Reflections from the past month and a half…

My husband considered the purchases for the motorcycle. I thought about the personal items not as easily accessible in Romania as at our local Walmart, like a First Aid kit, compass, flashlight, zip ties, duct tape, mosquito spray, and sunscreen to name a few. However, over the past two weeks, we recognized we had prepared for the Romania which may still exist in the rural areas, but certainly is no longer true in the cities. Praktiker, Metro, and Real carry these products and much more!

But truly for me, leaving work was to be the most difficult. The realization of life without a job, without a network of friends, without a car, without a paycheck, without a computer, without a cell phone, without a credit card, without insurance, and without housing bills has been incomprehensible for me most days. Our life of things seemed inconsequential. They were simply boxed and labeled – all tucked neatly into approximately 10 x 10 square feet of space.

I quickly was faced with the idea that I had NO idea where tomorrow and the future would take me. Had I always been in complete control of my environment? Was work just an artificial pretense without understanding my real interests and real self?

Yes, I was trading in my very comfortable existence with a job, an apartment and my Ann Taylor pant suits, Brooks Brothers dress shirts, and Danskos along with the office and travel lifestyle that I had grown so very accustomed to. Isn’t this just an American way to express our image? We brand everything! Everything we wear! Everything we experience!

I was willingly exchanging all of this for what? My new style would be practical and simple. I would wear a motorcycle jacket and pants, jeans, bandanas, and boots. My only certainty in a day for months would be riding on a motorcycle. Home would become truly the plaque that my grandmother cross-stitched for me: HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS.

My office is the space I am in today. My travel is where it takes me often without being able to understand anything around me. I am simply experiencing things through sights and sounds. – HSR