River Thompson- Europe 2014-2020
Ages When Abroad: 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
Countries: France, England, Italy, Spain, Switzerland
Now who gets excited going to the movies at the last 5 minutes before the end? For kids who’ve never been to the movies, it’s exciting, confusing, fun, but normal. They don’t know any better, because it’s all they know. Yet they always wonder when they show up, at those last 5 minutes before the end, why others are always there before them. And for how long. Ask yourself not when do I show up, but why do I show up when I do?
But first, look around in your life for clues. Clues in the things you see, the words you say, the roads you take, the names you hear. And the things you like, the music that greets your ears and feet, the noises that frighten you. Or better yet the things you know and others don’t, or things others know and you don’t. The things you think about and feel about. Or why teachers teach what they do. Why we have certain rules, and rules at all. And who makes these rules.
Your life is a movie. It is why we go to the movies. To experience a part of life that we may never have the ability to experience. Because we didn’t know it existed, or that it’s a deep part of us that needs explanation. Or that we are simply too afraid in ourselves to do it, so we watch others do it for us. That’s why we call it Television. To Tell-a-vision. A mystical vison or daydream if you will. All we need is a remote to channel us into this vision we want to see ourselves in. But just knowing this, you’re now better able to understand these 5 minutes of this movie, by putting more pieces together like solving clues to a crime. And little by little you’ll begin to understand more and more of this movie.
And eventually, you’ll show up to the movie at the beginning with the others. And this is the point of traveling. To learn more of what’s in this world, close and near, so you can bring understanding to your own movie and this movie we’re all watching to make sense of it all. Since we’re all watching it together. But people start at different times. Both kids, and even adults. But it’s the ones who travel and who learn, because learning is traveling, and traveling is learning. The more you learn and travel, the closer to the beginning of your movie you will start, because you need to start at the beginning to understand the whole thing. And the less you learn and travel, the less of the movie you will understand, like walking into a movie at the last 5 minutes.
How did they build those grand pyramids in Egypt? How did they move those massive blocks? Was it the rumor of using sound levitation? Possibly, since music makes your feet move. Why does Rome love ancient stories of gods and goddesses? Did they help them with their daily life, like telling time since they didn’t have electricity? Like with moon cycles? Well we do have Saturn day, Sun day, and Moon day, or Saturday, Sunday and Monday in modern English. Why do I order biscuits for breakfast in England, and they always give me cookies? Or French fries when I ask for chips? How come Italians speak with their hands? When you move your mouth in the rhythm of their language it animates your whole body magically almost, because you need different muscles to say the same thing. Or why do people look down when you walk by them on the street? Not in Switzerland. These are things I have learned and noticed, big and small, traveling. And like watching a movie, or learning to play an instrument, when you learn how it works and what it means, you feel connected to something deeper in this world, which makes you have more in common with more people.
I also ran for my life away from bulls in a tiny Spanish neighborhood, swam on the beaches of Normandy, sat in great big olive trees high in the Tuscan mountains while hearing the pretty girls below me sing in Italian. Climbed volcanos in the rainforest, made pizza in Italy, went on picnics in canals in Venice while the ground flooded. Swam in the Atlantic Ocean with my boots on because the rocks hurt and listened to a piano play with not fingers but water. Learned about World War Two in a building that was bombed from that very same war. Got kicked off trains and buses in France because the drivers decided to go on strike to earn more money. Saw Ronaldo play in the Euro Cup at the stadium where the Paris attacks happened, and even learned which teams played the night before by how bad the streets smelled of pee (It was the Welch and English) And I learned that friendship, love, tears, joy, cold, rain, pizza, are all the same in all languages. And so are people. Don’t believe me? Go see it for your self.