Trusting Intuition & Bumming Rides

I have to admit, I feel quite bad that I didn't write at all in the time I was out of the country, but truly, I was taking in so much new information, I felt a little overwhelmed at the thought of stopping and slowing and trying to process anything, then write it out. So, I have spent some time only traveling around, at a fairly rapid pace it seemed, and am still trying to process and work through everything I saw, felt, tasted, and experienced in the last ten days. But don't fret fellow adventurers, posts will be coming within the week about Bratislava, Vienna, Budapest, Málaga, and much more! For now, I'm just going to write about The Adventure of the Hour.

It's quite funny, actually, because just a couple days before I came back, I was telling my parents that the trip had gone incredibly well, but was fairly tame, and nothing really radical had happened. I even said it had been kind of boring. (Only in reference to wild adventures, which I tend to expect/experience during my travels and life.) Of course, my father commented on how it wasn't such a bad thing, and enabled everyone to relax a little more. But me, I like a good story, and expect them every time I walk out the door, so I was kinda bummed nothing too nuts had gone down. And then, as an answer to my unintentional prayer, adventure was delivered to me! I had to wait till I was back on Spanish soil for it to happen, but it did, and here it goes...

I flew in and out of Málaga's airport, which means going by blablacar (ride sharing) or bus from my town to Sevilla or Córdoba, and then again by blablacar or bus to Málaga. It's not the greatest arrangement, but every once in a while, it's okay. And I got really lucky with the blablacar I'd arranged to get from Málaga to Sevilla, because they were going to be leaving from the airport, and I wouldn't have to get into town and then sort out where to meet them. This was especially good news considering the previous adventure I'd had prior to departing.

We were meant to leave the airport between 16:30 and 17h, the trip takes about 2 1/2 hours, and the last bus I know about from Sevilla to Écija leaves at 20h, meaning I'd have a perfect amount of time to arrive and catch the bus back home. It seemed like a perfect plan, until four of the five of us who were going to go in the car went to get it from the parking place, and were told it had a flat tire. The couple whose car it is had no idea how this was possible, since they'd driven it there without one, left it there without one, and supposedly the car had been in the care of the parking people for nearly a week. Immediately I knew I wouldn't be making the last bus back to my town, and that I was about to get my adventure.

Surprisingly, it only took about an hour and fifteen minutes for the guy to come (we're in Spain, so that's incredibly fast, really), and instead of taking the car to the workshop, changing the tire, then driving back like they originally planned on doing (which none of us could figure out why, but again, we're in Spain), he just put some gook in it to hold it closed till we could get to Sevilla. So it ended up being about 18:30 when we left, and I started looking for other options to get home.

I learned there might be a bus leaving from the other bus station at 22h, and was putting all my hope in it, because strangely, there were no blablacars leaving from Sevilla to Écija that night as there usually are, nor were there going to be any leaving early enough in the morning to get me back in time for my 8:15 class! Completely opposite of how it usually is. Yep, I'd landed myself right in the middle of a new adventure.

We were driving along the highway for a while, getting closer to Sevilla, and then suddenly, I saw signs for Osuna, a town that's not far from Écija. I asked if we were going to pass through/by Osuna, and we looked on the map to find we'd be going right past it! I know that a lot of people go between Osuna and Écija because the hospital is much larger there than here, and the Holy Spirit started to prompt me and give me that feeling it often does -- that nudging feeling, trying to coax me one way over another, tell me something, guide me. I knew immediately I should just ask to be dropped in Osuna when I felt my chest tightening up, the way it does when an idea that makes me nervous comes to mind, but that comes from a place I know is far Higher than my mind. So what did I do? I tried to get it to back off, suppress it, because I'd rather get to Sevilla hoping there's a bus, than stand outside the hospital in a super-small Spanish town, asking every person that passes if they're going to my town. I was nervous to have to ask so many people, put myself out there like that, and run the risk of not getting back that night.

I started praying, sending messages to people in Écija to ask if they knew anyone going from the hospital that evening, and considered my two options. I really did not want to take the Osuna option, but then I thought about how I try to promote living a life that is based on going with your inner guide, doing things that freak you out, trusting God, and all that stuff I "sell", and I knew I couldn't not take my own advice in that moment. I knew I couldn't sit here and type to you all that it is the best possible thing you can do in your life to put it in the hands of God and trust Him with it all, if I wasn't willing to trust Him as far as to sort out a good, safe, timely lift home for me. I knew exactly what I needed to do. The time had come to stop suppressing the Spirit, and watch God work in my life. So in the last possible minute, as we were about to pass the off ramp into Osuna, I blurted out in full faith, "Could you drop me off at the hospital in Osuna!?" We veered off, and within minutes I was putting on my rucksack and walking towards the doors of the hospital, prepared to face a long string of rejection, but positive it'd all turn out.

