Love and Happiness

So, I've been wrestling about my actual destination. So I've decided to do a Pro and Con list of where I am wanting to travel. I really want to see the world. I've been to India before, and I really have a strong desire to return. I've also been to Germany and France, but didn't get to explore as much as I wanted and would like to go back. I've also been to Japan with the Military, but the restrictions that that were placed on me while in the country limited my experience dramatically. I want my trip to last as long as I can make it last.

Europe is expensive but filled a history I have always felt so drawn to. From Greece to Spain to Ireland, I have always loved the deep history is ingrained into the earth and cultures that make up most of my heritage.

But the purpose of this trip is for me to be able to get away, simplify, learn about myself, and to give back in some way. And encountering Europe on a shoestring budget is extremely difficult. So I think it would be best for me to put off Europe for something I can explore with a future partner.

When I arrived in India in 2008, I was immediately bombarded by an attack of my senses. From the obvious smells: It smelt like rotting garbage, smog, and shit in India. Dying people littered the streets, it's not uncommon to step over people, and poverty is real. It was difficult to be faced with all of that every single day. People crying and begging in the streets with no place to go. The blind Muslim guy that would sing songs from the Qur'an as he walked the streets every night.

But I want to give India more than I have now. I want to give her myself when I have an education in something purposeful and practical. Whether it is education, film, health...I don't know. This current trip is to find that part of myself that I have been missing my entire life. I don't know what that is, but I am confident that I will find it on this trip.

A friend recently suggested South America, and in the past I've thought about traveling a little of Central and South America. Plane tickets to Panama are extremely cheaper ($180), and I would like some money to achieve some life goals, I mean, it's one thing to travel on a budget. It's another to all of a sudden be stranded and homeless in another country. I could finally have a reason to get my Scuba Diving License, which is a practical and achievable goal. I'm talking with some owners of a cheap hostel down there about surfing lessons, again another goal I would like to take up. Plus, I'd be in great travel proximity to some other pretty awesome travel spots.

So, I think I'm going to take that route. Stay in this hemisphere this time, save some money and stretch out the trip longer. If I somehow end up halfway across the globe (don't roll your eyes, I've met people in India who only intended on staying in Costa Rica for two weeks but decided to abandon it all for the road and life took them there), I'm fine with that. I decided to begin my trip in Boca Del Toro, Panama where I will be staying at a hostel for a few weeks ($9 a night, includes communal kitchen, free breakfast, free coffee, surf lessons, surf board rentals, this place is top notch). I'm going here to just get away for a little while. Explore nature. Camp. "Find myself". As cliche as that sounds and as much as you don't agree, those who know how I feel can relate.

So, this doesn't really change anything. I'm still on this journey. And I can't dismiss Central and South American cultures in my search for understanding and education. Their history is just as rich and full of life.

I have a lot to learn.