Surprised? Probably not

Hello all:

Cash was correct--a major change has happened for the p:w crew: I came home.

On the road I realized that it was time... Time to come home and to marry my beautiful fiancé. It's as simple as that. Every day that I have been on the road (for about 2 months now), has been a mixed blessing. Yes, I am experiencing all of this new stuff, but at the same time I am doing it without the person that I want to share my life with. There was joy, but there was always an underlying frustration and loneliness.

So, Cash and I had a heart to heart and decided it was best to walk our own paths. We still had some money to fool around with, and Cash was excited at the prospect of really being on the edge. You have to understand, Cash hasn't ever been in a space to survive solo--to get his own place, find his own job, and to create a social network from the ground up on his own. He is changing a lot, and I believe that our brotherhood and our quest has catalyzed a new level of focus and commitment from him.

In accord, we would travel to Panama City together, block out a Maslowvian scheme for survival, and be on with it. We also agreed to one last rager in the City! With our finances and some other logistical concerns squared away, Cash now has an excellent shot to hit his stride there in the Middle of the World and make it at least until February when we were scheduled to hit Argentina.

As for me, I bought the next ticket home: Panama City to Guadalajara to good ole Portland, OR USA. I didn't tell Mo either... The other night I just showed up and she opened the door for me--it was perfect. Sarah, the clan mother, aided and abetted the scheme. It has been wonderful since.

The tentative plan for this member of p:w is to go back to school to complete my physics and math undergrad (for those in-the-know, long overdue), continue my training in kajukenbo tum pai, and to get a job I truly enjoy. Mo and are currently living together and this upcoming week we'll be trotting down to the courthouse to get married. The reception of course will happen when Cash makes it back to the States for a short stint before heading off to Alaska to do some resourcing to further his expansions down in Latin America. I hear there is a lot of vespene up there, and by the sound of it, Cash may require more shortly!

For those curious, I will continue to post on p:w from Portland, as Cash will continue to relate his experiences from Panama City. For me, the trip was a success: I got to that magic threshold of self-sufficiency, and this was the proof of concept. Could I make it indefinitely as an expat, and not just survive, but thrive in the process?

The answer is reflected in my posts: I learned how to surf, improved my cooking, vastly improved my Spanish, undertook an art project that was immensely satisfying, generated some job offers, and I made a ton of friends and contacts. Stepping back, I realized that I could drop everything and do it all over again if I wanted to... The world is ever so close, and walking the path is as easy as your resourcefulness and commitment affords.

So here and now I would like to build something else. A family and a career path, and I am excited to do it! I will continue to wander and to blaze my path here, and someday--sooner than I think perhaps--I will be back out on the road that leads to Everywhere and Nowhere.

Cheers,
Dave