In an otherwise ridiuclously beautiful city, we arrived in Seville to find the Andalusian capital in the grips of a mounting garbage workers strike. We sent the youngest of our tribe to investigate the situation and, in doing so, we can all learn a thing or two about global economics through the prism of a country where the unemployment rate hovers around 25 percent. (Other than the occasional garbage piles, one of the remarkable things about Seville is that the streets are lined with orange trees everywhere, making the place uniquely magical to an orange-loving family.)
OUR CUB REPORTER: SEVILLE GARBAGE STRIKE
JEN REPORTS: TRAVELS WITH BUBS (A BIRTHDAY MESSAGE)
As I travel the globe, there is one thought I have most every place I go: “My mother would have loved this.” I felt it palpably last Saturday night as I sat in Lisbon and listened to the old men of the neighborhood sing Fado music. I felt it on the first leg of our journey in the Galapagos, and it was a constant refrain to my children all through Asia. It was a relief to finally have her visit with us in Istanbul. I was just able to appreciate how much she loved it, instead of feeling what might have been.
My mother can make friends with anyone. There has never been a plane trip where she has not gotten someone’s number and made a promise to get in touch some day soon. And there has never been a museum she hasn’t yearned to go into or a vista she has passed without appreciating. So each time we speak to a stranger or I try to corral the family into a museum I think of her. Today is her 75th birthday. As Franny will attest, Mark and I are not so good at birthdays. But this year, we celebrate, you — Mom, Gail Busbie — who for a brief time we had as our traveling companion around the world. Happy birthday. This journey is a testament to you and your innate sense of curiosity. Thank you for instilling it in me. — Jen
Be forewarned: If you fly your mother to Istanbul and tell her how much you truly loved spending a week with her, you might elicit this kind of reaction. Love is a messy business.
OFF-SEASON TRAVELERS
There’s high season. There’s low season. Then there’s January 27th. One of the great joys of traveling for a whole year is that for large swaths of time, you get the world to yourself.
AN ARTIST IN BARCELONA
As we explore the planet, one of our favorite things is getting up in other people’s business. Our M.O. is “Shoot first and ask questions later.” At El Ingenio, a shop dedicated to papier-mâché costumes, puppets and carnival masks since 1830, we slipped quietly into the back room and filmed the artist in his workshop. He spoke no English and we exchanged no words. We simply captured a man at work. What a joy it is to see talented people do what they love. CAUTION: Do not watch if you suffer from fear of clowns.
FOUR FAVORITE FILMS (SO FAR)
As of this writing — at the unofficial halfway point of our journey — we have made 68 short films. We make these “souvenir films” for two main reasons: To share our experiences with our friends and virtual travel companions around the world — and ultimately for ourselves, so one day when our memory fails us, we’ll be able to click and relive these moments and remember what we felt when we were alone together for a year. Choosing our favorites among these videos is a difficult task. It’s easy to point to the most viewed, or the most commented upon, but anyone’s favorite is a matter of taste. Here are four little films that we really love — and for more recent followers, a chance to glimpse some early adventures:
WHY WE GO Posted as we walked out the door, this is our attempt to explain what leads a family to abandon their lives to discover the world:
EL DIARIO DE LAS GALAPAGOS While many videos encapsulate an adventure in a single day, this one brings together the experiences of an entire extraordinary week (with subtitles):
THIS IS WHAT TOMORROW LOOKS LIKE On an overnight train from Melbourne to Sydney, we woke jet-lagged before the dawn and all wrote about it:
MARRIAGE CORNER A fascinating morning with a uniquely enthusiastic guy in a remarkable setting. All the ingredients of a lovely little black and white souvenir:
Please tell us which videos have been your personal favorites along the way. The Small Guides? Tokyo Morning Coffee Run? Jewish Cowboys of Peru? Ecuadorian Daydream? An Artist In Kyoto? None of the above? We’d love to hear your thoughts.
THIS IS WHAT 10 LOOKS LIKE
Today we celebrate the first decade of Finn. Happy birthday to a remarkable kid — philosopher, writer, muse, pool shark, geography expert, the original Optimistic Eye, our travel companion and guide. He surely has more stamps in his passport than most ten years olds on the planet — and he even knows how especially lucky he is. What will the next decade hold? We look forward to finding out, but we’re in no great hurry. We’ll savor this year in his company.
