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| Manly Beach, 2009 |
I will just come out right here and say that actually I don’t like changes, I don’t like them one bit. I like to know what will happen and plan for things. That said, and here comes the kicker, my last 12-14 years on this earth have been nothing but a series of changes. Why I, a person with perfectionist tendencies, have decided to live my life in constant turmoil for so long beats me. Maybe it’s the thrill of walking just close enough to the edge to see how far I can push myself. To step outside the comfort zone to be able to grow.
Of course a person will go through changes and can learn to dance with them while staying put in one place too. But I truly believe my traveling ways have helped me become very adaptable. With traveling you practice the “muscle” of being okay with unexpected events. Getting stuck at an airport because you flight got canceled, no biggie. Finding ways to sleep on airport chairs by sitting upright for 8 hours, yeah been there done that. And speaking of sleep, being flexible enough to find comfort in numerous hotel room beds regardless of its softness or firmness…yeah no problem. Now, I think sleeping at various hotels should not grant you a medal in adaptability however roughing it at various hostels at some point in your life will. You have earned your stripes when you have managed to fall asleep in a sunken down bunk bed, with sheets that manage to be both sheer from numerous washings and yet still carry mysterious stains. To top it off you will have a stranger sleeping half a meter above you, snoring. Then, yes then you have made it. Side note, always bring your own pillowcase.
For me, and many others will agree with me, traveling has a lot to do with food. And different cultures eat different cuisine of course. Eating noodles for breakfast in China? Sure! Meat on a stick in Thailand? Yes! Cookies with yerba mate in Argentina? Yes please. In a Swedish cult movie called “Sällskapsresan” (a group of Swedes spending Christmas on the Canary Islands at a popular tourist destination) a lady asks the guide on board the bus from the airport: "Is there Swedish coffee at the hotel?” If there was, I would never touch it. Only exception was when my roommate Catharina and I went to IKEA to eat Swedish meatballs, but that’s different. We had then lived in Sydney, Australia for the majority of a year and were homesick.
In order to be a successful traveler and well, a human in general, its important to be able to roll with the punches. I certainly don’t succeed at this all the time, not even close. But I am getting better and better at it. I have also embraced some changes in my life and I look back at those experiences for inspiration. For example, before moving to Sydney, I was set on having my own room in the suburbs of the great city. I knew living expenses in Sydney were extremely high so I tried to factor in everything before I left. I rented a room in a part called Kensington for a while, but due to some unfortunate events I decided to leave that accommodation, but where to? Staying in the outskirts and trying to find a place to live in Randwick, Kingsford or Bondi Junction? I did a 180 degree change and rented not a room, but part of a room in the bustling CBD, Central Business District, in central Sydney. Only part of a room as that rent was already the most expensive rent check I ever had to cough up in my life! But there I was, living in China Town, only steps away from Darling Harbour, the entertainment district of the city. It was due to this very impulsive move that I one day walked down Sussex Street, the street my new place of living was located on, and into a hotel called Four Points by Sheraton. Fairly sick of applying for jobs online I apparently (as told to me later) approached the concierge and with a blend of charm and sass asked “Isn’t there anybody I can talk to face to face about any job openings?” The concierge took a liking to the Swedish traveler in front of him and brought me to the mezzanine level of the hotel, the heart of the house. He escorted me to the Human Resources Department and gave me a chance to speak to the person in charge of hiring. And that’s how I ended up working for Four Points and was included in the hotel family. Sure I would perhaps had a different story, and a good story too, if I had not made the move into the city center. But because of my move there I made several good friends, both other hotel employees as well as roommates, people I still keep in touch with to this day.
Switching gear for a moment, another part of my life which has definitely benefited from me being okay with changing my ways is the area of working out. It all started back when I was working as a nanny in St. Louis, USA and befriended some instructors at the local YMCA. Some of them were new to personal training and used me as their guinea pig. With my permission of course! We started to experiment with different workout routines to see how much we could alter my body. We were very successful and my body fat percentage dropped to incredibly low levels. I returned to Sweden heavier than ever. Now, many people going to the US fall in love with the abundance of fast food there and return home with some unwanted love handles. But my weight was pure muscle mass. I was a female beefcake. Now I am totally bragging, but I had an impressive six-pack back then. Fast forward a few years and yet again I was working out like a wildebeest. Hard, hardcore training where my knuckles bled on a regular basis and where 2,5 hour long sessions were part of my every day. I took pride in having a very high tolerance to physical pain. What is very weird is that throughout all this time I was also practicing yoga. And I saw great benefits with this gentler kind of workout. Nowadays I have done a 180 degree turn on this subject too. I do enjoy working up a sweat on a regular basis, but to bleed, and throw up during workouts is not my forte anymore. I practice yoga regularly now, almost every day, and I feel stronger and stronger. And this leads into my next section of changes, namely my diet…
I used to eat a diet consisting of a very high degree of animal protein as I was building muscle mass. I used to do the rookie mistake of also cutting out fats. Now I embrace a plant based diet with lots of good fats. Nuts, seeds, humus, avocado, olive oil, coconut oil…and I have not become fatter. Not at all. I still enjoy red meat, but on a more selective basis.
So after all this rambling about changes, what are the nuts and bolt of this post? It is to try to dance with your destiny. I am not at all the expert on this, but I guess I need to give myself some credit for recognizing when things just ain't working. Although sometimes that recognition has taken years to materialize. As life changes you have to go with the flow. If I can do it, or at least try to do it, I am sure anyone can. Some of my best memories of traveling have come in moments of complete confusion and chaos. Okay maybe not complete chaos, but unplanned events. As I live my life one chapter at a time, one adventure at a time, I look back at a very discombobulated book. Places, professions, homes, experiences…quite the ride. Did I expect myself living in Malmö and working for Turning Torso in 2015? Would never have planned it. But I am definitely enjoying this new part of my life…and I am trying to roll with the punches. And perhaps this blog post is nothing but a reminder to myself that I can, and I have, adapted to some interesting situations in the past. I have also found the strength to change things around when they just stopped working for me. So whatever lies before me, let’s just say, surfs up, time to hang ten. If the wave ends or you are no longer enjoying the ride, turn around and paddle out again. And speaking of changes, some changes are unwelcomed: I used to enjoy surfing but then I got a fear of sharks. Three shark attacks fairly close to Sydney the first two weeks I lived there will do that to you I guess. I hope this fear of sharks will once again change and I will truly be able to hang ten again, in the ocean as well as on dry land.
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