USA – country number 31 on our journey.
Corpus Christi, Texas, USA.
We urgently need a longer break. Even if the cycling itself is okay and we have enough energy to make progress, we are often in a bad mood. For no apparent reason. Mexico was too fast and now we are already 300km from the border to Mexico. We are in Corpus Christi. Our brains can no longer keep up. On the other hand, we feel that we are almost home. Our idea of driving once around the world has actually been realized. Another 2500 km in the USA, 2000 km in Europe and we’re back in Berlin.
You have to be brave.
I guess you have to be to go on a trip like this. At least that’s what people say over and over again. “Wow, respect, I wouldn’t dare do that!” or “That’s really brave of you!” Yes. Perhaps it’s brave to leave your home – by which I mean your family, friends, habits and securities – behind for weeks, months or years and embark on a special stage of your life with lots of adventures.
No matter why we have decided to embark on such a journey, no matter how much we carry our “home” in our hearts, we already realize that we have left a part of our hearts in the world and that it was by no means the bravest thing to set off.
Things have become a little easier now.
We enjoy the luxury we have here in the USA. The hot shower that works, the stores full of food. Cafés that could become our favorite cafés if we lived here. And we enjoy the fact that we can communicate better again. Whatever it may be. We realize that this long journey is coming to an end.
We are in a country where the streets look like they have just been swept clean. Where no one smiles at us and asks how we are and whether we want to eat something together or need help because we are standing around somewhere looking stupid. A country with such a high number of regulations. Where 6 really means 6 and doesn’t allow a time span of 6:01 – 6:59. We will miss the chaos on the streets in India and somehow also the loud music on the streets in Colombia.
But of course, we are also fans of all the rules. We start to remember how this was back home. Without rules and boundaries, chaos ensues. But the presence of order AND chaos makes us want to create a balance. It brings creativity, the will to create order.
Which country we liked most.
This question: “Where did you like it best?” comes up more often now and honestly, I don’t know how to answer it. Certainly not in 10 seconds. This is the average attention span we receive. I still have to find out for myself how much chaos I can tolerate, what kind of chaos, and then maybe I’ll know which country I liked best.
Here in the USA, our trip doesn’t really seem to be understood. The American is more convinced that we are of course on a bicycle trip in the USA. For the official at the border to Mexico, Mexico is a far too dangerous country anyway. Why would you want to travel there? And we should be glad that we are out of there and have made it to a safe country.
Traveling means making decisions.
A trip like this is much more than just chilling out and seeing what the day brings. Traveling means constantly making decisions. Where are we traveling to? Where do we stay overnight? What should we see and do on site? Where and what do we eat? These all sound like total luxury problems. The internet sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. Websites are blocked, the banks are bitching about your many payments abroad. Not every ATM will give you money. There seem to be new challenges almost every day. And that’s overwhelming. We have learned to deal with it. It’s part of our everyday lives.
What will it be like when we no longer have it? This uncertainty. The first thought: much easier, of course. We will be homesick. Homesick for what we have encountered on this journey.
And here I am in the USA.
I know it’s all great. I’m lucky to be here. I just don’t feel like experiencing anything at all. After a long time of walking around on my own to take in endless impressions, I don’t feel like doing that anymore. I’m totally exhausted. Exhausted. There are probably worse places for travel fatigue. I should actually just take my time, slow down and wait for the exhaustion to pass. Continue to ignore all the sights around me, but instead I’d rather just ride, ride my bicycle. Use the time on the bicycle, organize my thoughts on the bicycle.
We miss the jam in bags, the chai tea in India, the coffee machines in Georgia, the wit of the Australians, the food in Thailand, the friendliness in Cambodia. We already miss the magic of the little things.
So I’m all the more looking forward to staying with hosts from the Warmshowers community and learning more from and about Americans. Lets see what we will miss when we leave this country.
At the moment, I’m grateful that people in this country are very patient when I’m struggling with the washing machine or the right of way rules. And I’m grateful for the way they drive. It feels so safe, something we haven’t been used to for a long time.
And we will do our best to stick to the rules. Even if there is no one to be seen at an intersection 3km away, in any direction, we will try not to cross the stop road without the 3-second stop.
Merry Christmas
And some more “first days” impressions:
