Now that the winter season at The South Pole is nearing its end, I figured some self-reflection was in order. In conversations amongst Antarctic workers much is always said about wintering on this continent. Some describe the experience as magical, others simply tolerate the long, dark night as an alternative to what their life might be like elsewhere. There are usually stories of shenanigans, debauchery and occasionally even a bit of the ultra-violence. This winter has so far been one of the quiet ones. There was a fire at McMurdo, a couple of small incidents in our own power plant at Pole, a few injuries and an almost medevac but when the season ends the stories will most likely be pretty tame in comparison to other, more eventful winters.

Antarctic lore dictates that one is forever changed by enduring the perpetual night. For my part I have pretty much dismissed the widely held and often talked about belief that conversation is reduced to monosyllabic words with a grunt here and there. I have only experienced very isolated instances of being “spaced out”. I would say that perhaps I have gained an ability to truly let things that don’t matter slide. This comes with great effort and is definitely a conscious decision, but the fact is, is that not much really truly matters on anything other than a very small scale. Being locked in for nine months with a group of people really drives that point home. It certainly isn’t advantageous to “rock the boat” and it’s definitely not worth it to nitpick at somebody else’s work habits or personality traits. Things that might normally upset me about how a co-worker or fellow community member conducts his or her business are easily dismissed here. I really like that about me and am curious if I can maintain the ability to let such things slide.

I first encountered an expat community when I was serving my country in Korea. The bulk of the expats which I met in Seoul were American school teachers, teaching at on-post schools for dependent children of U.S. service members. The resultant journal entry was my first attempt at journaling as an adult. I was more than just a little bit intrigued by this group of people. They had been the furthest thing from my mind for a long time now, right up until I started thinking about writing this post.

Over the years I have given quite a bit of thought to living in a country other than the U.S. A bevy of motivators have been responsible for these fleeting thoughts. I imagine that nearly everyone who travels abroad goes back home with fantasies of moving to their recent vacation spot, but few actually follow through with it. We have a home back home, usually we have family ties to some piece of earth, for U.S. citizens it can be tough to get a job abroad – especially once you become old enough to actually know what you want to be when you grow up. Getting residency in a foreign country can be a much larger hassle than many of us want to take on. I’m sure it’s easier if, like the school teachers, you have sponsorship from an employer…but not all of us want an employer. For all the reasons that most of us decide not to take the plunge, the idea still lingers in my mind. Having been out of the U.S. for 14 months now, and thinking about my inevitable return I begin, again, to think about leaving…and staying gone.

I don’t intend for this to ever become a political blog. I rarely have a very strong opinion on anything political, save the snide remark I save to direct towards the dillweeds at the TSA (I know, I know, you work for the TSA and you’re not a dillweed – I was referring to your co-worker who is a dillweed of epic proportions). If I ever get energized about any political topic, it’s usually about something local to the place I call home.

When I read the details in the New York Times about the latest $700 billion bailout plan, it really turned my stomach and got me pretty upset. Dick Cheney received how much money when he “retired” from Haliburton? His compensation from Enron was how much? And he is not alone, he is simply the most visible to me. Politicians at all levels benefit greatly from this bailout, these same politicians have also benefited greatly from the poor decisions that these companies have made and now, they’re writing themselves more bonus checks backed by my tax dollars. This is the kind of thing that you hear about corrupt Venezuelan and Zimbabwean governments doing. Those in power are cashing in, and will leave the rest of us flat broke.

The alarming bit of the article I read about the new bailout is that Harvard educated economists are telling us that the current crisis is simply a matter of home prices falling. This simply isn’t so. Looked at real estate in the west? Home prices are mostly holding steady or going up. There may be cases where prices are falling, but these are isolated. Housing prices are going down where? Michigan maybe. This would be caused by a lack of jobs – not by market forces which can be legislated. Housing prices have been artificially high for several years now. Speculation has driven the prices up. It’s like a pyramid scheme…the first ones in actually can make money, but sooner or later, you run out of gullible people to buy into it and the scheme collapses under its own weight. The only way to correct housing prices is to let the market do what the market will do. By prolonging the inevitable, politicians and CEOs are merely extending their personal gains and extending the losses of hard-working folks who voted these asshats into office. Folks, we’re being taken for a ride.

