thebirdofpassage-blog1

[thebirdofpassage-blog1]

Dance with time

I feel like my patience has been tested more than ever while living in an Latin-American country

”Pura Vida” and ”Tico time” are concepts that I am not familiar with as a citisen of Finland.

I’m used to punctuality, schedules and timing.

In Costa Rica, time is indeed irrelevant. If you are late for an hour, it’s no big deal.

It is not a rare sight to see the locals having their siesta under a palm tree on the beach, while they are sopposed to be working.

They are not in a rush and they seem to have nothing to worry about. Life moves slow.

For me, waiting for somebody for more than 30 minutes is disrespectful. It is waisting somebodys precious time, which makes it extremely hard for me to live with it.

I have discovered how impatient I am with everything. Coworkers, traffic, small inconveniences, surfing, scheduled dates, you name it. Everything that I cant control that is not working the way I wish, makes me furious.

Just like that my mood can be switched from happy to extremely frustrated.

It is one of my biggest flaws but also one of my strenghts. It is rare to see me late from work or any appointments.

But is for sure something I need to work on. To relax. To breath. To let time lead the way and to not obsess about making every minute usefull.

Time has it’s own way of working just like anything else. You just need to trust it and see, what it brings along.

-a.r

[thebirdofpassage-blog1]

In youth we learn

We’re riding down the hills away from Playa Grande

I feel the heat

The sun has no mercy today

I hold on to Marvin

Knowing that I’m safe on the back of his motorcycle

I feel like I use the word happy too much, but it seems to sum up most of my emotions

Happy, content, satisfied, fulfilled

The hot air and the strong wind makes me want to close my eyes

I wrap my arms around him and I lay my head on his back

I drift away to dream for a minute

There’s no place where I’d rather be

No event that I’m looking forward to

No person I would rather be with

Here and now is exactly where I need to be

Your company is my favourite

We laugh, we enjoy, we live

We are always on our way to new adventures

And that is all I need

I feel like I’m doing everything I missed out on in Australia

Getting to know new people constantly

Making friendships that might last a life time

Living free and independent, in control of everything

Having the time of my life

Enjoying my youth

That helps me to forgive myself on the wasted opportunities that I didn’t take advantage off

To forgive my weakness

And to give myself a new chance

-a.r

[thebirdofpassage-blog1]

Letting go

It becomes a part of your life while you travel

Travellers dont tend to stay still

So you get used to people coming and going

You find the ones you like but next week your paths go different ways and you might never see them again

The human ability to adjust in situations is incredible

The circumstances can change in a blink of an eye

Maybe the people you came close with have to leave and you have to say good byes

Or your possible plans got cancelled, and you’re left empty handed with no idea what to do

Or all of a sudden you just feel out of place

We take what we have and we use those tools to balance out our lives again

And when you are able to do that, it makes you so much stronger and closer with yourself

And that makes travelling a risk worth taking

-a.r

[thebirdofpassage-blog1]

Unforgettable

Four girls

Four different countries

Brought together to this small town called Palm Beach

All seeking for something

Maybe new adventures

Maybe new sceneries

Or some may be here for a fresh start

Sitting in silence

Watching the waves crash

High on life

Laying under the stars

All in their own thoughts

I wonder what everyone is thinking about

I know nothing about these people

Still, we are getting close with eachother

The beautiful art of human interaction

I wish these days will never end

-a.r

[thebirdofpassage-blog1]

Far from home

A bright light shines through my window

With a grey curtain blocking the light

Creating a shadow

Painting my new bed in lonely colours

For the first time I feel far from home

Far from everything that comforts me

New place

New people

New job

New area

Again

Time to adjust

Time to use so much energy on learning

It is like learning how to walk

Over and over again

But when you take those first walking steps on your own, it makes you feel so good

And when you learn how to run, there’s nothing better

-a.r

[thebirdofpassage-blog1]

Sea breeze

The sun is shining and I feel happy I feel relaxed Less than 24 hours ago I met a fellow traveller from Switzerland, Tobi

There we were lying under the warm Costa Rican sun Comfortably in silence I guess our cultures match so it’s easy for us to bond The sea breeze plays with our hair and makes it bearable to be in the sun

“Pura vida” I whisper to Tobi After a few second pause he sighs deeply and whispers back to me “Pura Vida Ada”.

