My trip in 25 words or more ...
Well, at the moment I am at an USA uni; my trip is roughly 3/4 of the way over and apart from the joy of no longer having to live out of a suitcase, I will be sad to return back to Australia.
Before my venture over the Pacific Ocean, I was told that i would contract a disease calling the travelling bug and that my USA trip will be the beginning of a long sequence of random trips to strange yet beautiful places. I refused to believe this: I am a nurse after all; I have had all my vaccinations against diseases AND have moved around enough in my lifetime to know that travelling is not my thing.
Well, for once; and I need to emphasis the ONCE, I am wrong. I did contract this travelling bug.
This trip is not over but I have learnt so much so far. I have conquered fears and meet new ways of doing old things. Let me enlighten you of some randomness of my trip thus far.
What has happened:
- Been to DisneyLand (yeah, ho hum, tourist you say! Well, YES! I am!! But not just that ... my visit to DisneyLand was my first journey into a real amusement park and my first adventure on a rollarcoast and I can now say that I have meet fear face on and stomach up and I did the only thing i could: I screamed, oh, and yelled hate messages to friends!)
- Celebrated a cold Christmas (no snow but who wants to be 100% traditional ... anyway, it felt cold enough to be snowing)
- Was almost murdered by a bowling ball (I will not, I repeat, will not, give many details but believe me ... having a 8 pounder bowling ball land inches - please note the use of American measurement - from my head is enough to scare you into appreciating life)
- Introduced to sea lions (loud bullies!)
- Went to the beach (I know, I know, sounds stupid ... American beaches and all but it was so much fun!! Cold but fun rocks ... who knew water + rocks = FUN! Oh, yeah, and I have learnt new maths equations which use words ... all together now, Oooo Ahhh!)
- was in a elementary drag race (Wiggle Cars rock!!)
- Went from underdog to overachiever in Dutch Blitz ... even with a handicap ... and no, it is not being Australian
- Got a tatoo
- Was introduced to U.S. history classes (And in my personal opinion ... the Klu Klux Kan are bastards)
- Was attacked by Mase spray ... let's just say it will stop anyone in their tracks!
- Made 2 bowls on the pottery wheel - now there's therapy when you just want to hit someone!
- And continued to develop unhealthy sleeping habits
Due to the fact I have never been diagnosed with the travelling bug before, I am unsure if I have typical symptoms. I have been motivated to do some pretty crazy things and have started having hallunciations (or is it dreams? I can never distinguish between the two!). Let me give you examples:
Shaz's Travelling Bug Symptoms
- the halluncination to travel to other places; some again and some new: different parts of USA, Europe, NZ, PNG, QLD, Africa ... you know ... the world!
- the biazzare desire to go to school: night school, collage classes, pottery, history, politics, & geography classes
- the need to take at least 5 photos a day ... I am sure that is unhealthy on some level but that is what the travelling bug does to you
- becoming fasincated by ordinary every day things like car number plates, words, music, scenery, mailboxes ... FREAK OF NATURE!!!
- greater appreciation of ... wait for it ... AUSTRALIA!! Yep, this is a serious, almost fatal, symptom
- having a vision to start an Amnesty International group
- being complelety confused ... yes, more than usual ... South is cold, I am on the West Coast not the East, measurements, temperature, & money is foregin, and the Southern Cross is not in the sky to guide me ... forever lost ... well, until I return to Australia that is.
- Developing a trusting nature towards others that they will not lead me astray or get me more lost
And the large component of this disease is the auditory trouble I have been hearing. So many things have sadden me recently:
Are those voices real?
- In India, the children of postitutes have to sleep/live under the same beds their mothers are working on
- When the white Americans started to conquer USA from the Native Americans, they traded blankets with them ... only thing was the blankets were lined with small pox and villages were mass murdered for the sack of being able to say "THIS (bloody) LAND IS OURS"
- In India, it is thought that it is better to be a dog in America then a man in India - think about it
- Around the Civil Rights Movement, certain newspaper editors wrote how black people were unable to make moral decisions thus whites had to 'teach' them and if they stepped out of their place then it was the unquestionable duty of white people to shoot them
- In certain parts of Africa, children are both the weapons and the victims of war
- In India, the children of postitution start carrying on the family business at the young age of 12 or 13
The travelling bug has also provided me with flashbacks of what feels like another life.
Woh, dude, these flashes remind me of the good old 60s & my acid experiment:
- In this land that I am in, this land of pleaty, of excess, of homely environments, this land that is so similiar to Australia yet so different ... I have flashbacks of my time in PNG, of my 3 yr old niece, the fear I have that she could die from malaria, or contract AIDS, or suffer in poverty ... the flashback I have of my promise never to let that happen to her or my other nieces and nephews ...
Yet with stating all the travelling bug symptoms clearly I have reached the decision that maybe this disease is unique. maybe the travelling bug is not a bad thing to have. Maybe the travelling bug disease is actually a blessing in disguise.
Good vs. evil
- The travelling bug has attacked me greatly and I am unsure if I should feel guilty for saying this but sometimes I have enjoyed it and sometimes I haven't. Travelling has forced me to not just meet new people and places but to learn more about myself, to have a greater appreciation for my home and my life and to be educated. This is worth far more than my travel expenses as the value of such things is priceless (and yes, that is different from worthless!)
Before my venture over the Pacific Ocean, I was told that i would contract a disease calling the travelling bug and that my USA trip will be the beginning of a long sequence of random trips to strange yet beautiful places. I refused to believe this: I am a nurse after all; I have had all my vaccinations against diseases AND have moved around enough in my lifetime to know that travelling is not my thing.
