I'm good. I actually kinda agree that its' probably time to emigrate... or move into the woods someplace remote and/ or off the beaten track. I was re-posting a story on the nature of Xenia (hospitality) when I came across a Jordan Peterson Sodom & Gomorrah analysis which signals the "time to leave and not look back"... and it seems to be approaching. I doubt that the election will solve anything.
I'm not sure "Zambia" would be my first choice for Xpat life, but if you can make a go of it, I wish you the best. I know, a vacay is different from a new life, but hey... who knows? Options are good. I just know that I can't go back to Venezuela... perhaps Spain?
On a sad news note, AoW informed me that she had spoken with Elmer's Brother (Elbro) and he told her that Nanc had passed... brain cancer or the like. So another member of our formerly merry band is gone. I put up a small tribute at my blog... I might try and expand a bit if I can find more inspiration.
Hope you and your family are well. When are you leaving for Zambia, soon? Drop a note when you get a chance.
Zambia would definitely not be a permanent location for me. I want to go back because it's the most "real" human experience of love and joy that I've witnessed in a long time. For the entirety of my time there I was able to be present in the moment, and I can't remember the last time that happened. It's selfish of me, really.
I don't think this election will fix a single thing. I hate to say it, and even more I hate to feel it, but I don't see anything getting better. I don't connect with or relate to any one group, politically. Unless there's a group of displaced and disillusioned people out there just as confused as I am. Are they out there?
I can see how there still might be places where there exists a real sense of "community", and how compelling that might be for a member of an isolated group like us. I think that I first sense the isolation in'82 when we moved to Maryland and I bought my house. No one was ever outside in their yards. Kids never played in the streets. People seemed afraid of one another.
Growing up in CA during my childhood, I had experienced the opposite. Huge gangs of kids roamed the streets, playing, chasing one another, yelling at the top of their lungs. That intermixing of kids really helped to socialize the adults. If I was in the house, I always had 3-4 friends with me. And if I was at one of my friends houses, there were always 3-4 kids from different homes there too.
In Maryland, we had to pre-arrange "play-dates" with my children's friends. No one ever came over "uninvited" as asked to play. Our neighbors refused to let our kids play in the backyard with theirs... as our kids were likely thought of as "hooligans", spending their time playing in the backyard. Helicopter parenting was just becoming in vogue.
We've lost so much community... and technology is, IMO, a poor substitute for attempting to recover some of what was lost. I'm delighted to have internet friends, but it's not really the same thing.
I hadn't thought of nanc for a while. I feel sad about that. She was such a good and funny person. And when she went off-line (and probably lived a much fuller life), I felt bad for me, but at the same time, better for her.
Anyways, yes, things are building for change... but I'm not sure it will be change for the "better". I feel like we're losing more and more. Who knows though. I could be completely off base.
7 comments:
I booked another vacation. I can't wait to go back to Zambia. It's not my life I'm trying to escape, it's this country we live in.
How are you?
I'm good. I actually kinda agree that its' probably time to emigrate... or move into the woods someplace remote and/ or off the beaten track. I was re-posting a story on the nature of Xenia (hospitality) when I came across a Jordan Peterson Sodom & Gomorrah analysis which signals the "time to leave and not look back"... and it seems to be approaching. I doubt that the election will solve anything.
I'm not sure "Zambia" would be my first choice for Xpat life, but if you can make a go of it, I wish you the best. I know, a vacay is different from a new life, but hey... who knows? Options are good. I just know that I can't go back to Venezuela... perhaps Spain?
On a sad news note, AoW informed me that she had spoken with Elmer's Brother (Elbro) and he told her that Nanc had passed... brain cancer or the like. So another member of our formerly merry band is gone. I put up a small tribute at my blog... I might try and expand a bit if I can find more inspiration.
Hope you and your family are well. When are you leaving for Zambia, soon? Drop a note when you get a chance.
Why leave? "Muqaddimah" of Ibn Khaldun - Government: "an institution which prevents injustice other than such as it commits itself"
Zambia would definitely not be a permanent location for me. I want to go back because it's the most "real" human experience of love and joy that I've witnessed in a long time. For the entirety of my time there I was able to be present in the moment, and I can't remember the last time that happened. It's selfish of me, really.
I don't think this election will fix a single thing. I hate to say it, and even more I hate to feel it, but I don't see anything getting better. I don't connect with or relate to any one group, politically. Unless there's a group of displaced and disillusioned people out there just as confused as I am. Are they out there?
It's so strange to hear about Nanc passing. About a week ago I thought of her out of the blue.
I can see how there still might be places where there exists a real sense of "community", and how compelling that might be for a member of an isolated group like us. I think that I first sense the isolation in'82 when we moved to Maryland and I bought my house. No one was ever outside in their yards. Kids never played in the streets. People seemed afraid of one another.
Growing up in CA during my childhood, I had experienced the opposite. Huge gangs of kids roamed the streets, playing, chasing one another, yelling at the top of their lungs. That intermixing of kids really helped to socialize the adults. If I was in the house, I always had 3-4 friends with me. And if I was at one of my friends houses, there were always 3-4 kids from different homes there too.
In Maryland, we had to pre-arrange "play-dates" with my children's friends. No one ever came over "uninvited" as asked to play. Our neighbors refused to let our kids play in the backyard with theirs... as our kids were likely thought of as "hooligans", spending their time playing in the backyard. Helicopter parenting was just becoming in vogue.
We've lost so much community... and technology is, IMO, a poor substitute for attempting to recover some of what was lost. I'm delighted to have internet friends, but it's not really the same thing.
I hadn't thought of nanc for a while. I feel sad about that. She was such a good and funny person. And when she went off-line (and probably lived a much fuller life), I felt bad for me, but at the same time, better for her.
Anyways, yes, things are building for change... but I'm not sure it will be change for the "better". I feel like we're losing more and more. Who knows though. I could be completely off base.
Post a Comment