In my daily devotional book, one of the quotes I pulled from it and have stuck on my wall says, "If you live your life too safely, you will never know the thrill of seeing Me work through you." (From Jesus, of course:) I read it from time-to-time, and try to allow it to manifest in my life, using it as a sort of creed for being daringly adventurous, always trusting I'll be fine. And this moment seemed too perfect to allow it to be played out. I mean, what's the worst case scenario here? I end up having to walk the 35 kilometers to my town, with my pack on, in twelve hours, all through the night, in order to make it to work on time? God would never let that be the case... I hope. :-/

So I gear up, and get ready to face one of my worst fears and least favorite friends, over, and over, and over, and over again: rejection. 

I first went into the hospital to ask the receptionist if she knew anyone who was going to be leaving for Écija, and she said no, but that a lot of shifts were ending at that moment, so loads of people would be leaving. Then I took to standing outside, and asked every single person that came out the doors if they were, by any chance, going to Écija.

I've been told by every hitchhiker I know that Spain is a really hard place to hitch, and they try to avoid it at all costs, because you can lose hours trying to find a lift. So it didn't really surprise me that time after time I was told "no", especially considering what I was wearing, and the fact I looked like a proper hippie/alt-kid backpacker, and definitely smelled pretty bad.

I looked something similar to this, but with a quieter scarf and no flower in my hair, plus my backpacker's pack, which I kind of hid off to the side after a few minutes a.) to relieve my back, and b.) to appear "more normal".

One man said no because he only had room for one person and had to take his mother, one woman said no because her car was too full, one young guy said he could take me tomorrow morning, and would normally help me out in the moment, but he was there to visit his grandma and couldn't leave (kind offer, but I could sense some creepy intentions and was quite pleased he couldn't help me in my moment of need), I'd like to think no one lied when they said no, and then, after "only" 35 minutes of asking (throwing in some, "I live in Écija and work there"'s to try and convince the people I'm not just some weird traveling hippie hopping around small, Spanish towns), I got a "Yes"!!! Enter: Francisco.

Fran, as I shall call him, started by asking me a slew of rapidly delivered questions, as if I were a contestant on 20 questions and the clock was running out fast! At first I was surprised, but when I thought about it from his side, I understood all the curiosity. I mean, what is a young American gal doing standing outside a hospital asking for lifts from one random, small town to another?

He ended up being such a nice person, gave me a bunch of advice about life and traveling, and by the end of the lift, he told me he wished he was 30-years old and single, because then he'd ask me if I wanted to go have a couple beers. Haha! Fran was very kind, and delivered some beautiful words to me about the kind of person I am, that I think was God's way of smiling down on me, telling me I'd done right by trusting Him that far. It's pretty amazing the things that God (life, the Universe, yourself, whatever you choose to put your faith in, if anything/one at all) has in store for us when we just GET OUT OF THE WAY and let it happen!

Truly, there is so much good stuff that wants to happen to us, come to us, and bless us, but our fears, our doubts, our silly, limited human logic, and our inabilities to step aside prevent it all from happening. I hope this story inspires you to take some chances and let life carry you along its Grander-Than-Us Plan! To trust that all will turn out wonderfully if you let it and just trust.

Oh, and if you need some more convincing you haven't somehow gotten through any of my adventures, by taking this option, the "Scary and Uncertain One", I was walking in the door to my house at 21:05, earlier than I would have had we not have had a flat tire and I'd made the 20h bus I was originally planning on taking, and 2 1/2 hours earlier than I would have if there'd been a bus at 22h and I caught it. So really, this option, the one I could have never planned on taking or using, ended up being the best one in the end! Funny how that happens! ;)

Sending you epic amounts of love and light, and wishing you wonder and blessings!

-Allie-Sun <3

What to Choose?

I don't exactly know what's come over me in the last months of my life, but I've become quite a plan-ahead-type of traveler. It's kind of freaking me out, but also makes me really excited, because it means I know I have a lot of adventures coming up. Before, I was the kind of person who would show up in a country without having done any research, and likely leave it without having done or seen a number of the main sights. It's still a given that I will wander around snapping pictures of things because they look cool, but having no idea what they are if there isn't a sign posted or couchsurfing host to tell me, but I've also started adding an element of pre-trip research to my life. Here's a couple prime examples for you of my typical travel style...

My friend and I were in London back in 2009, walking around, taking pictures, enjoying the sights, but hadn't looked in a single guidebook or at any info online. So we're wandering, and we come upon this massive clock tower. Now, we knew Big Ben was in London, that much at least was in our brains, but we didn't know what it looked like or where in the city it was. So we're standing there, across the street from what we assume has to be Big Ben, because, "It's gotta be, I can't imagine there being another clock tower bigger than that one," but entirely unsure. But we decide we'd better get a picture with it in the background to be safe, and ask a passing person to snap one for us. To which they respond, "Oh, you mean you want a picture with Big Ben?" To which we responded, after a glance and ha-ha smile at the other, "Yes, yes. Exactly. We'd like a picture with Big Ben." (Insert sly grins here.)

