A wise co-worker of mine emailed me after I announced my departure to wish me well. She had just seen the Tennessee Williams play Camino Real and relayed the take away message for me: Make Voyages! Attempt them! There is nothing else!
I leave for England this week (tomorrow, in fact!) and I’ve been carrying those words around with me like something of a mantra. It’s intense stuff, this whole leaving a beloved city and moving across the world thing. I feel the intensity so much more now as an adult – with the roots of a job I loved, friends I had to try really hard to make (none of that university ease in adulthood), and a life I was quite happy with – than I did when I left England to come here. Back then I had just returned from eight months of backpacking across the world and had an adventurous spirit coursing through my veins. Moving to another country felt like no big deal. I threw some things in a suitcase and jumped on that plane without a second thought.
It’s different now. I’m older and a bit warier of change and upheaval. And yet the old tug for travel and adventure is there; it’s always been there and we’re finally acting on it. This decision to move has made me feel weirdly mortal, forcing me to consider the ticking of the clock. If I only have this tiny amount of time on earth, what do I really want to do with it? Where do I want to go and what do I want to see?
And so, the mantra: Make Voyages! Attempt them! There is nothing else!
I imagine it will be a while before I’m here posting new recipes again but once we get settled and sorted, I’ll be back. See you then.
