Blog #2 Adventure
It would be an adventure within an adventure. I was already living the furthest from home I’d ever been when I moved to Rota, Spain. I was 18 years-old and figuring out what it meant to be on my own. Sort of. I was in the United States Navy, so technically, I wasn’t on my own. It’s kind of hard to describe a term that means I’m free to do what I want when I want, when part of that existence is showing up for roll call each morning. Yet there I was, part of an American community on a property owned by Spain. At first, I was living on base. But a year into my time in Europe, I received permission to move into town. A Spanish speaking town. I didn’t speak Spanish. It wasn’t long before the little, weathered market owners near my apartment figured out I had no idea what they were saying and a language comprised of head nodding, pointing, and holding up fingers to reveal pricing was brought into existence. Everything about those surroundings felt foreign. But it was thrilling. From the cobbled streets lined with plastered walls and colorful doors, which opened into unexpected flowering verandas, to the ruffly dresses, strumming guitars and heel-clicking dances held in the town’s promenades, there were surprises around every corner. As a young girl from Erie, Pennsylvania it would have been impossible to foresee this fantastic stretch in my life. Even the air held hints of unfamiliarity.
With so much to explore in the villages of Rota and Cadiz, such as bodegas, copper factories, and gypsy markets one would think my senses would be full. And they truly were. Yet, when an opportunity came to take a ferry past the Straits of Gibraltar to a tiny tip of Africa, I grabbed it and made the trip to Tangier, Morocco.
I went with my friend, Donna, a Navy girl, also new to Spain, from a southern state in the U.S. and who was up for an adventure. She was the perfect traveling mate. We caught the ferry on an early, cool morning. I’m pretty certain we were easily identifiable as Americans by our dialect and dress. From the moment we saw water splash up as a crystal reminder this was where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean Sea, I knew I was headed for a whole new world. This Saturday excursion did not disappoint. We stood atop rocky hills with breathtaking coastal views, sampled Moroccan cuisine served by waiters in white coats, and shopped for things we never knew existed. Even if that had been all we did, I had a lot to write home about. But there was a camel… and Donna and I got to ride it. To this day, I can’t believe the surreal aura surrounding the moment we were seated on the camel while it knelt patiently and then the unexpected lurch forward and violent pitch back as it moved from its knees to a standing position. You can bet I paid money to have a photo snapped. I’m so glad I did. Without that picture, how would I have introduced the adventurous soul who shone through the eyes of an 18-year-old to my kids who have only known me as Mom. Mom doesn’t travel much or do very daring things. Mom is safe and always around. And as this “Mom,” I don’t regret a single moment of choosing to raise my family and be a constant presence in their lives. Part of what has made that choice peaceful are the memories that prove I have lived. I have had my moments where I chose to travel and see foreign sites. The choice didn’t stem from my duty station being on foreign lands but in saying “YES!” to adventure and following the desire of discovery.
I fully understand the adventure of life is not over. I have much to explore in the realm of my current role. I hope to embrace it with vigor and a thirst to breathe adventure into those I love. This journey of walking through each day has carried me to distant lands and into various aspects of my own character, exposed by the demands of different duties as my life’s stages progress.
I look at this picture of two young girls seated on a camel and want to share with young people the wisdom captured in their smiles. Grasp adventure now, they seem to say, while you can and before your life becomes full. Full of others dependent on your presence. Full of excuses that you are too busy to play. Full of any detail that would keep you from hopping on a ferry to go see a new land and gain fresh perspective. Grasp adventure now.