The other driving force behind my renewed thoughts of leaving the U.S. is the overwhelming stupidity exhibited by – well, anyone who would vote for McCain/Palin – and believe me, there are a lot of them. If Sarah Palin represents what an American is, I don’t want to be one. Mind you, I’m not exactly an Obama fan either, and have absolutely no clue who Joe Biden is or what he stands for, but I do know that Palin spells trouble for America and that John McCain would be nothing more than another man of privilege that married into money if not for his P.O.W. status…hero? Meh…not in my book. Want to live in a Theocracy with a collapsed economy? Go ahead and vote for McCain/Palin. The voting public (wal-mart shoppers) seem to like Palin. My hope is that the upcoming debates will shed some light on how the candidates stand on the issues and expose Palin for the moronic, holier-than-thou piece of trailer trash that she is. The one positive note is that with a geezer and a redneck, Florida should be no contest this time around (I know, you’re from Florida and you’re not a redneck or a geezer…you are among a minority)

Now the question is, where does one move to? I mean, I certainly don’t want to renounce my citizenship, I am proud to be an American and if I happen to be part of a minority who doesn’t want to see my country plundered by corruption and greed then what options do I have until the next election or until this mess gets fixed up? Stay tuned as I will be exploring South America – the one continent I haven’t been on next (northern) spring/summer.

In July Nomadic Matt sponsored a travel writing contest with the topic of “what does travel mean to you”. Of course I intended on entering…he had some sweet prizes, but procrastination got the better of me and I never got around to writing anything for the contest. Looking back though, I wonder what the root cause of my own procrastination was. Maybe I haven’t given enough thought to what travel means to me. Travel is great for all of the canned reasons that are often given. Exploring new places, learning about the world around you and my favorite benefit of travel is that through learning about other people and their culture I learn even more about myself. I have broken down more of my own stereotypes and become so much more tolerant. I have also severed old friendships due to the narrow-mindedness and resultant hatred that these old friends posses. I’ve grown as a human. But that really doesn’t answer the question of what travel means to me.

I really think what travel means to me is the avoidance of becoming something I once was. Actually, I was never that person, I only wore his suit for several years and I never want to wear it again. I was caught up in a lie, seduced by the siren song of shiny new things, some unseen force that fuels the construction of tract housing and keeps the living dead encased in metal tombs between their home and their job.

Before I discovered the wonders of overseas contract jobs I had previously left two jobs under the auspices of a “leave of absence”. The me that I have realized I am doesn’t have to do this anymore because my job is now more of a casual thing – I work when I need money, I relax and enjoy life for long periods of time.

Maybe I can sum it up best by sharing this picture. I would be fine with this vase in a hotel room or the living room of someone I was visiting, but to actually own something like this and display it in my living space is one of the most hideous things I could ever imagine. Over the course of the past 5+ years I have only signed one lease, it was for six months, and I bailed after four. I’m on my longest stretch of employment and residence, but preparing for an equally long stretch of unemployment. I have plans to “settle” in to places for not longer than four months at a time and I really think that the desire to avoid situations where I feel some decorative vase is an enhancement to my life is what keeps me moving.

I guess in summary what travel means to me is a way to collect experiences and knowledge. Travel and the experiences that I gather are much more important to me than any material goods. These experiences and memories can’t be stored or displayed in a vase in the living room. Traveling is about nurturing these memories, building on past experience. Enhancing my life and my condition with actions and deeds rather than by building a spiritually empty temple to worship plastic crap in.

My interpretation – not hers.

One of the perks (and also pains) of running my own website is the ability (and responsibility) to write about whatever I want. I, of course, try to keep some sort of travel or nomadic lifestyle type spin on it, but the freedom to write about things which interest me is very satisfying. That said, I’d like to point you in the direction of something that interests me. [expand title=expanded comments]if you’re here…our interests are probably similar[/expand]

This is a website written/maintained by Christine who is:

about to take the leap from being a manager in a large Fortune 500 Company to being a freelance writer and photographer, living abroad

Recently, she quite her job (YEAH!). More recently, with Tyler Durden as her muse, she and her husband have sold most of their worldly belongings and are set to embark on a world tour of unknown proportions.

I can relate. I’ve got it pretty good – having left my corporate hell job several years ago and enjoying huge chunks of time off from work, but I would eventually like to not have to go to a job at all. I have been applying myself in several different directions lately with that end in mind.

Anyhow – I’m anxious to follow along on Christine’s escape from cubicle hell and wish her and her husband all the luck in the world. I have enjoyed reading about the raw human emotion – Some great insight into the psyche – really seeing how courageous one has to be to just quit their job and venture off into the vastness of the unknown.

Is this a topic that interests you or that you have something to say about? Leave a comment and join in the discussion.