How Is It....Really?

 

So staying in one place doesn't really create opportunities for super-fun, awe-inspiring posts, so I thought I would just go more simple and discuss what travel like this (around the world...for nine months) is like.

Conan: could do this every day for probably the rest of his life. 

Julie: would fly home right now if you gave her (me) a plane ticket (and my house wasn't rented).

Sila: would also go home but only if he didn't have to answer any questions about why and if he could spend all day playing with his friends.

Hah! The above statements obviously don't capture each the wide range of emotions we each feel, but it's pretty close.

Traveling like this is hard. When we're in more developing countries, our existence turns more into survival mode: Where are we staying? How do we take the local buses/taxis? Where is the nearest grocery store? How do we do our laundry? What is the conversion rate, again? What are the dangers? What should we go and see? Is that man following us? Where are we going next? How long should we stay here? These questions, and many more, run through our heads daily and can be quite exhausting. 

Staying put--like we are doing now--comes with a whole other set of contemplations: we've been on the road only 2 months! We have six months left. I wish I were home doing ____. When we get home, we should ____. I miss doing _____. Fill in the blanks, but you get the point. How do we create a routine and have a sense of purpose each day? As you can see, staying in one place creates more mental space to think about what life back home is like and makes you miss it... a lot (except if you're Conan).

So there you go. This isn't the most exciting post, but it's real. I've included some pictures of some of the mini-adventures that have filled our days. We have one week left in Reggio Emilia, and then we're off to a town south of Naples called Salerno. I'll write again recapping this final week, but until then, try to enjoy where you're at--wherever that may be!

#1) Sila's creative time with an old bottle and some rubber bands.

#2) Both Conan and Sila have learned to solve the Rubix cube. It's maddening--some days they talk about it for hours.

#3) Forgot to mention we went to see AJR in Milan. Hard life.

#4) Conan's on a quest of all things Boethius (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boethius). He's visiting the town Boethius is buried in--Pavia. There is a street named after Boethius, too. 

#5) My travel shoes are kind of my favorite thing ever. So much color. 

#6) Excitement of the day--plunging our shower drain that is full of sediment and blockage!!

Our Tuscan Kitchen

 The title above is a more couth version of how I really want to title this: food porn. I'm not going to say much here; I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Goodbye, Sengal; Hello,...?

 

Okay, our last few days of Senegalese life ended with us spending a lot of time in the airport sleeping (our flight was 2:30 a.m. in the morning!). Prior to that, we busted out the last few days by spending time riding a four-wheeler through the salt flats, seeing the Pink Lake with Maria Pia's step-mom (which is only pink outside of the rainy season, so epic fail there), eating our last meal of pasta (we stopped eating all street food and stuck strictly to pasta for many, many days), and seeing a few museums. Senegal, you have been fun, but have mercy, it's time to go.

But where, oh where, did we go? Surprise, surprise.....Italy!!!! After about two days in Senegal, we realized there was no way we could last five weeks there, so we pushed up our tickets. Nobody knew we were going to Italy because it was a surprise for Sila. So, if we talked to you and said Kenya was next, we're sorry. We lied. Kenya is next--after six weeks in Italy!

After a few days in Venice (how about some extinction tourism?), we got the hell out of expensive land and settled in a little town called Reggio Emilia, a town very close to Parma, which is the "home" of Parmesan cheese. Ah-maz-ing. It's a quaint town, complete with many parks, a kick-ass Saturday farmers market, and three weeks (maybe four) of snuggling in to some chilly weather and easy living. We're already stressing about the money, but hey, if we go with our mantra of "Go where we want to go; see what we want to do; stay where we want to stay; do what we want to do," how can we not stay six weeks in Italy? 

Senegal, Senegal

 

This Senegalese kitty sums up Senegal so well: scarred but still whole and beautiful. 

Senegal, Senegal is titled this way for a reason. You know when you want something real or specific you say it twice? Let's say you're craving pizza...but pizza, pizza. You know what I mean?

Anyway, I titled this post in this way because I wanted to emphasize the realness of what Senegal is (especially compared to the vacation destination of our surf camp on a little island off Senegal). Below is a picture of the street where our Airbnb is.

I want to point out a few things: 1) horse and cart, 2) unpaved roads (this is the capital, my friends).

The funny thing is that Senegal is a rich country; the problem is that the wealth is not going to the everyday people. As usual, it's going to the top 1% of the people who probably don't even live in the country. It's sad, but the people are really friendly and beautiful.

