Where Is Darren Now - One Year Anniversary

One year ago today I was in Tel Aviv, Israel to attend the wedding of the brother of my good friend Ruma. It also was the first day I wrote a story for my new blog. The idea was then, as it is now, that my blog is a way for me to keep my family and friends up to date with what I'm doing and where I am. It's been a success on many levels. I've enjoyed the process of writing the stories more than I ever thought I would and I've also been repeatedly amazed when people say that, not only are they reading it, but that they are actually enjoying it.

So, what have I been up to this past year? (Yep...one year. As a friend recently wrote, "I can't believe you've pulled this off for a year now...then again, yes, I can!") I've been traveling pretty much non-stop and have been to so many places and experienced so much that I wanted to do a review for myself.

What I've done:

1. I lived in Barcelona, Osaka, the U.S., and Colombia.

2. In addition, I visited Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Peru, France, Gibraltar, Tibet, and China.

3. I've been to Africa, Europe, Asia, North America, and South America.

4. In terms of miles, I've flown around the planet at least twice and probably closer to three times.

5. Got sick for more than a day only once.

What I've seen so far. The list of what I've seen and done is waaaaaaay too long but includes some things like...

1. The old city of Jerusalem. If you're at all religious or are interested in history, this is the place to go.

2. The Great Pyramids. Crazy. Amazing. Truly a must-see.

3. Lots of Gaudi Masterpieces. He's a genius and you can see many of them in a couple of days in the amazing city of Barcelona.

4. The Nazca Lines. It seems like the other end of the earth but well worth the visit.

5. Lake Titicaca. All those jokes as kids made this one hit home. Also, people living on floating islands???

6. The Alhambra. An architectural wonder. If you can only see one thing in Spain, this is it.

7. A Formula1 race. One of three sports events on my to-do list. The other two? The Tour de France and The Dakar Rally.

8. A Barça match. It's important in the non-U.S. world.

9. The Picasso painting Guernica. You have to see it to understand.

10. The Canary Islands. Breathtaking scenery.

11. Wildwood, New Jersey. It was like going home again.

12. Oceanside, California. It still feels like home.

13. Kyoto and Nara. You can see old Japan in all its beauty.

14. Nagasaki. My favorite city in Japan.

15. Beijing. Old and new colliding every day.

16. The Great Wall. You went to China and didn't see it?

17. The Terracota Warriors. Obsession gone wild. In the same league as the Pyramids of Egypt.

18. Tibet. Exotic. Amazing sights. Amazing people.

19. Shanghai. The past, present, and future of China in one place.

20. Colombia. Coffee anyone?

And that's just the highlights. There's been a ton more.

More importantly, I set out last year to learn not just about the world but also about myself. At times, this part's resulted in happiness, sadness, frustration, and contentedness. But what I've learned is that, no matter what has happened or what's going to happen, I have very little control over it. I can't do anything about the past. I can only influence the future and maximize right now (this one single moment in time). When I was in my teens I always said to myself that I wanted to live each day like it's my last. I lost touch with that sentiment for a long time but I've had the opportunity this year to really return to that way of thinking and live that way. Each day I try very hard to make sure that, if I die tonight, I'm satisfied with what I've done, what I've learned, and who I am.

Also, family and friends matter a lot. They're always there for you. I'll take this moment to say thanks to my family, to all my old friends, and to all my new friends. Thanks for making this last year as well as my entire life worth living.

What's next? I've been giving this lots of thought lately. I've got a bunch of ideas floating around with a few really rising to the top recently. We'll have to wait and see but I'll be sure to post about it.

Among my favorite stories so far:

1. 100th Post

2. Cup Noodles (Osaka)

3. A tie between Teaching English In Tibet and Learning How To Cross The Street: Cairo Style (not well written but it was a fun day).

4. Pretty much any story about food.

What about you? Could you sell almost everything you own, pack your bags, and go out and see the world? I know....

No money. It's a lot cheaper than you think. If you had all the money in the world, what would you do? Go sit on a beach? Guess how much it costs to sit on a beach.

No time. You probably hate your job. Quit. Travel for a while. With your new-found view of life and the world, go back and get a new job you'll like.

Kids. Take them with you. They'll get as much or more out of it than you will.

