About lockers
Well, I'm not so keen on summarising my life in a little box and have never been very economical with words, but here are a few things about me. I'm still trying to figure out a lot more.
I love music, especially live music - anything played well on a guitar or piano (or both) usually starts lifting the hairs on my arms. Recently I heard a friend sing at a wedding and it brought tears to my eyes as it was so beautiful. And with the right magical combination of notes and rhythms, I just want to dance. I love dancing. But I also need silence. I need quietness to think, to read, to concentrate on a task or to appreciate time to myself. My ipod and my earplugs are essential items on my trip.
I am very curious. I always want to see what is beyond the rocks at the end of the beach or what the view is like at the top of the mountain. I am curious about people, how others do things, the make-up and traditions of different cultures. I like really getting to know someone and learning from then. I find that whiling away the evening chatting to someone over a bottle of wine is a lovely way to spend time and some of my best memories are such evenings with friends, chatting, listening and laughing.
I think there are so many different ways to see the world and do things that you don't have enough time to figure it all out by yourself. I don't think we learn enough from other people. The world keeps on turning and the same mistakes are always being made.
Travelling excites me and teaches me so much. I don't feel I will have ever seen enough of the world. It's so big and offers so many surprises and a lifetime of lessons.
My family is very important to me and always with me inside. My mother's love is incredible; unconditional and all-embracing. She continually thinks of others before herself. She encourages and motivates me and teaches me new things all the time, especially about how to treat people. My dad is always there for me. He is my casual accountant, my career advisor and is the person who has picked me up most often from airports - wherever they are and at whatever time of day. He is very clever and caring and seems able to turn his hand to anything. My little sister knows me too well. She is my friend and confident and has more common sense than I do. In fact, she is more like an elder sister to me. My brother is a mystery to me as I think I am to him. I will never be able to match his physical strength nor the number of pints he can drink.
I am in awe of nature, animals and creatures. How can a tiny ant know exactly what to do? So many elements of life seem to tie together like medicines for diseases in South America being found in the Amazon Rainforest. I am often left puzzled and bewildered.
Languages fascinate me. A cat has 9 lives in English but only 7 in Spanish. I recently heard a Spaniard ask "if you can 'get on with someone' in English, can you also 'get off with someone'?" I smiled. Some languages need lots of words for "the"; others don't even have one. I like the Finnish proverb, "You have two ears and one tongue. Use them in that proportion."
Monkeys make me smile as does the sun and, as a generalisation, drivers of small white vans and speed bumps irritate me as do wind and rain (although I do like that snug feeling a stormy night gives you once you are inside and curled up on the couch... preferably with a box of chocolates, a bottle of wind and a good film). Oh and just as a very random side, I'm pretty hopeless when it comes to keys and doors (many stories, no space to go into this here).
Being able to make myself a cup of coffee with fresh milk, wearing a dressing gown when I get out of the shower, having straight hair and sleeping in are not essential to my life but I think I will start to miss these things when I am further into my trip.
Right now I am happy that I am doing just what I have always dreamed of doing. I have no idea where I will be in a year's time, but I think it's going to be a fun journey getting there.
"Life is too short to be small." (Benjamin Disraeli)
My Travel Map:
