true life planet

Brave new blog… 

I’ve got some bad news–and some good news.

Which do you want first?

Ok, the bad news.

Well, I’d finished the blog this weekend. It looked gorgeous, I loved it.

Then I took it to my class (it was a “final project” for a blog creation class) and so many things were vetoed.

 Or quite simply, could be improved.

I’d signed up for this class because I wanted to learn to use a flash layer in the new blog, have things move around a bit, have photo slideshows, that sort of thing. Quite frankly, I wanted to learn to make one of those blogs/sites you find one day while searching online for this or that and you are blown away by.

What I didn’t count on was that when my instructor looked at the blog I’d created she would have so  many very good suggestions on how to make it better. So, I’ve decided to keep working on it for now. I’ll keep you posted.

The good news is that it’s not just one blog like this one was, but actually three different blogs! I know. Crazy!

There’s one blog devoted only to travel; another devoted to social justice and human rights; and a third devoted to the daya dan orphanage in Calcutta(Kolkata). Each one is entirely different and each one is–seriously–gorgeous, interesting, and you will love them all.

In other news…where am I and who am I?

Coming back home has been challenging.

I’ve been back about four months and quite frankly, although I enjoy being home and all the perks(still can’t quite get over my luck at being able to have hot showers and toilets that flush and salads!) it’s still been so very hard for me. Some days are good, and others, well, they pretty much leave me wishing I was anywhere else but here.

But this has it’s positive side too. I mean, since my trip, my self awareness level is on speed-dial. I’m very aware of who I am and what my goals are.

This leaves me often wondering who in the world I was when I left home originally for my RTW. I’m not sure I’ll ever know, really. I miss her sometimes..her naiveness..her not- knowing-ness, but I’m glad she’s all grown up.

The hard part about coming home has been that I have changed so much that it’s as if I must design a whole new life: new job, new house, new friends, new goals.

And all of my interests are totally different(or maybe just more developed?) and so I find myself spending time with totally different people and going to different places that I would have never dreamed of going to before.

Sometimes I get overwhelmed by all this newness and difference and have moments where I wish things could all go back to they once were two years ago. But then the moment passes, and I realize not only how impossible that would be but how unheathy that would be. There’s nothing quite like world travel to develop one’s personality and sense of self. Who would want to give that up? Not me.

travel plans..what’s next?

Well I’ve been dreaming of going here or there for some time now and have shared snipets of what might be next. But here are the new–concrete!–plans for the coming year. Once back in “reality” it was my job schedule that dictated when and where and for how long…I’m working at a school now, so it’s all about the school year.

India will not happen at Christmas as I originally wanted, as they only gave me two weeks off and it’s simply too rushed for me. So instead I’ve decided to go back to India for 3 months next summer.

3 months? Yeah, I know! Fantastic! So many good things happened to contribute to this decision, including that I got a internship there during that time in Calcutta, so I can work and volunteer at Daya Dan at the same time.Yay! Yet another sign that I am on the right path. Good. More on this later, I’ll I will say about it now is that of course it involves working with kids. Yay!

During that three months–and I’ve been quite torn about this–I’ve decided to tack on a side trip to Bihar, the Indian state I fell in love with this year as well as a trip to Bangladesh. In between these two areas I should manage to see a few other Indian states in the area, but I won’t decide which until just beforehand due to politics and safety issues. But the Indian states of Bihar and West Bengal as well as Bangladesh are on the list. Preferably to the middle of nowhere. If you can be in nowhere in the middle of that many people.

Oh yes…another place I was dying to go to before–but didn’t go last time–was the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve in West Bengal. But I’m definitely going this time.

Also in the coming year will be a very short (not 3 months!) trip to Panama, with the single purpose of working on the women’s clinic for the Ngobe and taking alot of photos, video, etcetra of the project and the other projects I would like to work on there. I need to to raise more money for the clinics and also I would like to brng sme special items to the women there, so you’ll be pleased to know that there is actually a paypal button on the new websites!

And who knows? There are bound to be some pretty cool stopovers for both of those trips, so let’s hope I have some unexpected adventures as well…

I’ve also decided to do the Camino de Santiago again. I know. I said I would rather die than do it again..but in retrospect, if I could redo any part of my journey it would be Spain. I feel like some parts of it must be seen again. I feel like the Camino must be done again at some point , although maybe from a different starting point? Next year is a Jubille year( Pope visits, that sort of thing, millions of people!) and so I’d prefer to skip that year and maybe do it after that. But we’ll see!

At any rate, that’s (most) of the news of interest. I’m hanging in there, trying to put one foot in front of the other and take the next step. (Just like the Camino!)The transition to the culture has not been too hard for me. The transition to who I have become–well, that has been a work in progress.

Please do check back for the links. I will have at least one of the two websites ready soon. Promise.

gigi

I said here quite awhile ago that I was switching over to a different format and a new site.

Yet I haven’t actually posted the link.

I guess–even though it looks good–I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t something I had to do, but something I wanted to do. I wanted everything on it to be clear and beautiful and bright and inspiring.

I think it’s actually become a real labor of love.

One thing that certainly is true that I have come to see clearly since trying to create a new site, is that I’m so very different than the woman I was when I started my trip. Sometimes I feel ancient. And sometimes I feel like a five year old. The trip just changed me so very much that I wanted to make sure that the new blog fit who I’ve become.

And, it does.

Plus I’ve managed to put up almost all of my travel stories from Bihar, India. And about  500 photos!

I’m just finishing up downloading about 100 more photos onto the blog, and then I’ll post the link. I’ve set aside the entire weekend to do this last bit, so visit here Monday for the new link. Really.

Thanks for checking in.

gg