It has come to my attention over the 124 days of my superviaje that it isn't such a common thing to quit one's job just like ''that'' in order to go traipsing around, traveling, studying, etc. Now that my trip has come to an end, I can say, without hesitation, ''Why the hell not?'' Personally, I have learned far more during these past four months than I have found in any textbook or within the confines of any windowless office (or office with windows, for that matter). While I understand that traveling isn't for everyone, the experiences gained by such adventures are truly priceless: only by figuring out one's way in a place you have never been before do you really learn the true significance of tabula rasa (''blank slate''), adding to the white canvas a little more every day.
I, for one, discovered the meaning of life. What I found was that the meaning of life could be different for everyone, but that, for me, the meaning of life is the search for meaning. Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks so. Robert Byrne, a leading American chess player, has said that, ''The purpose of life is a life of purpose.'' For me, this quest involves doing whatever it takes to go to all corners of the globe (well, not corners, since the globe is round, but I think you get what I'm saying) in order to see what's out there, to learn for myself, and to understand by doing, rather than by reading or by hearsay.
For instance, I bet you never stopped to think about the act of picture-taking. In the United States, when a photographer wants his (or her) subjects to smile for a photo, he tells them to say, ''cheese.'' What do they say in other places? The answers may or may not, depending on how you want to interpret it, reveal a lot about the culture about each respective place. In Brazil, people say, ''abacaxi,'' [ah-bah-kah-SHEE] which means ''pineapple.'' Fitting, considering that Brazil is a tropical region that grows a lot of fruit and has fresh fruit stands all over the place. In Argentina, the word is, ''whisky,'' [WEE-skee] which could say something about Argentines' consumption of whiskey. In Spain, this one is a little curious. The word here is, ''patata,'' [pah-TAH-tah] which, yes, means ''potato.'' The explanation given to me once I stopped laughing was that, ''See? It got *you* to laugh!'' The reasoning can't possibly be the same (the reason that I was laughing was, ''What?! The word is ''patata''? That makes no sense!''), but, alas, my friend had a point. If the objective was to laugh, there I was...laughing. But even so, they do have potatoes in Spain, and they use them to make typical dishes like Tortilla Española. And in Italy and the Netherlands, they finally borrow a word from English, as they, too, use the word, ''cheese.'' And we all know about parmesean, mozzarella, and Edam, which come from those countries. Little things like this that no one would ever think about until you go to push a button and, all of a sudden, you get a lesson in culture.
Or when Brazilians take English classes in school, the first thing they learn (and often the only thing they retain) is the phrase, ''The book is on the table.'' It doesn't matter where the book actually is, but that phrase will be the ice-breaker with any English speaker from now until the end of time. Similarly, in Italy, it doesn't matter where Mr. Jones actually is, but as Italians will tell you, ''Mr. Jones is under the table.''
I believe it was the beginning of the Vittorio De Sica film called "Matrimonio all'italiana", in which the camera moves slowly but steadily through a hallway, giving the viewer a glimpse into each room it passes. In essence, that is exactly what I have done over the course of the last four months, stopping in on various places to see how the people live, interact with locals (in some places, my friends and their friends), get to know the tourist attractions, etc. And now that I have wrapped up this journey, it is time to get back in the swing of things in order to embark on a new one here.
On several occasions throughout the trip, people were surprised to find that I was traveling by myself. I don't know whether it was the fact that I was (am) a female, whether it was a trip lasting four months, or what, but whatever it was, something was surprising, and I never figured out what. What I did realize, though, was that even though I was, technically, a ''solo traveler,'' I met so many people throughout the duration of the trip -- more than I would have ever met if I had had a travel buddy, I'm sure -- that it is difficult to view the whole experience as a solo journey. At this point, I cannot imagine my superviaje without all the people I met along the way (as well as those I already knew, including you, dear readers), and while I have seen and done some great things in the last 124 days, at the end of it all, it is undoubtedly the people who have shaped the experience the most and have changed me.
"Quando você deseja uma coisa, todo o Universo conspira para que possa realizá-la." -- Paulo Coelho, "O alquimista"
"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." -- Paulo Coelho, "The Alchemist"
Então, obrigada e boa noite. Entonces, gracias y buenas noches. Allora, grazie e buona notte.
So, thank you and good night,
missy
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