Anyone out there remember the glory days of The Littlest Hobo? Oh the wonder of London the German Shepard! Was there no plot she couldn't spoil? No wrong she couldn't right? If you have no clue what I'm talking about, you should Google "The Littlest Hobo", you should also check out the theme song... a skippy little beat from which the title of this small blog is taken. I don't know who sings it.
I loved The Littlest Hobo as a kid. My favorite part is the end when whomever the dog has just saved starts talking about what a wonderful life the two of them will have together. But London just walks away, pausing briefly to glance over her shoulder... no comfortable life can hold her, the whole world is her home.
I'm feeling a bit hobo-esq lately. At the end of the summer I left my comfortable little apartment in Lac La Biche and my full time job and with it a lovely reliable income. I started my wanderings by driving my wee Hyundai Accent from Calgary Alberta to St. Catharine's Ontario - crossing the borders of three provinces and four states. The drive found me attempting to smuggle dangerous lilies into the US, crossing the geographical center of North America (in Rugby, North Dakota, if you're interested) and being mistakenly referred to drug rehab in Grand Forks Minnesota... but that is another tale.
From the concrete oasis of Southern Ontario I flew to Budapest, Hungary to spend two weeks volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, followed by six weeks of wandering aimlessly through Eastern Europe. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of wandering... but the whole trip felt less than fulfilling. Perhaps it was because I had done it with very little forethought, or because I had left everything and everyone so suddenly. Or maybe (and very likely) it was because the trip was mostly an attempt to shock myself back into feeling fully alive; it was a reaction to the prospect of living a completely common life.
At any rate... I then found myself back in Southern Ontario, somewhat in hiding and wondering what to do with my life. So after many hours on the internet and a few more arguably rash decisions, I again committed myself to going to a foreign country. A quick stop back in Alberta to see family and friends and top up the bank account and that brings me to this moment right now.
Tomorrow I will get on a plane to Nairobi, Kenya to spend two months volunteering in a medical clinic and then a month traveling around. I don't know exactly what I expect from this adventure, I'm trying to keep my expectations minimal. I am hoping at least to discern if working in developing countries and aid work is something I could see myself doing on a more permanent basis. Maybe I will meet some good people, make a few friends and learn something about myself... but well, I guess I'm getting into the realm of expectations now.
If nothing else I'd like to see some elephants. I really like elephants.
1 comment:
Hi I found your blog extremely interesting, especially cause I'm extremely bored at work and i hope you don't mind but I forwarded it to a friend who i thought might get some incite from it as well cause u both have canadian ties. I'm gonna keep reading and please keep writting your adventures are so different from what I get the oppertunity to read and see :)
Post a Comment