~ Travelers ~
Charles Lucking
Two years serving
with the Peace Corps in the Samoan Islands, followed by a year teaching
University English in Chile brought me to the realization that the
world outside the US is not only incredibly exciting, challenging,
and beautiful, it is also so much more accessible than I previously
thought. Language barriers can crumble away, cultural differences
can be hilarious and/or moving opportunities to learn and share, and
there are great, warm interesting people everywhere. Having spent
the last two years living in Texas, I've found these realizations
to be as true within the United States just as without. However, there
is still that pull I feel...
The depth of my spirit, and the intensity of my experience and awareness
that I felt during the two times that I lived in foreign lands has
dimmed a bit, and relaxed somewhat, since I have been back home. I
feel that my appreciation for the wonder, breadth and scope for the
diversity of peoples in the world has loosened. I want to widen my
eyes and feel the land moving under my feet. I want to learn from
people for whom a different tongue necessitates a different way of
looking at the world. I learned the word "Possibilian" recently,
and recognizing that my ignorance is vast, I want to absorb, process,
and be awash in as many of the possibilities that this world may offer
at as I can.
Skye Brannon
When I think of what to put in this space, after Charlie’s very eloquent description of his reasons for living and traveling abroad, I cannot ignore a quote from Jonathan Swift. It has been a refrain in the back of my consciousness for a long time now. ‘May you live every day of your life!’
Living, the awake and vibrant variety, the curious and creative kind, can happen everyday, in small gestures and grand, in places local and exotic. So, this is my self-ascribed task - to live and to give, every day of my life.
Email: skye@caminodeskyeandcharlie.com
Website: http://www.skyebrannon.com