Strangers Abroad

Strangers Abroad_Gimlet by Adrien Behn

Three years ago, I was sitting on an uninspired carpet on my living room floor in Portland,OR and was planning my trip for Latin America. I was living in a sterol apartment with a partner who didn't understand me, a job that was exhausting my passions, and a parasitic feelings of having no direction, which would leave me crying on that irksome carpet. I had always used travel to run away from my problems and knew I needed to leave. So I as was sitting on my plasticy couch and I started off at the uninterested walls of my apartment, I thought about how could I document what was about to happen, and I had been listening to podcasts non-stop at my baking job and thought "maybe I could start one?" Listen to our season finally to see if we have learned what we set out to find.

I met Doron at the beginning of his journey and in my last days of traveling. Although we were at the opposite ends of travel, we still shared one striking commonality: home. Where he had been walking around just hours earlier, was a place I hadn't stood on in months and while he was ready to jump out into the big wide world, I was ready to cozy up in a familiar bed. Our conversation happens when we are back in New York and we discuss the relationship between home and the world and how leaving home can helps you discover who you are when it isn't coddling you. In this episode, we reflect on the benefits of long term backpacking, why he feels connected when he is alone in nature, and why home tastes sweeter when you have been gone for a while.

Blanca, from Spain, and I met at the top of a mountain overlooking Machu Picchu. I know how that sounds. As we walked around the town of Machu Picchu, I was immediately captivated with her storytelling of the ancient man mad feat and with stories from her adventures around the world. At the time, her and her partner, Heiko, from Germany were traveling for a year, dividing their time between Latin America and Asia. She tells us all the areas that surprised her, aspects she has learned about herself and relationship with her partner, and how the world still has lessons to teach her.

On the morning of my father's 58th birthday, I woke up at 4 in the morning on a full bed next to an Austrian boy I had met 16 hours ago in the middle of the Andes. Thomas hopping into the bus within the first few moments of beginning my trek to Machu Picchu. Thomas hoped into the bus and I were the first on a bus from Cusco to Hydroelectric. He was young and present, one of the most mindful people I had met. We kept each other company while enduring a 6 hour whiplash of a ride throughout the Andes. That ride was one of the most diverse of rides I had ever taken as I witnessed how the temperature can so quickly contradict itself, constantly switching between elevation and landscape. At some points, you are surrounded by snow, and then 30 minutes later you could be in a lush forest crossing over a waterfall. Once we got off the bus, we walked for two hours along the train tracks that would bring us to Aguascalientes or the entrance to Machu Picchu. He was someone I quickly felt comfortable walking in silence with, not needing to fill the in the patches of history that happened before we had met, but we allowed ourselves to meditate amongst the wild pyramids sculpted from tectonic shifts, water, and wind. I was relieved once we got to Aguas and wanted nothing more than a place to stretch my sore back and shoulders from my bags digging into my body for the past two hours ( I didn't pack well). We found a cheap hotel to house us for the night with only a full bed. Our relationship had clearly been established as platonic and neither of us blinked at the idea of sharing a bed with a stranger.

Matt and I met under extreme circumstances on evening when we were trapped inside of the chocolate shop due to aggressive protests in the streets of Arequipa, Peru. We were stuck in the cafe for a few hours, and being the only Americans, it was an opportunity for Matt and I to reflect upon our culture and country. We continued the conversation once it was safe to leave the cafe, and Matt and I found a restaurant still open and our conversation floated between our country, traveling to less developed countries, and why he was in Peru in the first place. He was doing a motorcycle trip around the "Gringo trail", which is a path in Peru in the shape of a triangle from Arequipa, Cusco, and Lima, which hits all the big tourist attractions of the country but allows him to ride along the often unseen corners of the country. Matt uses motorcycling not as a way to see all of the landscape quickly but to explore the topography of himself. He casually mentioned that he works in Hollywood and has worked on several blockbuster films and TV shows. We discussed how traveling has helped him find a balance and maintain a humbling perspective about the world when he is working with the upper crust of Hollywood.

Cindy was my Spanish tutor whom I met through Thomas ( from the previous episode) who worked with him through HOOP- the non-for-profit that provides lower-income students with opportunities for higher learning. Cindy's primary job was to teach English to children living in lower socioeconomic areas and provide them with the tools to learn English and other languages. I needed a teacher who wouldn't judge me for the eclectic Spanish I had learned over my months of traveling throughout different Spanish speaking countries and inconsistent studying. As my Spanish improved, Cindy's story became clearer and I she taught me more than just her language- the history and problems of her country, the gender inequality, and the day to day musings of living in Peru, which is what we discuss here in this episode. Forgive the screeching of cars and the shouts of Spanish in the background- you are getting the live action soundtrack to Arequipa Peru. Here is her story.

Thomas, from England, and I met at my first "hangover ceviche" which was always the Sunday morning after a late night of dancing and drinking around Arequipa. He mentioned to the table that a wonderful coworker was teaching him Spanish, and it was refreshing to hear another English speaker find it important to learn the countries language, while so many refuse to put in the effort. Shouting over clinking plates, in between bites of octopus in chimichurri and lime soaked fish, I asked what he was doing in Arequipa and he mentioned that he was working for a non-for profit called HOOP that focused on afterschool programs for underprivileged children in the outskirts of the city. I loved his straight-forward sensibility about social justice, as if it should be a logical default for everyone to practice. Together, we discuss why he chose to leave his corporate job to work for an NGO Abroad, how living in Peru had changed him, and how he had translated his privilege in the world and chooses to use it for the benefit of others.

Rodrigo was a local Peruvian teen who worked at Chaq Chau. While working together, we would do our own twist on language exchange: he helped me with my spanish slang and I helped him create clever DJ names in english. He was always wonderful to talk to about Peruvian culture, identity, and history. But as much as he loves his home country, working in a community of travelers has fed a growing desire to go out and travel around the world. In this episode, we discuss what it is like to grow up in Peru, how working in an expat community has influenced his identity, perception of his own culture, and future goals to explore the world. We get the chance to talk to someone who is still untouched from the changes of travel, but I admire Rodrigo's ambitions to see what lies beyond his homeland and hope his desire to learn never leaves him.

If you have ever had any hesitations about traveling- I highly suggest you listen to this episode. Michelle is the archetypal advocate for long distance travel and is brimming with enthusiasm over the challenges, uncomfortableness, and struggles one experiences while traveling abroad, which to many may seem bizarre. Michelle is an individual who lives wholeheartedly and embraces the growth that comes with the challenge- discussing alternative opinions, getting sick, eating new foods, or dancing to a new rhythm- Michelle is her truest self when traveling and is in alignment with this podcasts philosophy- you don't know who you are or what the world has to offer until you go out and find it for yourself.