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
Universe
Airbnb — Fantastic If You Know the Ropes
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.
A Country Within
Cool Stuff You Can Buy At A Market Not Near Your House
Kyoto Japan — pickled radishes
I am not a shopper. But when I travel, I love shopping — not at Zara or Desigual — but at local markets, where members of the community sell what they grow or make. Every market visit is an education in local culture and every market is a place to feel connected to the local community. People are happy — or at least hopeful. And that kind of shopping doesn’t require you to buy anything to make you feel good.
The Painful Loneliness and Glorious Solitude of Traveling Alone
Cairo, Egypt
“Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone and solitude expresses the glory of being alone.”
— Paul Tillich, German Philosopher
For most of the past three years, I have traveled the world on my own and, yes, some days I wake up dreading another day alone. I am a social person. I miss my family and friends at home, and I love traveling as a team. So why do I keep traveling the world alone?
The Angels in the Details
Sculpture in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia
I love taking photographs when I travel, but I am selective about it because cameras can make you an outsider, an observer instead of a participant. One thing I like about having a camera is that, even if I don’t use it, I pay a little more attention to the details.
Home Sweet Wherever It Is
My “real” home in California
In traditional cultures, where you live is a big part of who you are. Many Americans, on the other hand, tend to view our communities as way stations to somewhere else. Most of us leave home at an early age and don’t return to raise our kids in the communities where we grew up. As we age, many of us move again for economic reasons or to be with the grandchildren our children are raising somewhere else. Continue reading
The Souls of All Folk
Like most parents of active boys, I got a few phone calls from school over the years. Remembering them, I usually laugh. He stole a potato chip from Emily! But one of them still turns my stomach. When I was at work one day, the principal of Gabe’s school called to say Gabe had been “acting up” all week whenever his teacher read aloud to the class. This wasn’t Gabe’s usual venue for mischief so after a few minutes on the phone I asked what book the teacher was reading.