KERALA SUNSET
We’ve seen a lot of sunsets on our journey — but only one worth making a movie about. They call Kerala “God’s Own Country.” Maybe these images help explain why. With this short film, we bid farewell (namaskār) to India. When we arrived in this country, the kids were a little afraid to step out of the airport. When it was time to depart, they didn’t want to leave. None of us did. We’re already planning our return.
FINN REPORTS: OUR (YOUNG) MAN IN INDIA
In Varanasi, we spent a day visiting the 18-year old son of our close friends. Willy Gansa has been living there since September, participating in the Bridge Year Program before he begins his freshman year at Princeton University next fall. We asked our own young cub reporter Finn Flackett-Levin to write about Willy and our time with him. (As you read the following, you might consider that 9-year old Finn just read “The Catcher In The Rye” for the first time. Was he influenced by J.D. Salinger? You be the judge.)
THE INFORMATION Well, where do I begin? We are going to skip the trash about Willy making a difference, because in truth, all you have to know is he is making a difference. He is working for a Canadian NGO in Varanasi, India, a city on the banks of the Ganga (Hindi name for Ganges). Now, all that stuff about him working long hours, getting sick, and eating scary foods is all true, but he made the choice to go, and he is the truest person I’ve ever met. He will take those experiences to his soul, and live with them. Now, I don’t want to get into details, but I would be more scared than a mouse with a snake if I did that. He has adapted, and every other kid in Princeton’s Bridge Year Program in Varanasi will adapt.
THE BRIDGE YEAR Now, the bridge year isn’t a year abroad, and it isn’t a gap year, it is unique. Princeton has made a program in which you sign up to go to Peru, China, Senegal, or India. Willy chose India. He said he was interested in such a thriving and unique culture different from his own. Now, if I know Willie, he does not do anything that would make you sick to your soul. I haven’t seen him work, but I bet he works fast and efficiently. He is the only person I know who would go to India, work for an NGO, and stay with a family that barely speaks english. Let’s skip all the hocus pocus and consider what your life would be like if you lived in Varanasi for nine months.
THE ENCOUNTER Now, during the morning time we drove along in our van. But I don’t know a soul dead or alive who would want to hear that. Let me just skip to the part where we met Willy. Now, Willy is in sync with practically every conversation, so he is great to talk to. We drove to our meeting spot and we all said hello. Now, my thoughts on India are positive, but there are some parts that are so good they sticked out like a sore thumb. This was one of those times. Now, my thoughts on the world are strongly mixed, and it’s nice when people say how lucky I am and all for traveling around the world , but they don’t know what’s like to be in my shoes. Willy didn’t do that because he knew, and he has lasted through endless power outs, throwing up in the middle of the night, and eating various types of weird foods. He is going through a harder time than my family, for sure. I guess what I’m saying is, he is great, one of the best people I know, and I was glad to share a day with him. — Finn Flackett-Levin
This is the obligatory “We Have Your Son” photo we sent to his parents. If you want to read some exceptional writing and get a window into daily life in Varanasi, check out Willy’s own blog: willgansa.wordpress.com
NOW WE’VE SEEN EVERYTHING!
We thought we knew India — until we traveled south to Kerala. Kerala is a land that seems almost more like Southeast Asia than the India of our imaginations. The region is tropical, one hundred percent of the people there have at least a high school degree, and the region retains a strong colonial influence. While the rest of India is largely Hindu, Kerala has a surprisingly large Christian population. Kerala was full of unexpected sights — but none more surprising than this:
LAUNDRY DAY
When we set out, we knew laundry management would be one of the big challenges of the trip. In general, it’s been easier than we expected and we’ve only gotten down to our emergency underwear supply on a couple occasions. More often than not, we find a place that will wash our clothes for us and return them overnight. In Quito, Ecuador, this service cost less than seven dollars. In Beijing, it cost more than forty. The longest we’ve gone without clean clothes has probably been seven days. Along the way, we’ve encountered nearly every type of laundry service available. In Fort Kochi, India, in the south-western province of Kerala, we were introduced to the Dhobi Khana laundry house which was certainly the most unique laundry we’ve ever seen. We handed over our clothes to them and hoped for the best.