WALKING ON THIN ICE

^ Venice, Italy: Reflection of father and child in a pool with strewn confetti

I thought before these travels that it would just be shy little me and outrageous Steve going from country to country. But into our seventh month, I’m a more confident person. I feel I can do anything. I think that the journey is a transformative machine. We cannot pass through different environments and remain unchanged. We are affected by what we do.

Steve and I went in to Pula via bus for the last time Wednesday. I took all my unfinished art pieces and sat them against a 2000 year old 50 foot tall arch. We took photos and then watched them for a while, and then left them there. Steve said it’s my first solo art show. On the back of each one, we wrote our contact information and “Free Art.”

 

^ My art “installation” in Pula, Croatia. The arches are from 27 B.C. We were sad to leave Croatia. So far, it’s our favorite country. We felt at peace here because of the natural beauty. We had the ability to create art and write, unhindered by most social obligations. Friday morning, our host family drove us to the bus station and we bused to Trieste, Italy. Then we took FIVE trains from Italy to the southwest coast of France.  

      

Pula Arches  

We’ve got a gradual revelation of what we want and are able to be and do. Traveling is tiring. Moving from place to place is awful. Living without permanent conveniences and luxuries like blenders and baths frays the nerves. But seeing beauty and learning about a different way of life and language is fun. It’s big fun exploration–a big wonderful discovery–once we actually get unpacked and settle in.  

It’s not fair of me to categorize entire countries. But it’s all I seem to do! We find our impressions of countries are affected by our own moods, the weather, and regional differences. We went to Zagreb, Croatia, and it seemed as gritty as Krakow, Poland. And Zagreb is very very different from the coast. If we had only gone to Zagreb, we would’ve had the wrong impression of the entire country.

Here are my impressions of young women. I’m always checking them out, trying to make sense of fashion. These impressions are based on my limited experience and misunderstanding. Again, not fair:

Pula, Croatia: beautiful, sincere, artistic, articulate, contrary, intelligent, serious, jeans everywhere, long hair straight and highlighted or short hair cut in French pixie style, fur trim popular on coats

Krakow, Poland: beautiful, mercenary, contrary, depressed, jeans everywhere, asymmetric and razor-edged hair styles vogue

London: beautiful, stylish, materialistic, snobbish, irreverent, tech-savvy, no jeans and dressy sneakers and very cute short jackets

Amsterdam: punk, artistic, noncommunicative, irreverent, snobbish, sloppy, no jeans, sexy boots

Ohio: sloppy, humble, friendly, optimistic, uninformed, stubborn, innocent, jeans and white sneakers, neglected hair

Italy: spunky funky and sometimes sexy. Some wear hair in skinny long braids like dreadlocks.

France: beautiful, delicate, nuanced. Hair in gorgeous disarray, sometimes gathered and twisted with random braids.

Other observations: No one wears white sneakers or sportswear or t-shirts outside of America. No one jogs on the streets. And everyone goes to a salon and has good or weird hair. All the young men in all countries look the same, even in Amsterdam. All the young adults speak English. Older adults do not speak English unless they work with the public in a major city. Everyone smokes cigarettes everywhere all the time. In continental Europe, everyone goes to cafes. There is no food at the cafes. Only hot and cold drinks. In Croatia and Poland, everyone drinks alcohol, all day long. In Croatia and Italy, you can get cocoa, which is like watery hot chocolate in the U.S., or you can get hot chocolate, which is like melted chocolate candy bar. I’m addicted to the latter. I miss, miss, miss Ohioans. I miss the friendliness, the curiosity, the optimism, the humility. 

Abeilhan, France