Another more recent example, was when I was moving to Mallorca for two months two summers back to be an au pair. I didn't bother to look up any information, because I figured, yeah, I'll get there, see it, and sort it out when I'm there. After all, I'll have two months and be living with a family. I had only set one requirement for the location of the family I was to au pair for: that they live near the beach. So naturally, when I was contacted by a family in Mallorca, and looked it up to discover that it was an island, I thought, "Hmm...I had just been thinking of skipping down to Cadiz (Southern Spain), but Mallorca...an island... that's got beaches, that could work. Ok, let's go!" And you can imagine my surprise when I was coming in on the plane, seeing mountains out on one side and water on the other! Big time score, but also information I could have easily come by simply by Googleing the place.

Yep, I'm more of a "show up and see what happens, who we meet, where we go" type of traveler. But ever since this summer, when my German friend kinda forced me into planning a trip to Norway in advance (by about three weeks, which was well in advance for me, and very, very short notice for her, being that she's German and all;), I've been booking so far ahead! I've been buying flights months in advance, and actually looking up images of the country or city beforehand, developing some Trip Goals. This can be beneficial, but it does concern me a little to eliminate entirely the "how I'll feel in the moment" factor.

I am not so keen on making plans ahead of time, and especially not of buying future flights when I'm going to be on a somewhat open-ended trip. This is simply because, I can be completely amped for most things the moment I hear about them, but then when the time comes, who knows where I'll be or what I'll want to do instead! New options are constantly coming, especially on adventures, so how can one decide ahead of time what to do, when they haven't all come in yet?  

However, with my summer travel plans, I'm thinking a little differently...

I have officially entered into my last four months living/working in Spain, and in July, will be moving back home till after the New Year. So, I've got just 5 1/2 months left to travel this part of the globe, before I kiss it good-bye for a while. I know I'm going to spend the first 16 days of June in Israel and Istanbul with my grandma, mom, and sister, but then they will leave, and I'll have about a month left to travel before I head back to Cali.

Originally, I was planning on spending the time doing some thorough backpacking in Croatia and Italy, but then, I looked at a map, and saw that a massive hitchhiking trip from Istanbul to Madrid might just be the right way to end my time over here. My route would take me through Northern Turkey and into Bulgaria, then onto Serbia, back down to Montenegro, through Bosnia and Herzegovina, along the Croatian coast to Slovenia and on through Northern Italy, involve an elongated stop in Milan to visit friends and go to the World Expo, and finish with some final stops along France's eastern coast before entering Spain in the Catalunya region, at which point I'd cut west to Madrid and make it in time for my flight home on the 15th! Phew! But then again, some other new, shiny idea came into my processing realms...

The Be-In Gathering in Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal, where BOOM Festival is held, and much of my life changed last summer. It's a one weekend healing and organic trance festival/gathering, and my entire body got wiggly when I read about it. I actually almost just bought a ticket to it to make sure I had no choice but to go, before thinking twice, and closing out all windows showing my bank account, ticket buying links, and flight prices. The only thing is, I would have to leave Istanbul on the 16th or 17th, fly to Madrid, and catch a lift to Portugal that day or the next in order to make it to the Boom Land by the 18th. From there, I would hitch to Madrid or Lisbon after the gathering, take a cheap flight to Rome, and spend three weeks exploring Italy before flying back to Madrid to get my "final flight" "home".

I cannot express how blessed I feel to even have these options laid before me.

I Am Gratitude. 

I Am Amazed. 

I Am Praising God for All Blessings. 

But I am also thinking, 

"Oh my gosh. How am I supposed to decide on these options? They're both so sweet!" 

The first option of only Croatia and Italy got tossed out as soon as I looked at a map and saw the sweet possibility of hitching all the way back to Spain. Especially considering most of the countries I would be hitting are very easy to catch lifts in, the option becomes even more appealing. But the moment I saw the Be-In Gathering information, my energy ignited, and I almost lost my mind. But honestly, just through the process of writing this post and looking at that tramp route, I think I've decided to nix Be-In, and go for thumbing way my around some countries.

Festivals have always been a huge part of my life, and will continue to be well past the time that I can actually dance (I pray that day never comes), but to finish out my [by then] two and a half years time abroad with a One Month Hitch Trip through 10 countries... I mean... I think few things could call an adventurer's name more than that!

And so it appears, that once more, writing has proven to be my therapy, and I just worked out my own hang up through the process of laying it down on a blank page. Happy you could all come along for this sorting process. I think Harry and the Hat would be proud. :)

So, that means, the next bit of business is: collecting up some human treasures to help make it the Final Trip of The Chapter of a lifetime! See you on the road beauties!

Thanks for coming along on this mental ride of mine, I hope you're as excited about life as I am! And if not, I recommend doing something about it. We've only got one of these great things we call life, ya might as well enjoy yours!

Extensive Blessings, Love & Light

From Above & Into You

<3