Slacking

I never know what to write in this thing so I usually put it off for a few days then feel guilty enough to finally sit down and try. So here I am guilted into it again.

I'm in London staying with a friend I met in Paris. I've been here since Monday and will be here until next Monday when I fly to Iceland. What a generous guy!

I've been living the life of a London local and it is expensive.  I don't think in could live here permanently because of the insane rent but since I'm living on a couch for a week, it's great!

Speaking of rent, I believe my debt house idea will finally take shape. For those unfamiliar, which is probably everyone, I've been talking to some of my friends and we realized a huge burden on them all is debt, mostly of the student loan variety. What I came up with was to start shared living houses and using the money saved to go toward paying it off faster.  Not only would rent be cheaper but also a lot of commonly used items would be split, such as a grill.

Ideally it'd be a large 4 bedroom house which can be found for as low as 1200 a month. Since there are couples interested, we could have up to 6 people living there making rent 200 a month. With the right group and a common interest (climbing), it'd be a great experience. And though we would all be climbers, we'd have incredible diversity otherwise and I think it'd improve our lives in many ways. We'd always have motivated training partners and would end up building a mini training wall for sure.

Anyway, the first iteration would be just 3 people. Hopefully as more people become interested, a larger debt house will be created.

Istanbul

I flew from Bucharest to Istanbul this morning. I had a 10am flight so I left the hostel early; around 7am. Because it was so early on a Sunday, there weren't any bus ticket windows open. Luckily I had gotten one from a friend the night before. Or so I thought.

When I got on the bus, it wouldn't scan. Since I had no other option, i decided to risk it and stay on. Sure enough, next stop there's a cop checking tickets. I tried playing dumb but they dinged me with a 50 lei fine, which really is only $13 or so. I also tried to pretend I didn't have the cash to cover and offered 20 lei. They took my passport and were going to make it 150 lei if I didn't pay so I did. Terrible way to end a great city.

Another thing, the city of Bucharest decided to have a huge party last night for some reason. I didn't get to bed until 2. Woke up at 630 for my flight. I'm spending tonight in the airport. Needless to say I look like hell. I'll also wear the same clothes for 3 straight days.

Today in Istanbul, I arrived at around 11. And before I go any further, I want to say airlines in Europe treat passengers like royalty. On my 1 hour flight, I got a meal (that I think had some sort of raw meat, ate it anyway), drinks, and a newspaper. I got to the airport in Istanbul, stashed my luggage, and wandered around the city for the afternoon.

Istanbul is huge. I never realized it's bigger than NYC. The metro system is super modern but the city had pockets that haven't aged well. In 20 years, it will be without a doubt a cutting edge city but for now, its about half way there.

I got lost walking around this massive city and ate delicious food. Turkish food is slowly becoming my favorite. And now here I am in Istanbul airport. Flight leaves in 10 hours to London and I still don't have a place to crash. I'll worry about that when I get there. For now, I just want a quiet corner to sleep.

Travelers curse

The more you travel, the more numerous and profoundly varied the relationships you will have. But the more people you meet, the more diffused your time is with any of them. Since all these people can't travel with you, it becomes more and more difficult to cultivate long term relationships the more you travel. Yet you keep traveling, and keep meeting amazing people, so it feels fulfilling, but eventually, you miss them all, and many have all but forgotten who you are. And then you make up for it by staying put somewhere long enough to develop roots and cultivate stronger relationships, but these people will never know what you know or see what you've seen, and you will always feel a tinge of loneliness, and you will want to tell your stories just a little bit more than they will want to hear them. The reason this is part of the Curse is that it gets worse the more you travel, yet travel seems to be a cure for a while.

Bucharest, and a story i forgot

So I forgot to mention something that happened in Paris last week. My friend Wendy and I were walking the street sort of late and a bit outside Paris. We left the metro station and found ourselves on an empty street. There was a group of about 6 so we were really outnumbered. They started throwing rocks and possibly bottles. Not sure but I know the rocks were big and one came really close to hitting us. We ducked into a parking lot and I found a pipe I could use if necessary but luckily they didn't follow us into the lot. This was the only time so far I felt a bit in danger.

And Bucharest!  The food is cheap, beer is cheap, transportation is cheap, and the hostel is $12 a night. The hostel I'm staying at is sort if a meditation center. They only host 12 people at a time so everyone becomes instant friends. The owner has done meditation retreats and has turned it into a very relaxing environment. It has been a great 4 or 5 days (not even sure how long I've been here) and I'm starting to figure out what's next for me.  I have some goals for the next 6 months that I'm excited about. Some include putting more effort into learning French, meditating daily, and climbing the Grand Wall in Squamish this August.

My favorite Bucharest moment so far has been at the Turkish restaurant I've been frequenting. The chef fired up a cigarette as he was prepared my meal. I thought it was a refreshing attitude and really represents the general attitude of everyone here. That would never fly in the states. There would probably be a lawsuit. I could get used to this lifestyle.

Warsaw poland

Spent half a day in Warsaw Poland yesterday then slept on a bench in the airport. I think it's 6am here in warsaw. Flying to Bucharest Romania in 5 hours on about 3 hours of sleep. I made sure to load up with absinthe and Cuban cigars before leaving.

Last full day in Paris

I have decided to leave Paris tomorrow because the weather continues to be ugly and the forecast is calling for rain tomorrow and Sunday. Since climbing is pretty much out of the question for a while, I booked a flight to Bucharest Romania with a 20 hour layover in Warsaw Poland. I'll check out Warsaw for a bit and then sleep in the airport until my flight to Bucharest. The hostel I found in Bucharest is only 8€ a night which is much better than western Europe.

My last few days in Paris have been fantastic despite the weather. Wednesday night I stayed with my friend Igor in his flat, sleeping on the floor and last night I came back to the hostel where I met even more great folks including a guy from Iraq.  I've also met Jay who is originally from India but lives in and is CEO of a company in Chattanooga. He said he hasn't taken a vacation in 19 years and is in Paris for business but happened to stay in the hostel and is sharing a room with me. I'm not letting him work today and we are going to see all the touristy areas of Paris. He's also seriously considering finally taking a journey much like mine where he'd buy a ticket somewhere and just make the rest up as he goes. We plan on keeping in touch so I'm hoping he does it.

Translation Request

So I have left a little journal in the common area of the hostel in Paris. I hadn't touched it in 7 days and over that time, it's been moved, the pen has been taken twice, the sign has disappeared and a new one created, and it has moved positions multiple times but overall it's still in one piece. However, today I got an entry in Portuguese and I'd love to know what exactly it says so if anyone feels like translating, that would be great!