My Scandinavian adventure has ended. For now.
Yes, it's always painful when one must pluck oneself from one's position atop the precarious yet mesmerizing cliff of holiday, only to painfully thrust oneself back into the rapidly swirling vortex of technology and modern society.
Perhaps it's not that dramatic, but I've been on a lot of mountains this past week.
My adventures have taught me a lot - about myself, my heritage (Scandinavian, yes, though not Swedish), and about the rich and beautiful history and culture that this part of the world holds. I've seen some of its secrets, and now I want more.
When people comment on the amount of travel I do, it's generally negative. Not the comment, but the tone - some of you may experience complex feelings (confusion, abandonment, the like) when I leave for another adventure, but this truly is what I was born to do.
Gentle reader, it's not you, it's me. I'm looking for something, though I've begun to discover that I have already found it, and yet I will never find it.
Yes, I admit that I'm a bit of a lost soul, but in fact, what I truly seek is how to define myself within the context of the world - essentially, I am seeking to learn about the world, its peoples, its cultures. It is the American plight that every one has quite a rich shared history, and yet each individual has a unique one. We, unlike many other cultures with a more homogenous populace (I say "more," not "completely," of course), each are made up of multiple ancestries, complex backgrounds. Very few Americans are of a single ethnic fabric, and this makes us incredibly interesting.
What I've discovered this trip is that there is a large part of my ancestry that I've never explored, to which I've never tried to relate. For those that know me, you know that I've spent my entire life reflecting the influence of the Latino part of my family, an integral part of my upbringing. Now, I have begun to see things in myself that reflect the Scandinavian culture more than I could have expected. This has been both surprising and stimulating for me.
From learning about Vikings to discovering the idiosyncracies of the Nordic climes, this trip has been very personal for me. Learning Swedish was immensely humbling, as well. I feel I've now uncovered a completely new way in which I can appreciate the world, and our country in particular - a great feeling at this time of year.
Now, how many motherlands do I have left to explore?
