Swamp of normalness

Dear past me,

You`ve succeeded! It`s been 4 month since my return to Holland and I regard myself enough 'future me` to respond to your tales and your expectation that I would smile while reading them. I hope others have done the same. And no, none of your predictions came true: I`ve seen enough bears (and I am sure there were plenty more that went undetected), but none of them had brought their napkin and cutlery. For all the lumberjack princes who I would bewife.....I guess they were either too many or too less trees around for me to spot them. So now I am stuck with 13 unused plaid shirts. I did end up at a sort of Second Harvest Food Bank though, but I must admit that the owners look very familiar to me. They let me call them 'Mom and Dad`, how nice. It doesn`t really count as a prediction though, because I already knew when I left that I would find shelter at my parents place.

What did happen? Well, first of all, you came back as a very proud and happy Nennie. One of those who are enriched with worldly experience and the knowledge that there are astounding people and places across the ocean. One that feels good about herself, because she doesn`t only dares to dream, but also finds her ways to fulfill them. I experienced that knowing I can do that, fills me with endless optimism. About what I can achieve, what others can achieve, what the world can achieve if minds are set on opportunities and openness without fear. To live and be occupied in the here and now, instead of lingering over past regrets and future hazards. Okay, so far my philosophical thoughts. Reality is that coming back from such a hack of a trip (and freedom), means you have to deal again with a small world (literally, here in Holland). Where people have expectations of you and daily life hardly has any adventure in it. So the logical thing to happen is to get dragged in this swamp of normalness, while you try to keep you head up. I managed fairly well however, due to former experience in this field. Lifting myself out of the mud whenever I was reading a book about (traveling in) America – since I`ve all the time for it now in contrast to the months before I departed –. Sinking further into the mud whenever someone asked me if I already found a job. No, looking for work was not on my mind yet. Reviving was my priority number ONE. Being on the road for 10 months, clocking 50,000 km, wears you out, big time. Especially when the hard disk is completely full and I couldn`t dream enough dreams anymore to store my experience in vacant brain cells. It took me two complete months to settle down again, doing hardly more than drinking coffee with my parents, playing tennis (or rather trying to do something that resembled tennis) and the occasional meet-and-greet with friends.

Finally, relaxation kicked in and I was ready to set myself to the task to find a new job. This was great, because in a way it is an adventure on its own. And this Nennie just loves adventures. It didn`t turned out to be a very day filling adventure though. After some initial installments of (fishing) lines, there was basically nothing more to do than wait around for the right fish to come along. So, I played some additional tennis, while other people were busy worrying about my chances to find a job. Surely, it wouldn`t come that easy and surely I would not find a job that would 'please me`, according to general expectations. Thankfully, others had more faith in me: the big fish did come along pretty soon and after a few bites, it hooked ME for the future years to come.

And here I am, resting from my first day at work and writing my last blog. For this journey that started two years back. When the seed that I planted a decade ago appeared to be hatching and send me on a rollercoaster ride. The preparations, which according to the diamond Nennie rule, were about doing a billion other things than actually preparing me. The celebrations, which according to the golden Nennie rule, were about marking a new beginning and rejoicing the good old times with my friends and family. The road trip, that according to the saffron Nennie rule was all about being open to time, environment and people to guide me through a once-in-a-life-time-journey. Once??? Well no way, I`ve done it before and I will do it again! Just wait and see.

For now, I am just smiling all the time, reliving many sights, meetings and stories, as they are part of me. Except that it still feels like it happened in another space continuum. Far away from here, in another life. The pictures proof me otherwise, because it is really me smiling into the camera! Reading my stories remind of how I made the right decisions in my preparations: buying a bike in Alaska; pre-meeting with people on the internet, so I had a sort of welcoming party upon arrival; enlisting for the Dust-to-Dawson motorbike event, so I met every adventurous biker visiting Alaska and Canada at the same time. It also reminds me of how folly I was not to bring a tent, as I mistakenly thought the USA was covered in hostels (many thanks to Mark for giving me a campsite dwelling). For the journey itself, I had no expectations whatsoever before I took the plane to Anchorage. That`s how everything just came as it presented itself. I saw the open, empty, vast lands and forest in the north, with ancient history from the first nations and stunning glaciers. I saw the gentle life of Canadians in the more populated areas where outdoor sports and biologic food are mainstream. I saw the busy cities of the States, all unique in their own way, in their most beautiful moments (i.e. Mardi Gras) and their most ugly moments (poverty and social unbalance), I saw the most weird and wide landscapes and forms in beautiful National Parks and State Parks, I tasted the Mexican and Cuban influences in the Southern States, I enjoyed the mighty wildlife, dodging a few examples on the roads and I donated 100 gallons of blood to all the mozzies I encountered on my trip. Never did I feel unsafe, never did I feel unwelcome and never did I feel lost.

Thanks to all of you who have read my blogs, kept me company on my journey, showed me were to go, offered me places to sleep and filled my heart with joy and warmth by sharing your own stories. Thanks to all Americans and Canadians who showed me their country so I could embrace it with my heart. You showed me the deeper layers of your society and the unique features of every state I crossed. Thanks to Mother Nature, just for being so unbelievable majestic. Thanks to my own little preciouszzzzzz, my bikey, that kept me safe and never let me down. And last I really want to thank my family, for their support and love makes the universe endless for me.

See you at my next adventure!