Those of you who have read my blog posts in the past know
that I like to be positive or, at the very least, write about negative
experiences only when I find the positive silver lining underneath it all. Those of you who follow my blog (Hi Mom and
Dad!!) probably noticed that it has been months since I’ve posted
anything. The reason for this is, while
I’ve had intermittent periods of positive experiences and feelings in Saudi
Arabia, I’ve been sad most of the time.
I mean ugly-face-crying-in-the-morning-for-days-on-end kind of sad. There was an undercurrent of unhappiness for
a long while and I just couldn’t bring myself to write and didn’t dare force
myself to write something that would radiate negative energy onto anyone
reading it.
Luckily for me, things have shifted. A light came into my tunnel of sadness and
everything brightened up. That light has
a name, and it’s name is California. As
some of you may recall, I traveled last year with the family I work for to
London and Paris. This year, Alhamdulillah
(aka Thank You, God), we went to Southern California. Oh, just typing out that word, California,
sends positive vibes through my entire body.
When I found out we were traveling to Los Angeles I knew the potential
for goodness was there. It’s the west
coast of North America after all. It’s
the southern version of British Columbia as far as I’m concerned, and anyone
who knows me knows all about my unconditional love for my dearest BC. Yes, California brought me out of my long-term
funk and caused a happy shift that was unexpected. It made me feel like there may be another
“home” out there for me other than British Columbia. *GASP!*
I know. How can it be possible
when my love affair with BC has been so strong for so long?! Well, my dearest family and friends, as I’ve
said before, change is the only constant in life and oh how I love to flow with
change.
What could possibly be so great about Southern California
that would make me think I could belong there as well as British Columbia?
I could tell you about the purple flowers covering the
beautiful Jacaranda trees when I first arrived in SoCal and how their fragrance
woke me up and encouraged deep breaths as I ran through gorgeous Beverly Hills
neighbourhoods during my morning workouts.
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| Climbing in Malibu |
I could tell you about rock climbing in Malibu; how the sound
of the waves crashing against the rocks that lay just below me distracted me in
the most fantastic of ways, creating a feeling of nonchalance even though I
struggled during my climbs.
I could tell you about biking along the winding path that took
me from the beautiful bodies lounging on Santa Monica Beach, to the eclectic
characters roaming along Venice Beach, to the sights of kayaks and sail boats
floating in Marina Del Rey, to the LAX flights that flew overhead while biking
along Play Del Ray, Dockweiler Beach, and Manhattan Beach, to a final stop for
beer and fish tacos at Hermosa Beach.
I could tell you about the exhilaration of riding on the back
of a motorcycle, speeding along freeways, weaving through cars on traffic
filled streets, and feeling the air turn from warm to cool as we drove up into
the hills to gain a panoramic view of the San Fernando Valley while the wind
whipped past me and the sun set all too quickly.
I could tell you about all the surfers with their
delightfully tight bodies, bleached hair, and freckled shoulders paddling their
boards out into the Pacific Ocean.
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| Setting up top-rope in Stoney Point |
I could tell you about the dust and dirt that covered my
sweat soaked face and arms while I trekked with new friends to yet another amazing
climbing route in yet another gorgeous Southern California park under the
mid-day sun.
I could tell you about the Farmers Market at the Grove and
it’s many variants of smells from international foods that filled my nostrils
and it’s adorable jewelry vendor who described his vision of a flame of insight
centred in my heart as he held the chalcedony bracelet that I was about to buy.
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| Brunch at Cafe Gratitude |
I could tell you about so many things: the comedy club, the
large and lovely lady with her headphones on dancing like she was in a music
video in the middle of the sidewalk, Café Gratitude and it’s delicious raw
vegan menu, the friends-of-friends I was introduced to but didn’t have nearly
enough time to get to know better, the mentally unstable people roaming the
streets who can be disturbingly astute, and the sidewalks built especially for
horses just outside of Santa Monica.
But what I really want to tell you about is the way SoCal
made me feel and to do that I need you to know about the people.
As is typical with the best times had in life I had a random
and unexpected occurrence happen. It was
while shopping for my climbing rope. I
received help from a cool guy named Corey who turned out to be a hub where fun
times and great people rotate around.
Luckily for me, Corey decided I was worthy of an invite to a day of
climbing with his friends. A few days
later he had set up a drive for me to the climbing spot. Soon I was driving and chatting with his
friends, as we drove from Santa Monica, along the Pacific Palisades, to a beach
in Malibu where we would be climbing.
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| Relaxing with new friends |
I was so happy to simply be climbing, the fact that I was
climbing at a beach was a bonus. It
wasn’t long, however that I began to realize something even better was
happening and that I may have found what I like to call “insta-friends.” I started to get to know the people who drove
me. Ian and Hailee are a couple involved
in the film industry. Ian directs the
photography for the coolest of documentaries and short films many of which, be
still my heart, are of snowboarding, climbing, and biking. Hailee is probably the hardest worker in the
realm of commercial filming with barely a day off and yet she still manages to
stay chill and fun. At the beach I also
met, Joanne, the first person I have ever come across who had a genuine interest
in and knowledge of the Middle East, as well as the sweetest of hearts, setting
off a quick connection.
These people, Corey, Hailee, Ian, and Joanne, became my
friends in California. In a place where
I expected to feel like a stranger, they made me feel welcomed. They engaged me in conversation and made me
realize that my life in Saudi Arabia is, in fact, interesting. They moved me past feeling jaded to actually
recognizing that I have had pretty cool experiences in that intense
sandbox. Beyond Saudi Arabia they
talked with me at a level where I felt connected at the heart; where we
described insights and lessons learned about topics ranging from bad boyfriends,
to sex, to traveling, to inner-city children.
I found out about where they grew up and their relationships with their
siblings. They learned about my journey from
growing up as an anxiety-filled nerd into who I am now. Through conversations both planned for and
taken on a whim of opportunity I ended up on a level of discovery with people
that I barely knew, making me feel honoured to have been welcomed into their
worlds without hesitation. I had been
given a sense of belonging and with that a sense of home.
That belonging that I felt in California with these amazing
people is what I feel with my wonderful friends back in BC. It surprised me and opened my eyes to a
realization that there can, in fact, be more than one place in the world that
just feels right. I suppose this is
something that many avid travelers experience.
I wonder if they also feel the confusion that I’ve been feeling and if
they have internal debates on how to be in both places to experience and
discover them each to the fullest. It’s
a wonderful debate to be having and I feel like the luckiest person to have
been introduced to such a wonderful place as California and the amazing friends
that live there.
“Home is where you’ve felt the most.” – Helen Humphries The Lost Garden
In Joy,
Bonnie