Well, for once; and I need to emphasis the ONCE, I am wrong. I did contract this travelling bug.
This trip is not over but I have learnt so much so far. I have conquered fears and meet new ways of doing old things. Let me enlighten you of some randomness of my trip thus far.
What has happened:
- Been to DisneyLand (yeah, ho hum, tourist you say! Well, YES! I am!! But not just that ... my visit to DisneyLand was my first journey into a real amusement park and my first adventure on a rollarcoast and I can now say that I have meet fear face on and stomach up and I did the only thing i could: I screamed, oh, and yelled hate messages to friends!)
- Celebrated a cold Christmas (no snow but who wants to be 100% traditional ... anyway, it felt cold enough to be snowing)
- Was almost murdered by a bowling ball (I will not, I repeat, will not, give many details but believe me ... having a 8 pounder bowling ball land inches - please note the use of American measurement - from my head is enough to scare you into appreciating life)
- Introduced to sea lions (loud bullies!)
- Went to the beach (I know, I know, sounds stupid ... American beaches and all but it was so much fun!! Cold but fun rocks ... who knew water + rocks = FUN! Oh, yeah, and I have learnt new maths equations which use words ... all together now, Oooo Ahhh!)
- was in a elementary drag race (Wiggle Cars rock!!)
- Went from underdog to overachiever in Dutch Blitz ... even with a handicap ... and no, it is not being Australian
- Got a tatoo
- Was introduced to U.S. history classes (And in my personal opinion ... the Klu Klux Kan are bastards)
- Was attacked by Mase spray ... let's just say it will stop anyone in their tracks!
- Made 2 bowls on the pottery wheel - now there's therapy when you just want to hit someone!
- And continued to develop unhealthy sleeping habits
Due to the fact I have never been diagnosed with the travelling bug before, I am unsure if I have typical symptoms. I have been motivated to do some pretty crazy things and have started having hallunciations (or is it dreams? I can never distinguish between the two!). Let me give you examples:
Shaz's Travelling Bug Symptoms
- the halluncination to travel to other places; some again and some new: different parts of USA, Europe, NZ, PNG, QLD, Africa ... you know ... the world!
- the biazzare desire to go to school: night school, collage classes, pottery, history, politics, & geography classes
- the need to take at least 5 photos a day ... I am sure that is unhealthy on some level but that is what the travelling bug does to you
- becoming fasincated by ordinary every day things like car number plates, words, music, scenery, mailboxes ... FREAK OF NATURE!!!
- greater appreciation of ... wait for it ... AUSTRALIA!! Yep, this is a serious, almost fatal, symptom
- having a vision to start an Amnesty International group
- being complelety confused ... yes, more than usual ... South is cold, I am on the West Coast not the East, measurements, temperature, & money is foregin, and the Southern Cross is not in the sky to guide me ... forever lost ... well, until I return to Australia that is.
- Developing a trusting nature towards others that they will not lead me astray or get me more lost
And the large component of this disease is the auditory trouble I have been hearing. So many things have sadden me recently:
Are those voices real?
- In India, the children of postitutes have to sleep/live under the same beds their mothers are working on
- When the white Americans started to conquer USA from the Native Americans, they traded blankets with them ... only thing was the blankets were lined with small pox and villages were mass murdered for the sack of being able to say "THIS (bloody) LAND IS OURS"
- In India, it is thought that it is better to be a dog in America then a man in India - think about it
- Around the Civil Rights Movement, certain newspaper editors wrote how black people were unable to make moral decisions thus whites had to 'teach' them and if they stepped out of their place then it was the unquestionable duty of white people to shoot them
- In certain parts of Africa, children are both the weapons and the victims of war
- In India, the children of postitution start carrying on the family business at the young age of 12 or 13
The travelling bug has also provided me with flashbacks of what feels like another life.
Woh, dude, these flashes remind me of the good old 60s & my acid experiment:
- In this land that I am in, this land of pleaty, of excess, of homely environments, this land that is so similiar to Australia yet so different ... I have flashbacks of my time in PNG, of my 3 yr old niece, the fear I have that she could die from malaria, or contract AIDS, or suffer in poverty ... the flashback I have of my promise never to let that happen to her or my other nieces and nephews ...
Yet with stating all the travelling bug symptoms clearly I have reached the decision that maybe this disease is unique. maybe the travelling bug is not a bad thing to have. Maybe the travelling bug disease is actually a blessing in disguise.
Good vs. evil
- The travelling bug has attacked me greatly and I am unsure if I should feel guilty for saying this but sometimes I have enjoyed it and sometimes I haven't. Travelling has forced me to not just meet new people and places but to learn more about myself, to have a greater appreciation for my home and my life and to be educated. This is worth far more than my travel expenses as the value of such things is priceless (and yes, that is different from worthless!)
posted by blue nurse | 7:10 PM
3 Comments:
yes my dear, you have now offically got biten by the travelling bug. Funny, huh?
Ida
Hey, hey, hey! I heart your prose style.
And I'm glad you had fun visiting me in Walla Walla and that you have been inspired. :) And I hope your acid stint wears off... possibly bad for the brain ;).
~Jen
i loved your blog, shaz! yes, i read it! woot for wiggle wars, and you've started to inspire me to actually take pics more. i liked how you contrasted your travels in america with other countries of the world. i didn't realize you didn't know about the klu klux klan---yes, very evil. just like i didn't realize you didn't know who lewis and clark were....other than the connection to "superman." great blog, chica!
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