Probably 1,000,000 other possible reasons. I have to be honest, if it wasn't for a series of really bad events, I wouldn't have done it either. Now that I know, I wish I could get everyone to try it. The truth is that you probably need your world to fall apart for you to really question it. At least think about spending some time doing some long-term (more than a couple of weeks) traveling. I'll share what I've learned with you so that you can do it as inexpensively as possible.

Thanks again for taking the time to read my blog. As I said in the beginning, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy living it and writing about it.

Homecenter - Colombia's Home Depot

I went to a Homecenter store here in Bogota the other day. It's basically Colombia's version of The Home Depot. The trip wasn't too exciting but I guess that's the point of my story. Originally a part of The Home Depot (but since sold to South American investors), Homecenter has brought the home-super-center idea from its Chilean and Argentine markets to Colombia and they've done a pretty good job of it. Anyone that's been to one in the U.S. will feel at "home" instantly. For example, check out this guy with the trucker hat, insulated vest, and no shirt walking down one of the center aisles:

The layout of the store and the prices are exactly the same as we find in the U.S.; hardware aisle, tool crib, bathroom and kitchen remodel center; yep, everything down to the light bulbs and those twisty-bamboo-looking plants in the front of the store:

Check out the paint area. Been there, done that?

About the only things I could see that were really different than your generic U.S. Home Depot were the large water tanks in construction area (used to store water because of inconsistent water delivery from the public infrastructure)...

...and the the fairly large food court in the front of the store:

Like I said, the prices were the same as you find in the U.S., which means expensive here. You wouldn't know it from the large lines I saw waiting to pay. I know, not too exciting but I like to share the unusual (to the U.S.) as well as the "usual".

In Hot Water

Some things in life are important to me. Lots of protein for breakfast. Coffee. Fast (or at least functional) internet connections. Nice, long, hot (but not too hot) showers. That last one is something that I'm famous for in my family. When I first moved over to Barcelona, my sister asked me if I had warned my new roommates that I take long showers and use lots of hot water. It's funny but I actually had told them right when I got there that the water and gas bills would be going up with my arrival. Only occasionally having those nice, long, hot showers is one thing that I've had to learn to adjust to while traveling. For example, when you check into a hotel and you go to take a shower and find this:

Those of you with a single controller for your hot and cold water are probably asking "so what" when you see this setup. But wait, take a second look:

That's correct! Only one controller...for cold water...ONLY!!! It's sort of like one-size-fits-all--it'll work but you're not super happy. I've been pretty lucky so far that almost everywhere I've been this past year has had both hot and cold water. I even seen a couple of these:

It's a plug-in inline hot water heater and I've seen them now in both Peru and Colombia. You need to keep the water volume down to keep the temps up but they work pretty well. I do have to admit that I was a bit frightened the first time (and still a little each time) I saw electrical-tape connections AND an outlet in the shower but I almost consider myself lucky now as the alternative, cold-water-only, was averted once again.

I know, I know. Bwah! Bwah! Darren's out seeing the world, that lucky bastard, and he's complaining about cold-water showers. Actually, I'm not complaining. I figured it out and I've got it pretty good! :-) No, what I wanted to share today is how they do it "on the farm" out in Chiquinquira. Here's a hint:

My day at the Chiquinquira Spa starts (after some protein and caffeine, of course) with a pot of water on the stove. The large pot in the photo above takes about 20-30 minutes to bring to a boil. Once my water is hot enough, I move to the lush gardens where bathing occurs. In the garden there is a five-gallon bucket or two that I get to use. The hot water gets poured into one of the buckets and I add fresh Colombian spring water to the mix until I have water that's the purrfect temperature.

Getting to sit on the wooden stool, which are commonly used in Japan during bathing, is a special treat here. Using the small plastic bowl, I get rinsed. I then soap up, quickly rinse again, and then dry myself as quickly as possible. Remember that, even though Colombia's down near the equator, Bogota and Chiquinquira are up at about 8,500 feet (~2,500 meters) so the mornings are brisk and one risks permanent shrinkage out there in the garden if you don't work fast enough.

Bathing this way is kinda' fun. It definitely makes me appreciate hot water even more than I did before. I'd like to take this chance to thank my mom and dad for the millions of gallons of hot water I used during my teenage years. Here's to you: