small worlds and the spaces in between

there was this great documentary i had watched a few months ago called 'life in a day'.  it is a collection of videos from 192 different countries and it is assembled to show how life is different all over the world.  the film has a few reoccurring characters but the one which stood out the most to me was this man from Korea who had been riding his bicycle around the world for over nine years. he has been almost everywhere one could imagine and ironically his contribution to the documentary happened when he was currently in Nepal.

he starts with a haircut.  i started with a haircut.  you feel fresh and rejuvenated after you get your hair cut and head massaged or perhaps a clean straight-razor shave.  it was however an interesting observation this man had made that intrigued me.  the bicyclist from Korea was looking to a small dish with a fly on it, perhaps eating the last crumbs of his breakfast.  'i have seen many types of fly in many places' he said, 'and they are different in every country.'  then he names several different countries each great distances from each other.  i thought to myself that is the true sign that someone has traveled and seen the world.  so of course i thought about the things i've seen and perhaps taken for granted.

for some reason the first thing that popped in my head was the crow.  the first time i saw a crow (karga) in Turkey i was really taken back by how much bigger and more beautiful they are.  they have this puff of grey feathers on their chest that almost gleams with a blue in certain lights.  Turks even believe that a crow can live for hundreds of years whereas its hard for me to believe they can live for more than twelve.  i thought about toilets.  i thought about Bulgaria and my first time ever seeing a full bathroom shower/toilet all in one.  i was marveled by this.  the first Bulgarian toilet i ever visited was four large life-size mirrors painted with gaudy golden leaves around the edges and a large shower head in the center of the ceiling.  toilets are different everywhere and sometimes they can truly challenge you if you dont have much experience (specifically doing the so called 'asian squat' which i am actually quite fond of).

food and eating customs are different everywhere.  i was was offered to share some of a stranger's breakfast in Morocco and i foolishly dove my left hand into the meal.  anyone who understands Moroccan culture or actually most Muslim cultures would understand that the left hand is never to be used for eating.  amateur mistake.  in Japan, Tokyo specifically, one will surely eat faster than they are used to.  meals are often accompanied by a slurp and as in China or other eastern Asian countries it can be quite a shock to watch from an outsider's perspective.

i thought about that fly and i thought deeper about it when i finally arrived in Nepal.  in this place, flies are quite similar but not the same as those dark black horse flies in northern Michigan with red eyes and they can grasp you with much more courage than a normal fly will.  in Nicaragua i swear to God i saw a fly the size of my fist once!  in Samoa i was shocked at how cowardly they are even though humans are constantly covered in delicious sweat and bare skin.

i've seen street cats that are taken care of much better than any street person.  i've seen dogs that are so hungry they will stop at nothing to take down any living thing that comes near them.  i've seen trees that are bushy and full of life-giving water.  i've seen deserts with tiny shrubs that grow against all odds in tiny cracks along the desert floor.  in Macedonia i've seen towering cylinders of trees lined with white buds that somehow only begin to grow upon immediate arrival across the border of Albania.  i've seen banyan trees who have slowly claimed the lives of other trees by surrounding them and strangling them completely.  i've also seen cities made entirely from stone and the idea of 'tree' has been long and sadly forgotten.

and people..  i've met the best people this world can offer.  i did this long before i ever left home.  my standards for what makes a good person has been dramatically biased from the love i was raised around.  some people out here call me friendly and happy all the time while others think i'm foolishly naive of people and very susceptible to be taken advantage of.  i'm no fool though.  i've been burned one too many times but more importantly i've experienced people from many walks of life.  some cultures promote hospitality while others shy away from it.  some people are nice out of a duty to Karmic laws or religious obligation to certain texts while some others are kind simply because they are good people.  and some are evil... i've seen evil.  i'll not write about evil.

where am i?  i'm in central Nepal watching life slowly and beautifully pass by.  i'm watching the bakers and shop keepers and the tiny Tibetan women who move their merchandise through various blanketed corners in town.  i'm making several unsuccessful visits to internet cafes to begin planning how i'm going to get to Argentina in October.  fate shall decide, i'm not concerned.  money passes from right hand and flows out from the left.  time passes like water and nothing is certain to last forever.  it is because of these basic and unchanging rules that i travel in the way that i do.  just go.  get up and go.  the world will continue to turn with or without you.  maybe it is strange that i'm fueled by the desire to see how flies, birds and trees are different but there is nothing strange about wanting to experience different cultures and different people.  heavens... it is by no means a small world in fact it is a f*cking huge world!  those who say it is a small world live in a small world and perhaps they are okay with that but i'm not.  i'll no longer wear my maps on my walls but carry them with me and cover them with red lines and circles making my travels.

damn i slept good last night.. what will today bring?  i could only wonder...