Yesterday, we decided to visit Goree Island, the place where over 33,000 slaves were taken to before shipped to South and North America. (Note: If you're reading this and feeling uncomfortable about slavery, sorry. It's real, and politicians are brainwashing you if you feel otherwise. It's okay to learn about our history and to recognize it happened). As usual, places like this bring about moments of contemplation and reflection. 

The images above are from the House of Slaves where people were brought before being shipped off. Imagine an airy, yellow house but filled with holding cells for humans. The doorway underneath the stairwell is called "The door of no return," and you can only imagine what people experienced once going through.

Throughout the city and island, though, there are reminders of the power of people. The below statue, entitled African Renaissance Monument: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Renaissance_Monument, shows the power and beauty of people rising up, despite everything they have been through. 

I'm also reminded of how beautiful the human spirit is every time I pass a Senegalese and they look me in the eye (a lacking thing here in America sometimes), offer a hello and how are you (in French or Wolof, of course), and a smile. 

So, there you go, friends. It's rough here (and hotter than hell), but we're making do. I'm writing this the day after my hometown (Fort Myers) got hit by Hurricane Ian, so I know people's thoughts are elsewhere. That is okay. Rise up, friends. We are all very blessed.

Africa Stomach

(Conan sleeping in bed next to me)

Ugh. The dreaded stomach bug has hit me and Conan (thankfully not Sila). We are both still lying in bed (it's 4:00 p.m. here), and Conan wants me to tell you all he's passed out next to me and he doesn't even know what time it is!

I seem to be ahead of Conan in regard to my health because I am now able to sit up and type this. For me, it started two nights ago when C and I got a chance to go out solo (leaving Sila back at the surf camp) and visit an ex-pat club that had music. Beforehand, though, we stopped at a place for "the best hamburgers" (really, Senegal, the BEST hamburgers?). I was feeling a bit off and when I rose from dinner, I felt like passing out. Thankfully, I didn't, and it seemed to pass...until the sharts came. Not sure what a shart is? Google it. Anyway, yesterday wasn't too bad, and I was able to take another surf lesson, but then I started to decline and sleep last night was non-existent.

Conan's African stomach hit yesterday evening during sleep, and he said he "peed out his butthole" about seven times. Sorry, everyone--I know this is probably more than you would like to know or read, but it's real. Anyway, he is next to me, moaning and for some reason, we both can't lie on our right side (doctor friends...any reason that is?). He's eaten two bananas today; I've had one.

So there you go--that's what's happening on our glorious around-the-world adventures! I'd give you pictures, but I don't think you want to see what's going on here. Sila's enjoying taking advantage of both of his parents not monitoring his screen time, and I have a feeling he's played more than his allotted 30-minutes of Roblox. Oh well.

Send good, healing thoughts!

Hello, Senegal!

 

Hello, friends! I know it's been a week or so since I've posted--we're back in transition and have landed in Senegal. It's quite an adjustment here (as my surf instructor said, "it's Africa"), and we're back in that spot of uncomfortableness and uncertainty. Sigh. I guess that's travel, right?

Anyway, we landed in Senegal after going through so many lines at the Casablanca airport. Of course, the two ATMs in the Senegalese airport didn't work, so we couldn't withdraw any money. Thankfully, we arranged to have the surf school (check it out: https://www.gosurfsenegal.com/) pick us up, so no money was needed....until it was time for lunch. Thankfully, there are two Brits staying at the school who easily lent us money because, they, too, have been in that same spot (empathy at work--see my work blog for a post--eventually--on that).

We spent the day yesterday "learning how to surf." Sila had a few opportunities prior to this to take lessons (Coco Beach and Costa Rica, 2x), so he was up and running quite easily. I had a pretty easy time getting up (thank you, yoga), and I would say I averaged getting up every one out of three times. Not bad for my first time. Conan isn't as limber, so he didn't have so many wins, but he did manage to get up once or twice, so a successful lesson overall.

Today, we're finally settling in and have adjusted well enough to not be panicking and thinking "what the hell are we doing?" Sila and I plan on doing another lesson, and Conan is going to stay back and do some work.

I'll write more about Africa, Africa (meaning West Africa vs. easy-peasy Morocco) later this week but wanted to update everyone as to where we are! Much love, the Griffins.