Preface

"You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place" - Miriam Adeney

Two years, nearly three it has been. Costa Rica. And I still can't let go of it. It has been the greatest adventure of my life, the most enriching experience in every single way. But much like the quote stated above explains, it has had a consequence. I haven't found peace since.

Ever since my return from Costa Rica, I have been suffering from an inner restlessness. Somewhere between my lungs and my heart, there's a gap, an odd sensation that makes me feel uneasy.

And for a long time, I wondered what exactly this gap represented. I felt an urge, but what for? Coming across this quote, I realised I had just found out. By travelling to the other side of the world, I simply lost my heart.

In vain, I tried to find what felt missing. But the more I travelled, the more I learned and the wiser I got, the more I came to understand that I would never be whole again. In fact, the truth is that when you have lived in different places, you can no longer feel whole at your homebase. For what really is your homebase? Although you're physically in one place, your heart, your soul will always be scattered around the continent, the earth even.

I believe that pieces of me are left behind in the places that touched me most. So however happy I may be, which I sincerely am, the nagging feeling that I sometimes experience is a mere result of the travelling. It's the bits of my soul that call me back to those places. And you may call this madness - and maybe it is.

But philosophical talks about the soul are not the aim of this blog. Nor are the pros and cons of travelling. I am also well aware that travelling on a constant basis for the rest of my life is not a possibility. I don't even think it would be healthy.

But not travelling, not learning about different cultures, not living among different people(s), forever staying at one place and seeing things through just one perspective, not daring to? That would be the worst life I can imagine.

And that is why I take part in this Eramsus+ exchange: to learn new things. Academically, personally, spiritually, culturally, socially, ... Seeing things through different glasses. And I hope my blog will inspire whoever it may concern to take part in a similar experience.

Hence, I will provide you with thrilling stories of my many adventures. On the other hand, I shall not spare you my unfiltered views on setbacks and difficulties, for it's not all 'cakes and ale' either.

But to get back to Adeney's quote: yes! I am more than willing to pay the price in return for all the new things I will learn, whether they be good or bad. And yes, there will be a price to pay, just as I did before, but it will be worth it.

Because for the past 2 years, I have been stuck in this straitjacket. For the past 2 years, I quietly aboded there. That was the price I paid after Costa Rica. I bit my tongue, more than once. I had to stop myself from leaving, more than once. But I waited, I waited. I waited until the opportunity would present itself. And then, I would grasp it and go my own way. Not one hesitating thought. 

Oh, I would pay just any price to get to where I am today.

Alone

Again

At last

I am.