The Slavs
It's been such a shock to be back in the West, trying to adjust to the cost of things and being surrounded by white people again. Crossing the border from Turkey, it was obvious, as it usually is, we were suddenly in a very different country. The first thing I noticed was the overt sexuality of the women. The hair extensions, 4 inch heels, collagen, implants, mini skirts and cleavage were extreme. The women in Bulgaria make SoCal girls look like Persians. Think Jenna Jameson wannabes.
I was in shock for the first few days after being in Asia and for the last month in Islamic areas. It was actually offensive and seemed kind of pathetic. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good photos of the girls at their best. They weren't the friendliest people I've met on this journey. Everyone can't be happy all the time :) It might just be the language barrier? It's difficult to find people who speak English here so we've been having fun drawing pictures and using our hands in some kind of idiot's sign language. My heart is kind of broken to be gone from the land of Lord Buddha. I was so ready to leave India but now that I'm here I really did fall so in love with Asia. I can't tell you what I would say after living in Nepal for a few years so I'm not sure how realistic my perspective is but I'm not really feeling the love from Europe yet.
The history in this part of the world is of course pretty amazing. Bulgaria is a land where prehistoric cultures dating back some 8,000 years existed. Culture after culture built on top of one another. And like Greece or Turkey, ruins lay everywhere. Excavation sites were as common as parking lots back home. You walk around any corner and people are digging and shoveling up ancient cities. The sites seem a little more casual than you would expect from an archaeological dig. Plastic lawn chairs sit under rainbow umbrellas and wheelbarrows and shovels are strewn over the site. It doesn't appear to be official business, more like a large sandbox with children's bright colored sand pails. Which is kind of cool actually because you can saunter through some of them and no one seems to mind.
We spent only four nights in Bulgaria, two in Plovdiv the second largest city after Sophia with only 350,000 people and two in Veliko Turnovo. This may explain why I really don't have too much to say. We're back on a whirl wind tour, this time of the Balkans. Off to Macedonia...
The Love Blog - Preach on Preacher
Turkey is a gorgeous, romantic country. We've spent the last week on the southern coast in Kas. It's a small sun drenched town perched on a hillside overlooking the clear blue Mediterranean sea. Although the country is considered the gateway between East and West it feels very European after our 3 1/2 month stay in Asia.
The food is the same for breakfast, lunch and dinner; french bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, eggs, chicken and lamb. I never thought I would say this, but I am so sick of french bread. Our days consist of going to the beach, walking around, eating at sidewalk cafes, drinking wine and having apple tea with the local shop owners. The daily Islamic prayer calls, dictated by the lunar calendar, wake us up at 4:30 AM over the city wide loud speaker.
Kas is Turkey's adventure sport Mecca so of course we ended up here. We went diving in the cold water to a deep canyon where we saw a huge octopus hiding in the rock and the stern of a boat wreck. We also took a day boat cruise to see a sunken city, destroyed by an earthquake in 100 BC. Ancient ruins are everywhere. It's strange as an American, with our few hundred years of history, to learn the monument you're casually leaning up against was built in 400 BC.
In one of my first blogs I talked about the fact that the trip wasn't something that happened to me like winning the lottery. I had the desire to travel the world and made it happen. Life doesn't just happen to you although it's easier to think that it does so you needn't take any responsibility for the outcome when things don't go as planned. You have to pursue life and make an effort to create the life you want. How you spend your days, what profession you choose and how much you enjoy it, how your relationships work out - all of it is manifested by you.
I fell in love when I was 20 years old with one of my best friends. I spent 15 years trying to get up the nerve to tell him how I felt but never did. I made zero effort and thought that if it was meant to be it would just happen. I look back now and realize that it didn't happen, not because it wasn't meant to be between us but because I didn't pursue it. Unless you put it out there, put yourself out there, you will never know what's possible. In life and in love - the island is there to discover. It will pass you by if you don't jump in and swim like crazy. "Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk."
Life's what you make it
Can't escape it
Celebrate it
Anticipate it
Yesterday's faded
Nothing can change it
Istanbul
Life as We Know It
It was strange how much like home it felt to us. The other times I've traveled to Europe I felt like I had arrived in a romantic land far, far away. Europe always seemed so...well...European. After spending two and a half months in India and Nepal, Vienna looked exactly like Seattle. The only apparent differences were the language, the license plates and the number of bakeries. Life in the West has it's advantages; more conveniences, but a little less colorful.
Spiritual Collectivism vs. Individualism
Kashmir is a dramatic area of India. The landscape is right out of a fairytale. We arrived after a treacherous 13 hour drive from McLeod Ganj to a town called Pahalgam set in the Himalayan foothills. Wild horses roamed everywhere. Out of the window of our guest house, the sound of galloping horses and rushing water from the Himalayan river were constant companions. The place was beautiful and wild.
Kashmir is a territory divided between India and Pakistan. The two countries have fought three wars over Kashmir. The most recent began in 1989 and the violence continued until 2003 during which time over 70,000 people died. In 2001 it was probably one of the most dangerous places in the world. I knew it was considered a dangerous vacation spot but I felt relatively safe considering the overwhelming military presence. Soldiers with automatic guns stood every 50 feet and a military base could be seen every 10 kilometers along the roads. Although 80% of India's population practices Hinduism the northwesternmost region is Muslim. The reasons for the conflict in this region are several and I understand very little. From what I've read, Pakistan has claimed the role of speaking for the Indian Muslims in Kashmir and giving them moral and political support. Including providing covert arms and training to terrorists and subversives. Inevitably where there is religious conflict, there is war.
I talked to our guide about Islam. He shared the same values as the Hindus and Buddhists I had spoken to in other parts of India. These people talk about religion all the time. It is consistently on the tip of their tongues. They all share the belief that all people are the same. All religions are the same and all people are connected. It's a very spiritual country and it doesn't seem to matter what religion they profess because when you sit and talk with them they say that the real temple is inside of each of us. If you need guidance, look no further than your own heart. Where ever you go, there you are.
The Eastern cultures teach individuals they are dependent upon one another. They are dependent on nature, on their communities and on their families. So it would be appropriate that they all speak regularly of the connectedness of all things. The innate cultural connectedness gives meaning to their lives. In the West we are raised with the concept of the individual. Our nation was built upon the idea that we can and must make it on our own. As early as 13 or 14 years old begin planning our departure from our homes and families. If a 25 year old lives at home with their parents people wonder what's wrong. We live our lives alone without communities, without feeling connected to others on a regular basis. This may drive us to give meaning to our lives. This perhaps explains why we are more technologically advanced? Our feelings of disconnectedness make us discontented and push us forward to create. We are desperately on the move. We spend our days at work and we try to fill our free time with various activities. When we relax with others it is usually in front of a TV or with a six pack. The people here spend their lives together. They do everything together. They know if they are to help themselves they need to help everyone around them.