I bought a mug in Ilhéus (there was none and I like coffee), a butter knife in Cabo Frio, a kitchen knife in Foz, a sarong in Arraial do Cabo (and another one in Salvador…), a swimsuit in Floripa then in Itacaré, a few t-shirts, new Havaianas, tape and glue at one point, a leather belt in Argentina (and one for Feng as well), and more.
I least we got rid of the pillows.
My sandwicheira died at the Morro, though. It was a 110 V model because most of Brazil is on 110 V but guess what, it’s 220 V on the island—it’s really a unique place, and my sandwicheira didn’t handle it well.
And now I’m packing everything, leaving very little behind but sunscreen and my old worn-out Havaianas.
My brother, the travel newbie, is flying to Vietnam for a six-week one-in-a-lifetime trip. He packed light. I congratulated him. “You can buy anything you forgot on the road anyway,” I added. “That’s why you end up at 41 with a big backpack full of useful miscellaneous.”
I watched the sunset over Barra drinking café com leite one last time.
Then I went back to packing and worrying about the future.
The last few days of a trip are always very uncomfortable because I have to let go of the current place to project myself into other places, kilometres away. I’m here physically but mentally getting ready for another life.
I like my life but I didn’t pick the easiest road. I’m anxious, I don’t sleep well. I doubt myself and feel guilty about a long list of things all revolving around not meeting society’s standards as a wife, a woman, a mother, a French citizen and a Canadian citizen.
I should stop thinking and focus on packing.
I’ve been through that before and I made it through this kind of anxiety before as well.
J’admire ton honnêteté et ton intégrité ! Tu n’as de compte à rendre à personne. Je ressens la même chose que toi. Je pense qu’on peut tous ressentir ça à un moment ou à un autre. On crève d’envie de vivre plus, de vivre mieux, plus heureux. C’est ça que l’on doit écouter ! Rien d’autre ! Moi je suis d’accord avec tes choix et si je pouvais, je suivrais les mêmes. Et je t’encourage dans cette voie et même à aller plus loin. La vie mérite d’être vécue !
Merci, c,est un très gentil message 🙂 Je sais que tu suis tes idées et envies aussi 😉
Have a safe flight ! I’m sure you do that already but the easiest for me to go through those times is to plan the next project 🙂
Made it!
[…] Last Sunday, I was watching a last sunset over Barra in Salvador, wondering how I was going to handle the transition from Brazil to France. […]