You tasted it. Isn't that enough? Of what do you ever get more than a
taste? That's all we're given in life, that's all we're given of life. A
taste. There is no more.
Philip Roth, writer, The Dying Animal
I remember my first day in Peru, I landed in Lima and was walking around in Mira Flores. I was standing in the middle of the intersection waiting for the light to become green and watching the crazy traffic with amusement of a tourist from a developed world. All of a sudden a modest car passed me by, middle aged parents sitting in front , the father driving , and two teenagers in the back. The father was driving fast , as you should be in a busy street of a third world country, and at the same time it seemed like he was arguing with either his wife or the teenage kids in the back. I still can not explain what I saw in that car, but I found tears rolling down my eyes. I saw my life flashing before my eyes, the life that I was living twenty years ago. I saw my father driving his modest car in the crazy streets of a developing nation, and at the same time keeping an eye on his children.
And here I was the all American tourist who was not recognized in the world that she came from.
After that trip, I have walked the streets of so many other countries, mainly third world nations as a two minute tourist. With my flashy camera and very touristy clothes. Sometimes I am hopeful that people recognize me and treat me as of one of their own, while I am bargaining over the price of a souvenir or ordering a meal with my perfect English in the places that they could only dream of affording. As stupid as it sounds sometimes I walk by myself in their markets and look for a familiar face, for someone who remembers me.
But then I suppose one day I have to realize that I was not meant to be one of them, I was destined for greatness, whatever greatness is, I was raised to leave it all behind one day and move on to better things in life....
Its ok to miss what you had or become nostalgic for the life that you never got the chance to live, but then you have to go back to reality and give it all ....
I suppose at the end of the day that's all we're given of life. A taste. There is no more.
Philip Roth, writer, The Dying Animal
I remember my first day in Peru, I landed in Lima and was walking around in Mira Flores. I was standing in the middle of the intersection waiting for the light to become green and watching the crazy traffic with amusement of a tourist from a developed world. All of a sudden a modest car passed me by, middle aged parents sitting in front , the father driving , and two teenagers in the back. The father was driving fast , as you should be in a busy street of a third world country, and at the same time it seemed like he was arguing with either his wife or the teenage kids in the back. I still can not explain what I saw in that car, but I found tears rolling down my eyes. I saw my life flashing before my eyes, the life that I was living twenty years ago. I saw my father driving his modest car in the crazy streets of a developing nation, and at the same time keeping an eye on his children.
And here I was the all American tourist who was not recognized in the world that she came from.
After that trip, I have walked the streets of so many other countries, mainly third world nations as a two minute tourist. With my flashy camera and very touristy clothes. Sometimes I am hopeful that people recognize me and treat me as of one of their own, while I am bargaining over the price of a souvenir or ordering a meal with my perfect English in the places that they could only dream of affording. As stupid as it sounds sometimes I walk by myself in their markets and look for a familiar face, for someone who remembers me.
But then I suppose one day I have to realize that I was not meant to be one of them, I was destined for greatness, whatever greatness is, I was raised to leave it all behind one day and move on to better things in life....
Its ok to miss what you had or become nostalgic for the life that you never got the chance to live, but then you have to go back to reality and give it all ....
I suppose at the end of the day that's all we're given of life. A taste. There is no more.
This entry was posted
on Saturday, March 17, 2012 at 11:49 AM.
You can skip to the end and leave a response.
» Post a Comment