A well traveled man
I was wondering how to describe how I have lived and traveled in so many countries.
The metaphor I came up with is the difference between a dog and Siberian husky. A dog is well mannered and obedient, while a husky isn’t; it takes a lot of work and constant vigilance to manage a husky. They are two different animals. My way of traveling and living in different countries is the same. I don’t go to the tourist trap, nor do I hang around bars or clubs. I go for the grime and grit of a country. I usually have a friend from the country who shows me around. I live in the country like a native.
Let me explain the itinerary of my life. I was born on a military base in Florida, in a military hospital. We moved soon after to Georgia and then we took a troop ship to Germany. I grew up in that country, raised by nannies. I spoke the language because my care givers were German. We traveled extensively, not that I remember much, and saw post war Europe from the conquerors vision - the dollar was high and mighty and so were Americans. Our gardener was an ex Nazi as were the German pilots my father trained. I picked up German curses - I was pretty damn fluent in the language.
We returned to the States so my father could finish his bachelors degree at the University of Maryland. I don’t remember much about DC, except that I was put into a Catholic school with nuns. We pulled up stakes and moved to California, where my father was in command of a ‘wing’ of fighter jets protecting San Francisco. My memories became clearer and I remember a lot about California. The Fog horns, the rain during the winter and the heat during the summer. I suffered an accident that changed my life (more here).
Again we moved, this time to Oklahoma. The midwest. I studied Oklahoma history in school and lived the ‘perfect midwestern life’. Enough said about that. We then moved to France, which was a shock. For the first years in France we lived the insular life of a military family separated from the natives. Then I decided I had enough of this American culture and attended a French Lycée. It was actually a school for the dependants of NATO military. It was where I became ‘Trans - Atlantic’.
I had friends from all over, from Denmark, to England, and Italy and Turkey and other countries. I was no longer in Kansas. I was international. I became a different person, a more open and curious boy, who was exposed to different cultures and people. The way to describe it would be as if I were transported to another planet and there I had to learn how aliens thought and lived. I wasn’t ‘American’ anymore. I learned how to speak French and live in a French manner. I had French friends. I was taught by French professors. We continued to travel, to Spain and Morocco, to the Scandinavian countries etc. My horizons broadened. Then it came to an end.
We moved back to the states to Florida, which was another cultural shock. I attended an all white school that had just been desegregated. I had black friends and redneck friends. I got a girl friend who opened up my eyes to female beauty and femaleness. I had been ignorant and shy, now I wasn’t. Young love is hard and I learned a lot from her. During the summer I decided I wanted to go to Germany to study with my art teachers. My parents gave me the OK if my brother came along as a chaperone. Some chaperone. I was exposed to German culture, opera and museums and living with my teachers who taught me how to cook. That summer I came of age.
In between our moving we visited both my grandparents; my red neck grandfather who lived on a dirt farm in Louisiana and my Irish immigrant grandmother who lived in Chicago. I got exposed to both sides of America and soaked it all in. I got to learn the southern and my northern parts of my family. I knew what it meant to be from each culture.
The second year in Florida my brother eloped and so my mother decided we should move again to New Mexico where my art teachers had settled. A new perspective opened up to me. The WEST. It seemed to me to be the best place to be. I was enamoured of the mix of ethnicities and cultures; the Indian and Mexican and the American. And the way people lived. It appealed to me. In high school I had American Indian friends and white friends and Mexican American friends (Chicanos).
Back to Florida I went to study art, but this time I was on my own, but not quiet. I found a girl friend and that was another experience. More here. I met characters like David Allyn a rich man’s son who had sailed around the world and then settled with his German wife in Florida where he had a collection of vintage biplanes. Meanwhile I got to know my Jewish uncle who lived in Miami and my crazy aunt. Another part of my family - the Jewish part. I loved uncle Maurie who was a mensch.
So you see, my immediate family is diverse, from rednecks to Cajuns, to Northern second generation catholics to Jews. I loved them all.
My next adventure was drastic. I decided to return to France to study art. It was a watershed decision. I can say that I had a life before France and then after France; they were totally different. All good and bad came from that decision.
I went to see my father and uncle in Chicago before embarking on my Air France flight. I was on my own. I had to succeed or fail. It was difficult and an adventure, but I was young and adventurous. Again I met lots of different people and made friends and had different lovers. My travels took me all over Western Europe and to Eastern Europe; Poland, Hungary etc and then to Greece. Even a trip to Tunisia in North Africa. I had Arab friends.
Maybe I should have stayed put in Florida, the safe way, but I never take the safe and sure. I always take the road less traveled.
Then I fell in love in France. That is another story. Here
I returned to the States, and lived with my girl friend in Louisiana for two years where I worked as a cameraman for a local tv station (no better way to understand a place than report on it). I soaked up the Cajun and Creole culture.
Finally I was accepted in graduate school in Dallas, Texas. And for the next 6 years I lived the American life in Texas as a student and then as a worker in Houston. Till I couldn’t take it anymore. We left for France and new adventures.
In France it was sink or swim. Only I could make things work. Only I was the Capitan of my ship and had to weather all the storms and emergencies. Now with a child and wife to take care of. And I did it. I was the hero of my story. I was a success. We traveled all over Europe and France. We had friends everywhere. We were happy.
Now we come to the place of darkness. When I chose to come to Canada and the cold and darkness enveloped me. I was not happy, not successful and very depressed. I won’t go into the reasons but they finally got what they deserved (is all I can say).
Meanwhile we still traveled, now to New York and New England, places I had never been before. A natural disaster woke me up, and I finally got me out of my melancholy. I can only say that I was on another inner voyage during those years as I battled darkness and despair and it made me a stronger person.
Next came a time of traveling and exploring. Trips to Middle America (Belize and Costa Rica) and South America (Argentina, Brazil etc). I made it to Thailand and Japan on a round the world trip. Always with natives waiting for me. I became involved with politics and my community. I helped get a multimillion dollar sports centre built. I was the president this and that.. I taught psychiatry.
I came back to art and painting.
I continue to travel. Greece last summer. And I make friends… I am still adventurous.
