Mural in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
With all of the problems in the world and all of my opinions, if I am going to complain about something, it should be about Something Big, right? No. Other people are doing that exceptionally well and I am trying to avoid giving myself ulcers. So here’s a kvetch about something small and a little bit important.
I recently read an article by American journalist, Chris Hedges, which proposed that “societies are held together by a web of social bonds that give individuals a sense of being part of a collective and engaged in a project larger than the self.” https://riseuptimes.org/2018/12/30/american-anomie-by-chris-hedges/
This simple idea reminded me of the many times friends and family have asked me to describe my “volunteer work” with the refugees in Greece or the Caravan in Mexico. I never have a good answer. I say the people I met were kind and grateful in spite of their physical and emotional challenges. I say they were running from persecution created by the neo-liberal world order and forever wars, that some of them played cards on a blanket under a tree.
You have probably heard the phrase “If you remember the 1960’s, you weren’t there.” Well, Anado McLauchlin was there and he remembers a lot. He hung out with the Grateful Dead in San Francisco, Rajneesh in India, and the literati in Greenich Village. And then 17 years ago, Anado (not his original Born-in-Oklahoma name) settled down in the countryside outside San Miguel de Allende to pursue his passion for art. Continue reading
Artwork by Allie Brosh.
The nomadic life is full of joy and surprises but it wouldn’t be travel if it didn’t come with annoyances. Just like real life! I have had my share of travel annoyances which, ironically I guess, usually remind me of my privileges in one way or another — because all travel annoyances are First World Problems. Continue reading
For kids of all ages, travel provides an education in history, other cultures, other ways of thinking and moving in the world. I knew Bella and Avery would learn a lot on our journey in Europe — but I didn’t realize how much traveling with them might be an education for me.
I have been nomadic for most of the past three years, and some days I don’t know where I will be next month. Since I don’t have a home, I am forced to decide where to land on a continuing basis. My friend Emily asked me at lunch the other day how I decide where to go. And I guess I make decisions the same way most travelers do — except more often. Continue reading
My Airbnb cottage on the Greek Island of Lesvos where I awoke to clanging sheep bells and made friends with local chickens.
Airbnb has changed the way I travel. I have stayed Airbnb apartments, houses, farms and cottages all over the world, in places as far flung as Japan, Armenia, Peru, and Sweden. Traveling with Airbnb, I have lived in neighborhoods that most tourists never see. I have cooked and shopped like a local. Best of all, I have met wonderful people I never would have met if I had stayed in a hotel.
