Since I’ve come back from Argentina, I haven’t had the opportunity to travel, and I’ve actually been itching to travel. The other day, the office went out to bowl, and I saw that postcard that I sent to the office. It just reminded me so much of the time that I had in Argentina and the time that I had in Rio, and I’m really missing it.
I really do miss being out there with the people. I’m not loving being in an office every day sometimes. It’s not for me, and especially in my job, I’m sitting on a computer all day, every day. Being out there, being free, seeing the people, trying your best to learn the language, talk to them, be with them, it really is a great experience— it makes you feel alive. The office, sometimes, does not make you feel like you’re able to live, or you are living, basically.
It gives you the feeling of just subsisting. It gives you the feeling of just being there, a cog in the machines, they may say. Every day, you’re just doing that.
Every day, you’re going into the office: figuring out what tickets are to work on, figuring out if the tickets that you have are reasonable, how many hours it’ll take, putting it on the schedule. Rinse and repeat—and it’s the same thing every day. I miss that about being a nomad, how every day seemed to be different. It was a different place.
It was a different experience. It was an interesting experience because every day, you never know who you would meet. I remember meeting up on somebody when I was in Argentina, and it was such a very interesting experience running into them in Puerto Iguazu because I got to experience a wedding.
I got to be a part of it. I got to see the union of two people in love and making their life together. I got to see those things. While I was walking in Rio, I got to see the culture of people dancing on the streets. I got to hear the drums at night, and people would come out and actually dance.
The people of Rio wouldn’t be in their house. They’d be out drinking, enjoying life, enjoying the gifts of the moment. Not to say New York can’t be filled with that sometimes, but I also miss the different culture of those places, being in a different space and being in a different cultural location, seeing what that cultural location has to offer, like seeing the Poa de Azucar and seeing Cristo de Redentor, all of that. After I talked to my coworkers, I think I’ve made my decision to go back on the road.
September has been a great month for me, but I know that now that I’ve talked to my coworkers and I see these feelings coming up again, the next thing I want to do is to get back out there, to start nomading again, to start being a part of the world and to see what the world has to offer. I don’t know yet where I want to go, but I’m going to figure it out soon, and I’m going to come up with a plan, and I’m going to be there.
-Tall Black Nomad