that you can move on to the next day.
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