Back. Home?
Yep, I'm back.
I have been gone 370 days, visited 14 countries and 15 therapeutic riding centers, spent $22,000 and met countless people.
So now comes the Big Question that I've worked so hard to avoid answering - the one that is supposed to sum it all up, the one that at least looks on the outside like a polite bit of conversation.
What have I learned from all this?
uh, well, let's see, um....
It's a hard question because on one hand I could fill volumes with the things I've learned. I know about contraindications of therapeutic riding, how to select a suitable horse, how to train the horse from the ground, how to use "soft hands" and more perna (leg). I've learned when to ask more questions and when to listen. I've learned to converse in another language and that the Golden is the Queen of all Apples. I learned about dozens of medical conditions and how to make a mate. I learned how to operate a hydraulic mounting chair, cook cactus leaves, pick a stall the British Horse Society-approved way, play dominoes, speak to an autist, safely operate air brakes, outfit a surrey to accomodate a wheelchair, eat a mangosteen, and mount a moving horse from the ground.
But the grand, worldly things? The life-changing, book-selling, consciousness-raising things? I'm going to need more time on that one...
What I can say is that this trip was 100 percent about the people. If only I had recorded the voices of all the instructors, riders, EAT (equine-assisted therapy) enthusiasts, parents, carers, and employees of these programs it would be an incredible testament to the dedication, passion, joy, and wisdom that's floating around out there if you just take a moment to listen for it. But of course I was selfish and just kept all those words for myself. (Originally, that's what this blog was meant for. But I've also learned I'm really bad at updating my blog.)
I am immensely grateful to all the folks that hosted me in their homes, opened their facilities to a random stranger and showed me around their city. Some 14 horsepeople from four continents went out of their way to make me feel not just welcome but at home; how can I possibly be cynical about the world in general after that? Countless more took time from their lives to show me around, take me for a good vegetarian meal, and just have a conversation. I've been asked by other travelers how I found these people - just by asking around, sending random e-mails, and hoping for the best which, I believe, is precisely what I got.
My experiences would have been much poorer without my contacts. Though I traveled alone, I was never really by myself. I always had a network through the riding centers of interesting, funny, intelligent people. Without them, I would have just been a perpetual tourist looking at buildings. The vacation would have ended each time I left a place. But with friends around the world the connection lingers after I part ways.
I guess I did learn one thing, then: to look for more stories, more perspectives, more voices. I can only do this by starting conversations, looking for contacts rather than staying comfortable in my solitude, and listening to what those people have to say. I built up my own story from all the ones I had collected along the way both from pre-selected contacts and random strangers at the bus stop.
And so an eerie thing happens on this idyllic suburban street on which I grew up: nothing. It's quiet. Quieter than Singapore! Quieter than my solo-trek across the New Forest in Southern England. I don't know any of the neighbors and I don't even know many people in the area anymore. So I'm back, but not home.
And now? I'm looking for someplace to call my own home, to continue writing the story. To find more stories right here in the US with a new perspective of my own. To challenge myself again and, of course, watch as much trashy reality TV as possible. (just kidding on that one) I can hopefully be the one on the other side now and host friends old and new to repay that cosmic debt of hospitality. I owe a lot but it's a debt I'll be more than glad to pay back...even with interest.
I have been gone 370 days, visited 14 countries and 15 therapeutic riding centers, spent $22,000 and met countless people.
So now comes the Big Question that I've worked so hard to avoid answering - the one that is supposed to sum it all up, the one that at least looks on the outside like a polite bit of conversation.
What have I learned from all this?
uh, well, let's see, um....
It's a hard question because on one hand I could fill volumes with the things I've learned. I know about contraindications of therapeutic riding, how to select a suitable horse, how to train the horse from the ground, how to use "soft hands" and more perna (leg). I've learned when to ask more questions and when to listen. I've learned to converse in another language and that the Golden is the Queen of all Apples. I learned about dozens of medical conditions and how to make a mate. I learned how to operate a hydraulic mounting chair, cook cactus leaves, pick a stall the British Horse Society-approved way, play dominoes, speak to an autist, safely operate air brakes, outfit a surrey to accomodate a wheelchair, eat a mangosteen, and mount a moving horse from the ground.
But the grand, worldly things? The life-changing, book-selling, consciousness-raising things? I'm going to need more time on that one...
What I can say is that this trip was 100 percent about the people. If only I had recorded the voices of all the instructors, riders, EAT (equine-assisted therapy) enthusiasts, parents, carers, and employees of these programs it would be an incredible testament to the dedication, passion, joy, and wisdom that's floating around out there if you just take a moment to listen for it. But of course I was selfish and just kept all those words for myself. (Originally, that's what this blog was meant for. But I've also learned I'm really bad at updating my blog.)
I am immensely grateful to all the folks that hosted me in their homes, opened their facilities to a random stranger and showed me around their city. Some 14 horsepeople from four continents went out of their way to make me feel not just welcome but at home; how can I possibly be cynical about the world in general after that? Countless more took time from their lives to show me around, take me for a good vegetarian meal, and just have a conversation. I've been asked by other travelers how I found these people - just by asking around, sending random e-mails, and hoping for the best which, I believe, is precisely what I got.
My experiences would have been much poorer without my contacts. Though I traveled alone, I was never really by myself. I always had a network through the riding centers of interesting, funny, intelligent people. Without them, I would have just been a perpetual tourist looking at buildings. The vacation would have ended each time I left a place. But with friends around the world the connection lingers after I part ways.
I guess I did learn one thing, then: to look for more stories, more perspectives, more voices. I can only do this by starting conversations, looking for contacts rather than staying comfortable in my solitude, and listening to what those people have to say. I built up my own story from all the ones I had collected along the way both from pre-selected contacts and random strangers at the bus stop.
And so an eerie thing happens on this idyllic suburban street on which I grew up: nothing. It's quiet. Quieter than Singapore! Quieter than my solo-trek across the New Forest in Southern England. I don't know any of the neighbors and I don't even know many people in the area anymore. So I'm back, but not home.
And now? I'm looking for someplace to call my own home, to continue writing the story. To find more stories right here in the US with a new perspective of my own. To challenge myself again and, of course, watch as much trashy reality TV as possible. (just kidding on that one) I can hopefully be the one on the other side now and host friends old and new to repay that cosmic debt of hospitality. I owe a lot but it's a debt I'll be more than glad to pay back...even with interest.
posted by Sarah at 11:57 AM
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