Alex in motion | A journal of curiousity & travel

November 12, 2015

Thank you

The following post was started before my departure, but I wasn’t able to finish it while staying the last few days at my brother’s house. The main reason: when a six year old runs up to you and excitingly asks, “Alex, will you play with me?” it’s really hard to say “no”.

Nevertheless, I would like to take a moment to thank my family and friends for many reasons:

For supporting me every step of the way with this big decision
For offering all kinds of helpful assistance, including
- taking care of my furniture
- storing my personal items
- managing my mail
- allowing me to sleep over
For hosting awesome goodbye dinners and parties
For letting me know they are just a phone call or message away
For simply taking the time to wish me well

Several friends also wrote letters and two gave personalized gifts. The first is a compass with the engraving, “To find your way down the unwalked path and back home again”, which cleverly refers to one of my posts.

The second is a ring with the engraving, “I am home wherever I am”. It was slightly too large for my finger, so I added a leather strap and turned it into a necklace.

Compass

Ring

Admittedly, it would have be great to have slightly more time, as there were a few people I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to, and a precious few that I would have loved to spend more time with. But most major and wonderful decisions are usually accompanied with minor and undesired shortcomings.

My life has been exhilarating these past few months, filled with a new awareness of the passing of time, and I cherished the moments leading up to Monday. My incredibly large credit card statements in the last two months prove just how much celebrating this translates into, but the time is also filled with memories to last a lifetime.

So, once again, thank you.

November 10, 2015

Into Argentina

Flight to EZE

Whenever travelling, I normally research the country and/or the city, so I know the best locations to stay, the various modes of transportation, how tipping works, basic safety concerns, top places to visit, etc. For this, my top site is wikitravel.org, followed by some google searches.

With Argentina however, I purposely omitted this research, in an effort simply to change the way I do things, to introduce a new perspective and to gain a sense of spontaneity. Well, I intend to do that mistake only once…

No sooner than arriving at the airport did I learn that although an official visa is not required to enter Argentina, a Reciprocity fee of $92 USD is required. This fee applies to Canadian and American residents, and must be paid in full and in advance.

Luckily I arrived well in advance of the flight, and the woman at the check-in counter recommended to go into the adjacent Marriott hotel to complete the form online and print the receipt. The kind gentleman at Marriott guided me through the entire process, commenting, “Ya, this happens about twice a week.”

Once completed, I then learned that traveling without a fixed itinerary doesn’t bode well for some countries, and Argentina could have refused entry without a return flight or known means of exit. Luckily there wasn’t an issue at customs; they only asked where I was staying.

Emotionally, I’ve experienced a wide range of feelings recently, including

anxiety: starting two days before the trip
extreme sadness: saying farewell to my parents and brother at the airport
fear: realizing that I am truly free for the next year, without any responsibility or schedule. Yes, it sounds great, but the initial realization how dramatically your life is about to change doesn’t strike until you actually do it!

Note to self: when afraid of turbulence, don’t watch an episode of “The Walking Dead” on the plane. It doesn’t help the nerves, really.

October 12, 2015

To Alex

My grandmother wrote this poem when I was twelve. I just found it while sorting through some old papers and wanted to share it with you. It’s strangely appropriate to the moment. 🙂

When you were a child, life was so easy.
Your duties were few, you could play all day;
At night mother would bathe you, blow dry your hair
And read you a wonderful fairy tale.

Your dreamed of being a hero of those stories:
Flying the magic carpet to exotic land,
Outsmarting the bad giant, finding the Golden Fleece,
Killing a vicious dragon to win the princess’ hand.

You believed all this could very well happen
When you will become a little bit older
When you will finally turn twelve or thirteen
The adventures will wait just around the corner.

Now you are twelve and it’s high school and homework.
You are missing the freedom that you once had,
Your body has changed, you’re rapidly growing
And sometimes you’re happy and sometimes you’re sad.

You’re wondering: “Why those hours of study?
What will French or math ever do for me?”
You would rather watch t.v., read comics,
Go skiing, play computer games or D&D.

Well, the world of working people is demanding.
You need the skills to succeed in any given field.
The knowledge you have gained will one day come handy,
It will be in the future your weapon, your shield.

When school is over you’ll start your life as an adult.
The years are passing swiftly and you will soon be there
To make your own decisions, commitments and choices
It will be more exciting than any fairy tale!