-a.r

[thebirdofpassage-blog1]

Wave after wave

Beautiful, clean, soft waves

Waves that make your eyes light up and you’re body tense up from excitement

It’s been too long since we’ve seen each other like this with mama ocean, way too long

Im craving for it’s soft, cooling touch

The water is chilly but I just need to get out there

I jump on my longboard and it feels like I never stopped doing this

The water feels silky on my hands as I paddle

I paddle out and I sit on my board

I glance at the waves, no waves yet

I glance at the sun, I have about half an hour before it sets

I look down to see how deep it is, I cant see the bottom

Sunset sessions have so much magic in them, it’s unexplainable

I missed this

I missed this so much

I miss my body being absolutely exhausted

I miss swimming under the waves

I miss the water dripping down my hair as Im catching my breath on my board

But Im scared

Im scared of the ocean and it’s power

I have no chance against it

But you got to learn to dance with it

And when you do, there’s nothing better

I look at the sky, the sun

I sigh to myself

Im so happy to be here

[thebirdofpassage-blog1]

Dreaming is dangerous

Costa Rica The country of the nicest people people who do what ever is in their power to help you People who smile People who truly live life at it’s purest

“Pure vida” the guy replies to me with a big smile after I said thank you for filling my water bottle on a boiling hot day “Good morning Ada, como estas?” , sais the guy at the reception who makes me feel at home

Costa Rica The rich coast Rich of beautiful flora and fauna Rich of warm winds that feels like a hug from mother nature Rich of beautiful beaches, one after the other, where the waves breaking sounds like music   Rich of culture and everything amazing that comes with it

A country where I feel at ease A country that challenges my mind with it’s being    A country that makes me feel excited to live, to explore A country that simply makes me feel happy

[thebirdofpassage-blog1]

California dreaming

Im sitting at the Santa Monica pier. The soft sun kisses the pale skin of my face. It feels good, the warmth.

I gaze at the open ocean. Out of nowhere, I see dolphins surfacing. There’s maybe three or four of them. I guess it’s breakfast time, since they are swimming close to the surface. Carefree they swim around. Not in a rush or no need to be anywhere else. Just like me. I am exactly where I need to be.

They hear us and they want to put up a show. Those smart, cocky and beautiful animals. And I think they know it.

I sit on an old wooden bench at the pier. It is still early, but there’s surprisingly little people. There’s an old man playing music. He has the melody and the beat coming out of a speaker. He plays his electric guitar on top of it and sings. Next song comes up, ”welcome to the hotel California. Such a lovely place, such a lovely face…” he sings with an old rusty voice.

I smile and keep on watching the dolphins play. Such a lovely place.

-A.R

[thebirdofpassage-blog1]

Bon Voyage!

A bit uneasy I sit at Starbucks, Gatwick airport edition. Desperately trying to connect to the wifi. 1,5h of wifi per gadget, ridiculous. Shyly sipping on my too-hot-to-drink-green tea, observing my surroundings. Men and women in suits having a professional looking meeting. People on their phones and computers, just like me.

I feel pressure on my chest that makes it a bit more difficult to inhale deeply. Probably from the little sleep and the small anxiety from jumping to the unknown again. And no mom, no need to worry. It’s all a part of it, trust me. It’s an enjoyable kind of anxiety.

I don't feel uneasy about the flight or the journey, but uneasy about the unknown and all that comes with it. The possibility of losing something important, missing a flight or just messing something up increases when you travel alone.

I love wondering on my own. I get to come and go as I please. If I want to be alone, I can always do that. If I want company, I’ll go sit next to a lonely person and start a conversation. The downside of travelling alone is doing fun things without having someone to share them with. The fun always doubles when it’s shared. But the people will come and go. I’m not worried about that.

I miss my family already. I miss dads weird jokes. The jokes that come out of nowhere and that are just so ridiculously unexplainable and stupid, you can’t help but laugh. I miss sitting down with my mom and going through all the gossip of my life. I’m so lucky to have a mom I can tell anything to. I miss the family gatherings. I miss my brother doing his mannerisms he’s done since I can remember. Drumming his fingers on the kitchen table, rapping some random, inappropriate lyrics and giving our dog so much love. I miss Julia’s loud voice as she asks ‘Well how about you Ada, how are you doing?’ after she’s talked about her life for the first half an hour. She gets herself in my shoes in a blink of an eye and always makes me feel good.

But now, Im on my own. Listening to four British guys having their afternoon tea and talking about the music industry today. The accent isn’t too strong, actually pleasant for the ear. One at the time they glance at me for some reason. Whenever I’m travelling on my own I feel like everybody is looking at me. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s all in my head.

I’m already sitting at my gate. I was expecting to get bored during the three hour layover but I only had time to eat an avocado salad at Nandos’s and then to find my way to the next gate.

People are getting up. I get nervous cause, I don’t know what’s going on. That’s also a downside of travelling alone, you have to be aware of everything on your own. No one is going to check if you still have your bag with you after you get out of the bathroom or if you’re at the right gate. But I like that. I like being the master of my own life.

I don’t know if I’m mentally prepared for the 11h flight. First I thought that I would have a full row to myself until this person out of a Travis Scott music video appears and sits next to me and asks if Im just visiting LA. I respond kindly and we exchange some words now and then but mostly stick to ourselves. This guy is a personality. We are from completely different worlds but we get along. We are synced. I told my self not to box people cause of their appearances but, for real believe it or not, this guy just smoked a few puffs of weed on an airplane in mid air. And no, I couldn't just make that up.   This is a great start for my trip. Cant wait to see what LA has to offer.

-A.R

[thebirdofpassage-blog1]

The Definition

bird of passage

noun

a migratory bird.

a person who passes through a place without staying for long.