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Like most of you reading and enjoying the ConstantRadius website, I have been
constantly amazed by Brice's incredible talents as a photographer and web
designer. I thought it was perhaps time to reflect on my wonderful
husband's determination and dedication. ConstantRadius is his baby, his
project throughout these past ten months. While we have shared the
innumerable adventures and beautiful sights of this journey, I must admit that
I've not been much help with the site. Though I enjoy writing, I am a
dreadful journal keeper and painfully slow at writing something I'd be willing
to share with others. Countless nights I've drifted off to sleep with the
soft glow of the screen and clicking keys of our temperamental laptop fading
behind me.
One of the qualities that I most admire
about Brice is the intense focus he gives to a project, whether it is a
piece of furniture he is building or doggedly learning all the magic
tricks of his camera or pulling all-nighters so that we can mail a web
update from a reliable post office. Readers, be glad that these
updates are not my responsibility. Whereas Brice needs to have his
brain constantly engaged in problem solving and artistic productivity, I
am quite content to passively be immersed in the scent of a sand dune
sunset or to lose myself in an (often mediocre) novel. However, I do
revel in the conversations we share before he starts pecking away at an
update; remembering our favorite moments, laughing heartily at our
"mess-ups", considering how we might do something differently, flipping
through the countless photos of any given leg of the
trip.
Has it been mentioned that we have taken
over 40,000 photos since June 2005? That's not an exaggeration or a
typo - a four and four zeros that aren't Chilean pesos to be converted to
USD (40,000 pesos chilenos = U$80, in case you're interested) I will
also mention casually at this point that even though I can take little
credit for the creation of this website and most of the photography it
contains, I have also taken a few photos along the way and I must say that
my abilities as a photographer have greatly improved as well. I will
also mention that we are talking seriously about creating a book when we
get home that would include our best photos and reflections of our
travels. This would be an imposing task if Brice had not been so
dedicated to ConstantRadius.
For you also determined friends and family
who have been traveling vicariously with us, you will know that we are
nearing the end of our gap year. I suppose I cannot complain about
my honeymoon coming to a close a year after it began. It is a
delicate balance of sadness that our adventure is nearly over and
excitement to go home to the familiarity and comfort of people and places
I love so deeply. I won't be sad to leave behind the questionable
cleanliness of bed sheets and undeniably grodey bathrooms that are
inextricably part of third world travel. I will miss the fluttery
sensation of waking to the mystery of the day's excitement ahead, though I
do look forward to coming home each night to cook in my own kitchen and
sleeping in my own lovely bed.
I foresee the most difficult transition to
coming home not to be the daily grind of work and bills and predictable
routine, but not being with Brice all day. Undeniably, the best part
of this year has been the intensity of being together all the time.
Even after nearly a decade of love and friendship, we have discovered new
aspects in each other, shared long forgotten memories, and dreamt of the
adventures yet to come as we grow as a family. Not every couple
could live and travel together as we have and I count myself blessed and
lucky and privileged to have found Brice as my best friend and mate.
I will stop there because all this gushiness will embarrass him, but I'm
sure you all will agree that ConstantRadius as well Brice's myriad other
creations is a little piece of magic.
And I cannot wait to deliver hugs and kisses to all
of you upon our return to the US!
Con mucho amor,
Naomi
One of the toughest questions we hear and one we talk about the most. Beyond
the obvious chart-toppers of family and friends, we miss some things that we
always took for granted such as good American grocery stores (our local
SuperFresh in particular). Nowhere in our travels have we seen a grocery store
as well stocked with such diversity as an average American store.
We also find ourselves missing some other very simple things like the benefits
of good plumbing, English language ATM machines, reliable phone service, and
Little Havana's (a local Cuban bar).
On a more serious note, the warmth and camaraderie of family and friends is the
most sorely missed part of home. A close second is our house, with the benefitc
of our own bed and bathroom, a garage full of motorcycles, a comfy sofa with
our cat chilling out on it, a closet full of clothes and a washer and dryer
that we don't have to pay for.
One of the greatest benefits of this trip has been to make us realize how
wonderful our life back home is, from the creature comforts to the love of
friends and family. When we finally return, we will have a newfound
appreciation of so many things that we took for granted before.
This one really differs between us. For Brice, a real camera backapck that held
all of the gear properly. Unfortunately a camera specific backpack is too
obvious for theft and is not flexible enough in its use. A regular daypack is
more low key and offers more flexibility, carrying cameras, clother or stuffed
into the big backpack.
Naomi on the other misses her wardrobe the most. The cuter the clothes, the
less functional they are for daily wear, cleaning and transport
Homesickness is the real doozy. The hardest times have been immediately
following a meetup with family or friends, or when we arrive in a new big city
like Bangkok or Buenos Aires.
Another hard part is the constant logistical work, finding a new place to stay
in every new location, trying to find the best grocery stores or cheapest plane
tickets. The only times where we don't have to deal with this are when we rent
a car and can camp or when we stay for a while in the same place so we can
develop habits and nesting patterns.
Getting to experience some of the things we have, especially those that are not
possible in the confines of a normal US vacation of 1-2 weeks, like 17 days in
Bhutan, or just deciding to spend two weeks backpacking in a park then hopping
over to the next park for two more weeks. One of the best feelings is when we
actually sit back and think of all that we have done and seen and know that
there is still more to come.
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